A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
In my Not Entirely Humble Opinion: If the US does well in the World Cup, it will be a set back for the Loser.
First, because he won't be able to attend any of the matches, because the boos would be so loud.
Second, because the team is "diverse". In this sport, as well as others, those choosing the players almost always choose players for their athletic skills, rather than the color of their skins.
Third, because some of those players, I am nearly certain, are immigrants, or the children of immigrants.
Fourth, your best player, Folarin Balogun, has birthright citizenship because his mother was stopped from flying back to London.
May I. put it on record that I don't give a shit what Harperson says.
Is it the shortest come back in history? Has she even had one meeting in new role, the name and details of which escape me and the rest of the country?
And this shows just how pointless such a strategy is in politics.
A lesson for the ages.
The Ming vase strategy was an imperative so as not to scare the horses. Being a shite PM was not a great second step.
Yep. His problem was not MV. Everybody does MV when an election is in the bag bar screw ups. It's the political equivalent of closing down the game 3/0 up with 10 mins left. That was not the SKS problem. The SKS problem was an inability (and quite a special one) to connect with the public. That's why he's going and that's why Burnham is taking over. He has shown that he can. Mayor votes plus polling and now this clinching final step, thumping the populist right in a by-election.
The ghost of the Sheffield Rally looms large. Yeah, woow, yeah!
But in a Lancs accent. Totally different.
I would argue that the big problem was that they had absolutely no idea what to do once in Government. They had wasted 15 years in opposition in-fighting and complaining. They couldn't do Blair's trick of just carrying on with a competent Tory administration's policies (there wasn't one). The global conditions remained unfavourable for coasting.
So what changes when Andy Burnham takes the helm? How do they magic up a decade of intellectual effort and policy development in, say, 6 weeks?
On the other hand, the other guys clown shoes are bigger, so they have that electoral asset - which is all they seem to care about. Government is just an inconvenient distraction from campaigning.
That's fair criticism about lack of a plan but you are overegging it bigtime. He took over as LOTO in 2020 and until Johnson imploded (2022) and then Truss trashed the Tory brand beyond redemption the realistic goal was rebuilding the party not 'preparing for government'. He had less than 2 years for that.
His remarkable inability to connect with the public is why he has become in short order the most unpopular PM in living memory. That's the main reason he's having to be replaced. It's not the only reason but it's by a distance the main one.
His poor reaction to Southport, where he was like a rabbit in the headlights rather than a father of the nation, turned the public against him. He never recovered.
I don't think it was any one episode.
It just picked up speed from there, unpopular policy decisions like cutting your old mum's winter fuel allowance and his oddly poor communication skills. For a former barrister, he's not great at responses which aren't very scripted.
'Friends' are always quoted as saying how very witty he is, and great company, but it doesn't come over that way to the public. Reminds me a bit of Gordon Brown in that respect.
Ironically he is 2 things people often say they want. He's not like normal politicians and he's authentic. He's a serious white collar professional, uncomfortable with emoting and shmaltz, and doesn't pretend otherwise. PM requires much more in these difficult times.
And this shows just how pointless such a strategy is in politics.
A lesson for the ages.
The Ming vase strategy was an imperative so as not to scare the horses. Being a shite PM was not a great second step.
Yep. His problem was not MV. Everybody does MV when an election is in the bag bar screw ups. It's the political equivalent of closing down the game 3/0 up with 10 mins left. That was not the SKS problem. The SKS problem was an inability (and quite a special one) to connect with the public. That's why he's going and that's why Burnham is taking over. He has shown that he can. Mayor votes plus polling and now this clinching final step, thumping the populist right in a by-election.
The ghost of the Sheffield Rally looms large. Yeah, woow, yeah!
But in a Lancs accent. Totally different.
I would argue that the big problem was that they had absolutely no idea what to do once in Government. They had wasted 15 years in opposition in-fighting and complaining. They couldn't do Blair's trick of just carrying on with a competent Tory administration's policies (there wasn't one). The global conditions remained unfavourable for coasting.
