Reform seems utterly terrified of Restore and seemingly is no longer interested in going after Labour: tacit acceptance their tactics won’t work on Burnham?
Getting rid of the equality act is a bridge too far.
I've been sitting here waiting for the next world cup match to start at midnight, only to find it started at 11pm. Whichever website I checked earlier (can't remember which one) was giving rubbish information.
I've been sitting here waiting for the next world cup match to start at midnight, only to find it started at 11pm. Whichever website I checked earlier (can't remember which one) was giving rubbish information.
Get the Fotmob app. It translates all kick off times to local times, and does the highlights too.
Rather sadly, the job you achieve in life (barring things like ill-health, accidents and wrongful imprisonment) is largely down to your own efforts and character: character is destiny and a' that. So the public school debate is a non-sequitur.
What is the problem, and it's going to get much worse when the boomers die, is the money and inheritance that wealthy parents gift their children. You can be very, very stupid but if you had wealthy parents you are not going to die in a council house, even if you deserve it.
So if Labour really wanted to increase class mobility, they'd tax houses not public schools.
Have you read any of Bourdieu's work? You might find it interesting. Some is a little dated such as the tastes of the French middle class in the 70's and 80's but the underlying concepts remain sound.
It is why so many of the top tier of our society come from private education. They are not smarter or harder working than their state school rivals but they do have more Social and Cultural Capital.
It's also about geography. It's much easier to accumulate cultural capital and make connections if you start out in or near a great city than if the nearest town with a bank branch is an hour away by bus. It's possible to overcome that disadvantage, but it's not as easy as not having to. The social capital private schools undobtedly provide is of a similar nature- nether essential to suceed, nor a guarantee of success, but it surely helps a lot.
And whilst effort, character and ability are important in achieving life aims, I prefered it when John Major acknowledged the role of luck- even if it's just being in the right place at the right time. And whilst all of us are (to an extent) lucky to be in Britain in 2026, some of us are luckier than others.
I agree. Indeed your point on geography is very pertinent to places like Makerfield. Opportunity in Britain is based around London and a few few other cosmopolitan metro areas. This causes a lot of resentment when those living in the cities get the opportunities while they feel excluded, particularly when those getting the breaks are of immigrant heritage.
Not just people of immigrant heritage but foreign nationals. Part of the story of London's demographic transformation has been the suppression of domestic migration away from left-behind areas.
Suppression? What are you talking about? London is full of chippy northerners and Scots etc. The only thing stopping people moving to London is the scary made up stories about crime they see on Facebook.
What are the chances of someone from the north of England getting social housing in London?
The chances of anyone turning up and getting social housing is quite low. There is a long waiting list. If they're moving to London to work, like I did from Fife (home to many left behind areas although to be fair I wasn't fae those bits) they can rent privately and then buy once they've saved for a deposit. It's called getting on your bike. BTW I love the idea that the north of England is full of folks dreaming of living on a council estate in Croydon. Something tells me you are unfamiliar with those parts of the country...
I am sure the Duke of Northumberland dreams of a council estate in Croydon as he gazes out of his Alnwick Castle window
He probably looks out at the A1 and would be comfortable with the single carriageway urban London bits.
In between it is all variably dualled 1950s wasteland, tractors merging into lorries and trying to catch you out LBW in the fast lane, Googie architecture, OK Diners, abandoned coaching inns and Pulse and Cocktails. Of all the weirdest places in the UK, I'd put much of the A1 in the top 10.
Don't forget the Honey Pot Lane Industrial Estate, my favourite road sign in Britain owing to the absurd juxtaposition of the first three and last two words. I love the A1.
The business directory of Honey Pot Lane Industrial Estate feels about right:
A cooperative dealing in grain processing. A tanker company dealing in Industrial waste products and domestic septic tank emptying A specialist vehicle seller of ex-military vehicles along with a more general but still quirky car sales place A furniture wholesalers A padel court!
Witham Specialist Vehicles is a great place to visit on auction days if you are going past. Where the big boys sell off their big toys.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Reading the account of the pair in the Yacht I suspect it was all a bit overblown.
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Reading the account of the pair in the Yacht I suspect it was all a bit overblown.
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
“We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.