So what changes when Andy Burnham takes the helm? How do they magic up a decade of intellectual effort and policy development in, say, 6 weeks?
On the other hand, the other guys clown shoes are bigger, so they have that electoral asset - which is all they seem to care about. Government is just an inconvenient distraction from campaigning.
That's fair criticism about lack of a plan but you are overegging it bigtime. He took over as LOTO in 2020 and until Johnson imploded (2022) and then Truss trashed the Tory brand beyond redemption the realistic goal was rebuilding the party not 'preparing for government'. He had less than 2 years for that.
His remarkable inability to connect with the public is why he has become in short order the most unpopular PM in living memory. That's the main reason he's having to be replaced. It's not the only reason but it's by a distance the main one.
His poor reaction to Southport, where he was like a rabbit in the headlights rather than a father of the nation, turned the public against him. He never recovered.
I don't think it was any one episode.
It just picked up speed from there, unpopular policy decisions like cutting your old mum's winter fuel allowance and his oddly poor communication skills. For a former barrister, he's not great at responses which aren't very scripted.
'Friends' are always quoted as saying how very witty he is, and great company, but it doesn't come over that way to the public. Reminds me a bit of Gordon Brown in that respect.
Ironically he is 2 things people often say they want. He's not like normal politicians and he's authentic. He's a serious white collar professional, uncomfortable with emoting and shmaltz, and doesn't pretend otherwise. PM requires much more in these difficult times.
I find his speaking style off putting. Did he argue in court like that?? (No idea if he did argue in court).
* Sir Keir Starmer is weighing up his future after cabinet ministers called on him to quit and make way for Andy Burnham as Britain’s next prime minister
* While publicly he insists he will fight on, privately his position is said to be ‘nuanced’. He will make up his mind about whether to fight on this weekend after speaking to his wife and family
* Starmer is considering his position after a series of what one aide described as “brutal” conversations with cabinet ministers. Heidi Alexander was said to have been “direct” with Starmer about his unpopularity
* Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is also said to have pressed Starmer to set out a timeline for his departure during a one-to-one meeting. A spokeswoman for Cooper declined to comment
* Starmer is said to have told cabinet ministers that he had polling of Labour members that suggested he could win a leadership election against Burnham and said the mayor had not set out a policy platform on which to be judged
Giving you a clearer picture of driving test waiting times:
'What the new data includes
The additional pieces of data we are now reporting are:
the average waiting time between booking and taking a driving test (median) the number of tests provided in a month through driving examiner overtime the total number of appointments that we’ve made available over the next 24 weeks of the booking window (as measured at the end of the month) the total number of tests that have already been booked in that booking window the total number of tests that are still available to book in the booking window the percentage of tests that are still available to book in the booking window
All of this is available at national, regional and driving test centre level. It will be updated on the second Wednesday of each month with the previous month’s data.'
* Starmer is said to have told cabinet ministers that he had polling of Labour members that suggested he could win a leadership election against Burnham and said the mayor had not set out a policy platform on which to be judged
GIN's Take (who cares, but here is is, as I rarely comment these days?)
Starmer is done! Burnham will be PM before summer recess starts (just like Boris in 2019 ??? )
Aberdeen has proved Kemi's Conservatives are still alive. It might even have taken them off "life support" and placed them in "high dependency" - Like cockroaches in a nuclear winter... Somehow, the Tories ALWAYS survive and have since maybe... 1680 ???
Yet again Nigel Farage has proved that on the day... When it REALLY counts, he just isn't quite up to it!
Rupert who???
Looking to the future:
Burnham will get a honeymoon and I think its quite likely he calls an election for 6th May 2027, which he will win. Labours majority will be reduced from the weird Labour landslide of 2024 and may be in line with Boris' 80 seat 2019 majority. Labour remain in power until 2032.
Unexpectedly, Kemi's Conservatives will GAIN seats from the 2024 disaster (maybe ending up with +220)
Stupid old bores Nigel and Rupert will knock chunks out of each other between downing their next magnums of wine... Hopefully after Election 2027 when they both do surprisingly little, these daft old fools just fuck off and die (or lets say "retire" for those easily offended 😂 )
One other take:
Sadly, as I like her, Kemi may end up a Kinnock figure. Someone who somehow managed to keep the Tories alive through all of the bad times, but who never ends up being PM. But, I'm increasingly confident that when Lab is eventually turfed out of office, it will be the Conservatives that take over....
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
While I accept that anti vax didn’t start with Wakefield his influence has been huge. Anyone complaining about mercury in vaccines can be traced back to Wakefield. The man who wanted to make millions from single shots when he got MMR banned.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
Eventually it'll swing back around to being a lefty-high status position.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
It's not just a new generation. I saw an 89 yo woman at CAB this week who confided to me that her grandson had long-Covid and that Covid was a hoax. She'd read it in a 'really interesting' free paper called The Light apparently, so it must be true.
I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
Eventually it'll swing back around to being a lefty-high status position.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
While I accept that anti vax didn’t start with Wakefield his influence has been huge. Anyone complaining about mercury in vaccines can be traced back to Wakefield. The man who wanted to make millions from single shots when he got MMR banned.
Interesting article here on the anti-vaxx Whooping cough scare and its consequences in the Seventies and Eighties. Wakefield merely repeated it.
* Sir Keir Starmer is weighing up his future after cabinet ministers called on him to quit and make way for Andy Burnham as Britain’s next prime minister
* While publicly he insists he will fight on, privately his position is said to be ‘nuanced’. He will make up his mind about whether to fight on this weekend after speaking to his wife and family
* Starmer is considering his position after a series of what one aide described as “brutal” conversations with cabinet ministers. Heidi Alexander was said to have been “direct” with Starmer about his unpopularity
* Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is also said to have pressed Starmer to set out a timeline for his departure during a one-to-one meeting. A spokeswoman for Cooper declined to comment
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
Yes, used to be hipster lefty cliche, now firmly part of default right wingers (in the US).
Classic everythingism as seen on left and right now, in that positions that don't inevitably have to go together are treated as if you must agree with all of them.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
Eventually it'll swing back around to being a lefty-high status position.
It can't 'swing back' to what it's never been.
No there has always been a hippie type antivaxxism alongside the far right one. Often associated with other types of "alternative" medicine like herbalism and "natural" childbirth.
This is a sad story from Australia of a needless death as a result:
There is something oddly sad about the fact that increasingly the core of the criticism of Starmer is that he dithers and can't make decisions and now when he has to decide if he fights or stands down...
We don't. We think he's the best option to turn things around. The holy grail wasn't really perceived as the best chance to turn things around. Least that wasn't how it was presented in the accounts I've read.
Of course Brillo has a track record of making all the right calls. Austerity, Brexit, Boris Johnson and Liz Truss's budget.
Ought to have gracefully moved into 'contemplation only' mode by now. Many of the world's problems are caused by self-regarding old men not doing that.
(Which, to be frank, was passed in the House, and ratified by a sufficient majority of states by means not entirely admirable. The majority in the Senate did not require special help.
Here is one detail many of you might like: Nevada was admitted to the union after its state consitutition was telegraphed to Washington, D. C.)
Starmer considers resigning. End of June bet still on
Theoretically possible but not going to happen.
Burnham will let Starmer hit his second anniversary in July. He's not in a hurry and if it saves face and lets Starmer go with a bit of dignity, why not agree to that?
When does Burnham stop being Mayor? Is that job now vacant or is he in post until replaced in a Mayoral by-election, presumably also to be held in July?
I believe he stopped being Mayor the instant he was elected an MP. By law, AIUI, you cannot be an MP and a mayor who has a police & crime commissioner role. In being elected an MP, he thus instantly becomes disqualified for the mayor role.