“A minute or so later, they gave another five blasts on their horn followed by four to five small arms fire, which wasn’t aimed at us, it was warning fire which went up in the air.”
The couple took issue with the Russian version of events.
Jane added: “They didn’t send up any flares, they didn’t try to radio us, they didn’t look to us like they were adrift, we were definitely not on a collision course. We were going to miss them. It just wasn’t an incident until the gunfire started.”..
They also say they were no closer than 450m, and that the Russian ship had AIS turned off.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
Have you thought about writing for the Telegraph? Such succinct prose.
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself. I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Reading the account of the pair in the Yacht I suspect it was all a bit overblown.
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
They weren’t on a collision course. The Russian ship had its beacon turned off - which is shitty seamanship to start with. And they were half a kilometre away.
Firing “warning shots” in those circumstances shows the basic lack of skills and interests in the norms of behaviour on the water.
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself. I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
If Streeting has enough followers to challenge for the leadership then Burnham (assuming he wins) will need to give him a substantial role, for party management reasons if nothing else. The opposite also applies.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
Apparently not, malc. I think you're allowing your angloscepticism to run away with you.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Reading the account of the pair in the Yacht I suspect it was all a bit overblown.
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
“We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.
“A minute or so later, they gave another five blasts on their horn followed by four to five small arms fire, which wasn’t aimed at us, it was warning fire which went up in the air.”
The couple took issue with the Russian version of events.
Jane added: “They didn’t send up any flares, they didn’t try to radio us, they didn’t look to us like they were adrift, we were definitely not on a collision course. We were going to miss them. It just wasn’t an incident until the gunfire started.”..
They also say they were no closer than 450m, and that the Russian ship had AIS turned off.
It's really hard to play "You Are the Ref" without knowing the relative position of both vessels but I don't believe their no VHF hail story for one second. On the whole, I'd trust the seamanship of a Krivak's crew (or any Navy) over Sid and Doris Bonkers. If the Russians really had wanted to shit them up, they'd have just let the collision happen. I also think the Krivak's commander was a bit windy about getting USS Coled.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
Have you thought about writing for the Telegraph? Such succinct prose.
Doddery English retirees must be about eighty percent of the Telegraph's readership these days. And, unlike readers of the Guardian, I'm not sure they are up for reading articles criticising them.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
"Steam gives way to sail". Have the Russians not read their old friend Arthur Ransome?
Second month it has defied the gloom and doom merchants despite massive Global headwinds.
For the second successive month dimwit MEL loses his stride and reads the wrong script on early morning Media.
For god sake put him and the Leader out of their abject misery!
With Brent Oil back down at $78, it does seem the fears of a widespread inflation shock akin to 2022 were wide of the mark.
We havent had the impact of the spike in fertiliser pricing on food come through yet. For one.
We dont yet have peace or supply resumed. Just an agreement to talk and we have Israel actively trying to scupper it.
Today’s news is good and welcome but it’s not over yet.
Yeah, some of the market reactions are quite amusing. They have extended a ceasefire which has repeated live fire events and double-crosses. And a Straits which has minimal traffic flowing through it - I've just looked on Marine Tracker and there is single crude oil carrier there. One. From China.
The idea that this is over and the crude price can collapse because there's plenty of supply is hopium. The correction will be brutal. And that's just oil. The vast increase in fertiliser prices and later food prices has already happened whether the straits actually reopen or not.
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself. I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
If Streeting has enough followers to challenge for the leadership then Burnham (assuming he wins) will need to give him a substantial role, for party management reasons if nothing else. The opposite also applies.
Streeting doesn't have the numbers, particularly if Starmer defends his position, he's desperately trying to resurrect his career after flushing it down the toilet.
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself. I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
Good morning
Streeting confirmed to Kathy Newman on Sky he will stand next week which as concluded above means it is decsion time for Starmer this weekend
Interesting Streeting is in favour of drilling in the North Sea
The pictures from the G7 show an increasingly isolated Starmer even from those who he once seemed relevant to
From the early hours of Friday morning the media will be all about Starmer Burnham and Streeting and how many cabinet ministers resign
I would suggest that it is in labour's best interests to act quickly and decisively to turn the page on their own self made crisis
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself. I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
If Streeting has enough followers to challenge for the leadership then Burnham (assuming he wins) will need to give him a substantial role, for party management reasons if nothing else. The opposite also applies.