Doesn’t he have to take the oath etc before he legally becomes an MP? Or thinking again, that must be to sit in parliament, since the SF lot are MPs without the oath.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
It's not just a new generation. I saw an 89 yo woman at CAB this week who confided to me that her grandson had long-Covid and that Covid was a hoax. She'd read it in a 'really interesting' free paper called The Light apparently, so it must be true.
I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)
Manchester online news site is reporting that Restore's Mayor candidate will be father of Scarlett West, who was a victim of grooming gangs across Greater Manchester.
“I will be there to protect the people of Manchester as much as if they were my own flesh and blood.”
(Which, to be frank, was passed in the House, and ratified by a sufficient majority of states by means not entirely admirable. The majority in the Senate did not require special help.
Here is one detail many of you might like: Nevada was admitted to the union after its state consitutition was telegraphed to Washington, D. C.)
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
Eventually it'll swing back around to being a lefty-high status position.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
It's not just a new generation. I saw an 89 yo woman at CAB this week who confided to me that her grandson had long-Covid and that Covid was a hoax. She'd read it in a 'really interesting' free paper called The Light apparently, so it must be true.
I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)
What was her reply?
She hadn't considered that. 'Maybe it was the vaccine.'
Starmer considers resigning. End of June bet still on
Theoretically possible but not going to happen.
Burnham will let Starmer hit his second anniversary in July. He's not in a hurry and if it saves face and lets Starmer go with a bit of dignity, why not agree to that?
When does Burnham stop being Mayor? Is that job now vacant or is he in post until replaced in a Mayoral by-election, presumably also to be held in July?
I believe he stopped being Mayor the instant he was elected an MP. By law, AIUI, you cannot be an MP and a mayor who has a police & crime commissioner role. In being elected an MP, he thus instantly becomes disqualified for the mayor role.
Doesn’t he have to take the oath etc before he legally becomes an MP? Or thinking again, that must be to sit in parliament, since the SF lot are MPs without the oath.
Sounds about right. Like how councillors do become councillors 4 days after the election, but cannot take any actions as a councillor until and other than making a declaration of acceptance of office.
MPs it seems have much greater flexibility, and no time limit to swear by.
Manchester online news site is reporting that Restore's Mayor candidate will be father of Scarlett West, who was a victim of grooming gangs across Greater Manchester.
“I will be there to protect the people of Manchester as much as if they were my own flesh and blood.”
Oh.
Gross comment.
Why? He’s going to play on Restore’s anti-immigration angle. Where the fuck was he when his daughter was lost to these shitbags? So many problems in the UK are down to terrible parenting and people need to look at themselves half the time.
Great to hear such an unbiased account of the council's efforts from.... the council.
Either it’s the first ever underspend or it isn’t. If you want to say it’s a lie then back up that assertion.
If we were talking about a Tory underspend, we'd literally be naming the pensioners who died in their own piss because of the council cuts that have clearly been made:
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
Manchester online news site is reporting that Restore's Mayor candidate will be father of Scarlett West, who was a victim of grooming gangs across Greater Manchester.
“I will be there to protect the people of Manchester as much as if they were my own flesh and blood.”
Oh.
Gross comment.
Why? He’s going to play on Restore’s anti-immigration angle. Where the fuck was he when his daughter was lost to these shitbags? So many problems in the UK are down to terrible parenting and people need to look at themselves half the time.
Perhaps you should try informing yourself about what grooming is and the situation that parents of victims found themselves in.
Great to hear such an unbiased account of the council's efforts from.... the council.
Either it’s the first ever underspend or it isn’t. If you want to say it’s a lie then back up that assertion.
If we were talking about a Tory underspend, we'd literally be naming the pensioners who died in their own piss because of the council cuts that have clearly been made:
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
The gradual realisation that neoliberalism is a load of old bollocks must be hard. We feel your pain.
Manchester online news site is reporting that Restore's Mayor candidate will be father of Scarlett West, who was a victim of grooming gangs across Greater Manchester.
“I will be there to protect the people of Manchester as much as if they were my own flesh and blood.”
Oh.
Gross comment.
Why? He’s going to play on Restore’s anti-immigration angle. Where the fuck was he when his daughter was lost to these shitbags? So many problems in the UK are down to terrible parenting and people need to look at themselves half the time.
Perhaps you should try informing yourself about what grooming is and the situation that parents of victims found themselves in.
Thanks but I understand fully what grooming is. If he thinks the problem was immigrants the. He doesn’t understand the problem. They were part of the problem but not the whole problem.
Great to hear such an unbiased account of the council's efforts from.... the council.
Either it’s the first ever underspend or it isn’t. If you want to say it’s a lie then back up that assertion.
If we were talking about a Tory underspend, we'd literally be naming the pensioners who died in their own piss because of the council cuts that have clearly been made:
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
The gradual realisation that neoliberalism is a load of old bollocks must be hard. We feel your pain.
Apparently it's not a load of bollocks, it's jolly nice and sensible - Dorset Council's press release told me.
Great to hear such an unbiased account of the council's efforts from.... the council.
Either it’s the first ever underspend or it isn’t. If you want to say it’s a lie then back up that assertion.
If we were talking about a Tory underspend, we'd literally be naming the pensioners who died in their own piss because of the council cuts that have clearly been made:
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
Cry me a fucking river, then stop dissembling and answer my question. Otherwise I’ll conclude that the missive from the council, despite being from your political opponents, was truthful and it was the first underspend.
Looks like a train from Corby, which was switching tracks, ploughed into the back of a train from Nottingham which was running several minutes late.
Updated numbers from East of England Ambulance are 89 injured, 11 'very serious'. Plus one fatality. Awful numbers.
Grim.
I’ve had confirmation that the driver of the 360 is the person who died
It didn't look survivable from the static picture of the impact. We forget how risky these types of jobs can be. There's clearly been some horrific failure somewhere for this to happen.
There is something oddly sad about the fact that increasingly the core of the criticism of Starmer is that he dithers and can't make decisions and now when he has to decide if he fights or stands down...
He dithers and can't make a decision!
Peter.
Hey, come on, that's not fair. He needs to spend the weekend thinking on which cabinet position Burnham's going to turn down.
Giving you a clearer picture of driving test waiting times:
'What the new data includes
The additional pieces of data we are now reporting are:
the average waiting time between booking and taking a driving test (median) the number of tests provided in a month through driving examiner overtime the total number of appointments that we’ve made available over the next 24 weeks of the booking window (as measured at the end of the month) the total number of tests that have already been booked in that booking window the total number of tests that are still available to book in the booking window the percentage of tests that are still available to book in the booking window
All of this is available at national, regional and driving test centre level. It will be updated on the second Wednesday of each month with the previous month’s data.'
The difference this time is that Scotland won their first group game so are not playing 'catch up' as such. However as I alluded to earlier 4 points should be enough and Scotland's best chance of getting another point is tonight notwithstanding Brazil are not the team of old.
The difference this time is that Scotland won their first group game so are not playing 'catch up' as such. However as I alluded to earlier 4 points should be enough and Scotland's best chance of getting another point is tonight notwithstanding Brazil are not the team of old.
I think Scotland will lose their next two matches but will go through as a best third place finisher. Morocco are v good and Brazil are ok.
The difference this time is that Scotland won their first group game so are not playing 'catch up' as such. However as I alluded to earlier 4 points should be enough and Scotland's best chance of getting another point is tonight notwithstanding Brazil are not the team of old.
I think Scotland will lose their next two matches but will go through as a best third place finisher. Morocco are v good and Brazil are ok.
3 points in third place may be enough and some teams will get through on that. However in this situation Scotland's goal difference would be -1 at best and maybe somewhat worse than that.