Streeting doesn't have the numbers, particularly if Starmer defends his position, he's desperately trying to resurrect his career after flushing it down the toilet.
If Streeting does not have the numbers then he can't challenge, by definition.
1920: Qualification in Greek ceases to be compulsory for Oxford 1960: Qualification in Latin ceases to be compulsory for Oxford 2026: Government considers making qualification in English Language a requirement for student loans.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
"Steam gives way to sail". Have the Russians not read their old friend Arthur Ransome?
The yacht was under power and the Krivak wasn't apparently. If that were true then Sid and Doris Bonkers would be the "give way" vessel and the Russians would have been "stand on". It's the responsibility of both parties to avoid a collision which they did so the small arms fire worked.
Rather sadly, the job you achieve in life (barring things like ill-health, accidents and wrongful imprisonment) is largely down to your own efforts and character: character is destiny and a' that. So the public school debate is a non-sequitur.
What is the problem, and it's going to get much worse when the boomers die, is the money and inheritance that wealthy parents gift their children. You can be very, very stupid but if you had wealthy parents you are not going to die in a council house, even if you deserve it.
So if Labour really wanted to increase class mobility, they'd tax houses not public schools.
No, as May discovered that is political suicide as far more voters own houses or have parents who own houses than attend public schools.
The biggest increases in social mobility in the last 100 years (bar the expansion of white collar office jobs after WW2) arguably came from Thatcher's sale of council homes so more could own their own homes and grammar schools, Labour of course opposed both
Parents could own their own grammar schools?
Impressive.
Grammar schools were and still are where they exist the only state schools which really tend to challenge the top private schools on Oxbridge entry and admission to the top professions like law and medicine
That is unsurprising as they are selective. If you only let in the most academically gifted students then you will tend to have a lot going on to top universities and academically challenging courses. It doesn't necessarily tell you anything about the quality of the school.
Yes and I have no problem with selective schools at all, they are the best way for bright children from working class or lower middle class backgrounds to get to a top university and top professional or managerial career
They are the best way of letting pushy middle class parents game the system while leaving most kids to rot in under-resourced secondary moderns.
You are more likely to get into Oxbridge or a Russell Group university or law and medicine from a grammar than most comps and academies if you are from a working class or lower middle class background. Comprehensives/academies are largely secondary moderns anyway unless from the leafiest middle class suburb or prosperous town and plenty of high schools in selective areas do OK
You are more likely to go to a top university from grammar school regardless of your background because grammar schools only let in people who are likely to go to a top university. A system that divides children into academic successes and failures at 11 will always favour children whose parents understand the system, ie the pushy middle classes. Not that I am criticizing the pushy middle classes, they are the people this country's prosperity largely rests on!
At my small market town those who failed the 11 plus went to the secondary modern with an expectation they could work on a farm, on the line at the jam factors or at Chapman's stationary products. At secondary year 4 the classes were split at the Grammar school into an A and a B stream with the B stream doing CSEs and the A stream doing O levels. The B stream were often referred to by dyed in the wool grammar school staff who swept around the place in their moth eaten gowns as "less able" students. The expectation was they could work on a farm, on the line at the jam factory or at Chapman's stationary* products.
*Customer asks a W H Smith Saturday girl; "do you keep stationary". "No" replies the girl, "my boyfriend likes me to writhe like a wild animal".
And many of the A stream became doctors, lawyers, academics, business leaders etc
Strangely enough, they were quite a disappointment (myself included). The poshest of posh boys became a big cheese on Wall Street and later in life achieved his own pre- bankruptcy notice in the London Gazette.
I think you missed my key point. All the secondary kids and half the grammar school kids didn't necessarily achieve their full academic potential. That is not a success story for me.
Only about 10% of pupils will ever achieve the academic potential needed to become doctors, lawyers, accountants, bankers, academics, company executives, engineers etc. 40% might do some form of middle class office/admin work or become a middle manager or teacher or nurse or police officer, the rest will do a bluecollar job of some form with a few unemployed.