Great to hear such an unbiased account of the council's efforts from.... the council.
Either it’s the first ever underspend or it isn’t. If you want to say it’s a lie then back up that assertion.
If we were talking about a Tory underspend, we'd literally be naming the pensioners who died in their own piss because of the council cuts that have clearly been made:
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
Cry me a fucking river, then stop dissembling and answer my question. Otherwise I’ll conclude that the missive from the council, despite being from your political opponents, was truthful and it was the first underspend.
Where have I said it is not the first underspend?
What I suggested is that the council's own account of its brilliant work is likely to be biased representation of the facts. Perhaps we should accept Kent County Council's press releases about its work without scrutiny too?
The council has balanced its budget by cutting its costs and raising taxes.
Oddly the glowing account of its own success makes no mention of council tax, which is apparently now the highest in the land - must have slipped their mind.
I'm all for it, but again it's slightly confusing to see the seal-clapping for it from our lefty contingent.
They also 'right-sized' (I've never heard this term for cut before) the long-term infrastructure budget. I'm all for it, I think councils are pretty bad at infrastructure, but if there's one thing that I thought PB shrewdies all agreed upon, it's the deep foolihardiness of cancelling infrastructure investment to pay today's bills. But I guess not in this case.
The difference this time is that Scotland won their first group game so are not playing 'catch up' as such. However as I alluded to earlier 4 points should be enough and Scotland's best chance of getting another point is tonight notwithstanding Brazil are not the team of old.
I think Scotland will lose their next two matches but will go through as a best third place finisher. Morocco are v good and Brazil are ok.
3 points in third place may be enough and some teams will get through on that. However in this situation Scotland's goal difference would be -1 at best and maybe somewhat worse than that.
I think there will be enough third placed teams on one or two points. I think it only needs three third place teams to be worse.
If Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, he will be the first Cambridge educated prime minister since Baldwin in the 1930s. Also the first English literature student ever? A blow for diversity! After the dismal parade of Oxford PPE and law grads.
Looks like a train from Corby, which was switching tracks, ploughed into the back of a train from Nottingham which was running several minutes late.
Updated numbers from East of England Ambulance are 89 injured, 11 'very serious'. Plus one fatality. Awful numbers.
Grim.
I’ve had confirmation that the driver of the 360 is the person who died
It didn't look survivable from the static picture of the impact. We forget how risky these types of jobs can be. There's clearly been some horrific failure somewhere for this to happen.
Yes, the Corby train had just crossed over from the slow London-bound track onto the fast London-bound track - which was already occupied by the Nottingham service.
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
And plenty of them are in Reform.
There’s a lot of blame to go around. Every time a celeb or journalist made light of not understanding science it was a step on the road. Every time concerned middle class parents started asking questions, just in case, it was another step on the road. But truly Andrew Wakefield is the biggest source of concern. A malign actor if ever there was one.
Nah, there have been anti-vaxxers ever since Jenner invented the technique in Georgian times. When I was at Med School parents were refusing whooping cough vaccine, and I remember a small epidemic of it in South London. Wakefield was simply a waypoint.
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
It seems to be an extreme manifestation of rugged individualism. An insistence on not being reliant on anyone else for anything, including the benefits of medical science, and that if one is strong enough, you won't get ill anyway. All then bolstered by a healthy dose of survivorship bias.
So who are ‘Mar’? If we show Germany games will we have ‘Deu’?
Curaçao were CAW for some reason. It’s not like there are other countries in the WC beginning with CUR and why CAW? Curasow? On that basis should Scotland be FFS?
FIFA codes are generally just three-letter abbreviations derived from a country's name, and Morocco is a pretty straightforward case: MAR comes from "Maroc," the French name for Morocco (and also close to the Arabic "al-Maghrib" in spirit, though it's really the French spelling driving it). This pattern is common in FIFA codes — they often follow the French or local-language name rather than the English one, since French has historically been one of FIFA's official languages alongside English and Spanish. A few similar examples:
Germany is GER in English contexts but FIFA actually uses GER too (derived from German "Deutschland" would give GER differently, but FIFA aligns with IOC-style codes which can vary) Spain is ESP, from "España" Wales is WAL
So MAR fits the broader convention of FIFA codes being built from the country's name in French or the local language rather than always defaulting to English. It's largely inherited from the ISO 3166-1 and IOC country code traditions, which FIFA's codes loosely track (with occasional FIFA-specific quirks).
A major flu outbreak has sickened nearly 160 troops at Lackland Air Force Base in Texas less than two months after Defense Secretary Pete Hegseth announced that U.S. troops would no longer be required to be vaccinated for the flu—NYT
Why do we need to relearn the lesson that vaccines are a good thing?
Because some people are absolute [redacted].
One of my father's colleague said recently he mentioned vaccinating a child and their parent threatened them with violence, this isn't an uncommon experience in the last few years.
But it did mean Andrew Wakefield got to shag Elle Macpherson, so there’s that.
It's worse than that.
We've got a new generation, radicalised by social media, who are anti-vaxx, we'll see the damage in the UK in the next few years as herd immunity is wiped out.
It's not just a new generation. I saw an 89 yo woman at CAB this week who confided to me that her grandson had long-Covid and that Covid was a hoax. She'd read it in a 'really interesting' free paper called The Light apparently, so it must be true.
I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)
I had a look at "The Light" so that you don't have to. The latest [June] issue includes an article musing on the purpose of the "obviously fake" Artemis mission. Sigh.
Comments
Elon Musk
@elonmusk
·
1h
In the future, a trillion times a trillion dollars will be spent on making antimatter to travel to other star systems
https://x.com/elonmusk/status/2068041714653179981
===
Yes Elon, it's called inflation.
Those profligate Lib Dems and Greens took over from the Tories in 2024 and look how finances have fared:
https://www.dorsetcouncil.gov.uk/news/dorset-council-delivers-first-ever-underspend-as-finances-improve
How in the name of god did Australia beat Turkey, they are rubbish.
Steven Swinford
@Steven_Swinford
Where we are tonight:
* Sir Keir Starmer is weighing up his future after cabinet ministers called on him to quit and make way for Andy Burnham as Britain’s next prime minister
* While publicly he insists he will fight on, privately his position is said to be ‘nuanced’. He will make up his mind about whether to fight on this weekend after speaking to his wife and family
* Starmer is considering his position after a series of what one aide described as “brutal” conversations with cabinet ministers. Heidi Alexander was said to have been “direct” with Starmer about his unpopularity
* Yvette Cooper, the foreign secretary, is also said to have pressed Starmer to set out a timeline for his departure during a one-to-one meeting. A spokeswoman for Cooper declined to comment
https://x.com/Steven_Swinford/status/2068065592561557542
* Starmer is said to have told cabinet ministers that he had polling of Labour members that suggested he could win a leadership election against Burnham and said the mayor had not set out a policy platform on which to be judged
https://x.com/Steven_Swinford/status/2068065592561557542
Giving you a clearer picture of driving test waiting times:
'What the new data includes
The additional pieces of data we are now reporting are:
the average waiting time between booking and taking a driving test (median)
the number of tests provided in a month through driving examiner overtime
the total number of appointments that we’ve made available over the next 24 weeks of the booking window (as measured at the end of the month)
the total number of tests that have already been booked in that booking window
the total number of tests that are still available to book in the booking window
the percentage of tests that are still available to book in the booking window
All of this is available at national, regional and driving test centre level. It will be updated on the second Wednesday of each month with the previous month’s data.'
https://despatch.blog.gov.uk/2026/06/18/giving-you-a-clearer-picture-of-driving-test-waiting-times/
Anti-vaxxing seems to now be part of the package of right wing politics, alongside the "Great Replacement Theory", "Cultural Marxism" and anti-abortion. It comes as a bundle via MAGA dominated Social Media.