The grammar schools at least ensured a fair number of their pupils got into that top 10%
Pleasing to see that you have included engineers on that list.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Reading the account of the pair in the Yacht I suspect it was all a bit overblown.
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
They've been briefed and told what to say.
The entire incident will have been carefully contrived by the Russians in response to their oil tanker being seized a few days ago. It's not a coincidence.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
You believe the Kremlin's spin?
Putin will be delighted at yet another job well done.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
Have you thought about writing for the Telegraph? Such succinct prose.
I see the MoD have decided to play down the Frigate incident.
Is it any wonder, all the morons clutching their pearls at fact that a Russian frigate fired a few blanks to save a pair of doddery English retirees, who had ignored all signals up to then, from getting run over.
You believe the Kremlin's spin?
Putin will be delighted at yet another job well done.
Oh Dear , your union jack underpants twisted round again.
Comments
The party has been quiet in the by-election race
By Megan Kenyon" (£)
https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk-politics/2026/06/have-the-greens-all-but-conceded-defeat-in-makerfield
Toff imbecile
What a night. Mbappe and Haaland score two each but even then are upstaged by Messi's hat trick.
https://www.mod-sales.com/auctions
They dont deny that the Russian Ship followed Global procedures with Horn signals, repeated them twice and tried to contact them on radio, when that failed they fired shots IN TO THE AIR to warn them!
Had they been smashed in to by the Russian ship, even if their fault can you imagine the outcry!
Second month it has defied the gloom and doom merchants despite massive Global headwinds.
For the second successive month dimwit MEL loses his stride and reads the wrong script on early morning Media.
For god sake put him and the Leader out of their abject misery!
Nothing says "smart decision" like potentially massacring an endangered species of pony: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cgjxlvp58zgo
https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/jun/16/russian-frigate-fires-warning-shots-at-british-yacht-in-channel-reports
..She also told BBC Newsnight: “They gave out five blasts on their horn, which means ‘have you seen us?’
“We immediately turned two degrees to port so they could see we made a deliberate change of course, which meant we had seen them.
“A minute or so later, they gave another five blasts on their horn followed by four to five small arms fire, which wasn’t aimed at us, it was warning fire which went up in the air.”
The couple took issue with the Russian version of events.
Jane added: “They didn’t send up any flares, they didn’t try to radio us, they didn’t look to us like they were adrift, we were definitely not on a collision course. We were going to miss them. It just wasn’t an incident until the gunfire started.”..
They also say they were no closer than 450m, and that the Russian ship had AIS turned off.
We dont yet have peace or supply resumed. Just an agreement to talk and we have Israel actively trying to scupper it.
Today’s news is good and welcome but it’s not over yet.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4gyeg2207yo
He's doing Burnham a big favour both in wielding the knife, and immediately precipitating the contest, as Burnham now has no need to worry about the timing or the optics of making the challenge himself.
I wonder if there's any coordination and/or if he's expecting something in return ?
Firing “warning shots” in those circumstances shows the basic lack of skills and interests in the norms of behaviour on the water.
I think you're allowing your angloscepticism to run away with you.
The idea that this is over and the crude price can collapse because there's plenty of supply is hopium. The correction will be brutal. And that's just oil. The vast increase in fertiliser prices and later food prices has already happened whether the straits actually reopen or not.
Streeting confirmed to Kathy Newman on Sky he will stand next week which as concluded above means it is decsion time for Starmer this weekend
Interesting Streeting is in favour of drilling in the North Sea
The pictures from the G7 show an increasingly isolated Starmer even from those who he once seemed relevant to
From the early hours of Friday morning the media will be all about Starmer Burnham and Streeting and how many cabinet ministers resign
I would suggest that it is in labour's best interests to act quickly and decisively to turn the page on their own self made crisis
1920: Qualification in Greek ceases to be compulsory for Oxford
1960: Qualification in Latin ceases to be compulsory for Oxford
2026: Government considers making qualification in English Language a requirement for student loans.
https://www.theguardian.com/education/2026/jun/17/students-pass-gcse-english-university-loans-proposals
NEW THREAD
Thank you!
The entire incident will have been carefully contrived by the Russians in response to their oil tanker being seized a few days ago. It's not a coincidence.
Don't be naive.
Putin will be delighted at yet another job well done.