I couldn't resist asking her how he got long-Covid if Covid was a hoax. (I'll probably get struck off.)
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/12922137/
I think the mercury issue was a different anti-vaxx scare to Wakefield too.
Classic everythingism as seen on left and right now, in that positions that don't inevitably have to go together are treated as if you must agree with all of them.
This is a sad story from Australia of a needless death as a result:
https://thoughtcatalog.com/jeremy-london/2026/06/stacey-hatfield-a-30-year-old-wellness-influencer-died-hours-after-giving-birth-at-home-with-no-doctor-or-midwife-present/
He dithers and can't make a decision!
Peter.
That Abe Lincoln was one far-sighted man! Another bonus from the 13th amendment!
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Thirteenth_Amendment_to_the_United_States_Constitution
(Which, to be frank, was passed in the House, and ratified by a sufficient majority of states by means not entirely admirable. The majority in the Senate did not require special help.
Here is one detail many of you might like: Nevada was admitted to the union after its state consitutition was telegraphed to Washington, D. C.)
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/cy8dy2pr8ymt
Looks like a train from Corby, which was switching tracks, ploughed into the back of a train from Nottingham which was running several minutes late.
MPs it seems have much greater flexibility, and no time limit to swear by.
We’ve put proper controls in place, taken tough decisions and focused on living within our means.
But I'm sure they were nice cuts rather than nasty Tory cuts.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Birthright_citizenship_in_the_United_States
Far too bloody late for the PB Competition.
Just so annoying
It hardly lives up to the enthusiasm of the headline
Leader of Greens on Trafford council.
What I suggested is that the council's own account of its brilliant work is likely to be biased representation of the facts. Perhaps we should accept Kent County Council's press releases about its work without scrutiny too?
The council has balanced its budget by cutting its costs and raising taxes.
Oddly the glowing account of its own success makes no mention of council tax, which is apparently now the highest in the land - must have slipped their mind.
https://www.bournemouthecho.co.uk/news/25968680.dorset-residents-face-highest-council-tax-bills-country/
It seems they also replaced hundreds of council workers with bots.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cvg8wvyyjyvo
I'm all for it, but again it's slightly confusing to see the seal-clapping for it from our lefty contingent.
They also 'right-sized' (I've never heard this term for cut before) the long-term infrastructure budget. I'm all for it, I think councils are pretty bad at infrastructure, but if there's one thing that I thought PB shrewdies all agreed upon, it's the deep foolihardiness of cancelling infrastructure investment to pay today's bills. But I guess not in this case.
Gideon Rachman
@gideonrachman
If Andy Burnham becomes prime minister, he will be the first Cambridge educated prime minister since Baldwin in the 1930s. Also the first English literature student ever? A blow for diversity! After the dismal parade of Oxford PPE and law grads.
https://x.com/gideonrachman/status/2067919348153397264
https://inside.fifa.com/fifa-world-ranking/men
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_FIFA_country_codes
Still, I'm sure they can probably pick up a point against *checks fixtures* Brazil.
FIFA codes are generally just three-letter abbreviations derived from a country's name, and Morocco is a pretty straightforward case: MAR comes from "Maroc," the French name for Morocco (and also close to the Arabic "al-Maghrib" in spirit, though it's really the French spelling driving it).
This pattern is common in FIFA codes — they often follow the French or local-language name rather than the English one, since French has historically been one of FIFA's official languages alongside English and Spanish. A few similar examples:
Germany is GER in English contexts but FIFA actually uses GER too (derived from German "Deutschland" would give GER differently, but FIFA aligns with IOC-style codes which can vary)
Spain is ESP, from "España"
Wales is WAL
So MAR fits the broader convention of FIFA codes being built from the country's name in French or the local language rather than always defaulting to English. It's largely inherited from the ISO 3166-1 and IOC country code traditions, which FIFA's codes loosely track (with occasional FIFA-specific quirks).