This was very much the classic 'Group of Death' draw for Scotland.
Still, I'm sure they can probably pick up a point against *checks fixtures* Brazil.
Pre the expansion to 48 teams it would have been a hideous draw. But pre expansion Scotland wouldn’t have been at the finals…
We did win our group to be fair, so even without expansion we would have been there, but we would still have been jammy gits in doing so.
Different groups with fewer places up for grabs, but fair play on winning the group. I’m hoping the Scot’s get through. The joy and party spirit of the fans is brilliant.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Realistically with the current political landscape is there anyone in the country that can unite it?
More believable would be that he can articulate a better plan and direction for the Labour government and deliver some competent governance that people grudgingly accept to make the next election a much tighter affair than the current polls, but even that feels like its only a possibility rather than anything more concrete than that.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Realistically with the current political landscape is there anyone in the country that can unite it?
More believable would be that he can articulate a better plan and direction for the Labour government and deliver some competent governance that people grudgingly accept to make the next election a much tighter affair than the current polls, but even that feels like its only a possibility rather than anything more concrete than that.
I still think if Starmer hadn’t done winter fuel originally he’d be significantly more popular than he is now. Burnham will have none of that baggage.
YouGov polling for The Times found that voters have significant doubts about an Andy Burnham premiership, with 79 per cent saying they knew nothing or little about Starmer’s probable successor.
Am I the only person in the world who remembers that Morocco made the semi finals of the last world cup?
You aren’t but four years is a long time in football - it’s their current form that’s more important and they have been v good. Croatia were third last WC.
YouGov polling for The Times found that voters have significant doubts about an Andy Burnham premiership, with 79 per cent saying they knew nothing or little about Starmer’s probable successor.
Manchester is an island. It ain't the capital of The North, or anywhere else.
Nothing going forward from Scotland until the last 10 mins of that half.
Steve Clarke's usual tactic is to make changes late in the game, so I wouldn't be surprised if we dont see Gannon Doak, Shankland or Dykes til after 60 mins.
I'd argue this Morocco team is better than the one which made the semi finals last time, same routine as France 98, long ball over the top,deadly quick on the break, too sharp for the Scots defence
While theres only one goal in it Clarke will drill into them to hang on, they'll get a decent chance. Good odds most 3rd place teams with 3 points get through (as it stands)
I mean as a tactic giving Morocco such an early goal sort of worked weirdly, perhaps they felt some sort of sympathy towards us and only half-heartedly tried to score any more than that.
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
"‘You can’t walk away’: Lady Starmer leading fight for PM to stay on Keir Starmer’s wobbles will be calmed by his ‘rock,’ Downing Street insiders insist" (£)
Starmer to weigh up future over weekend, Times told
Sir Keir Starmer will weigh up his future over the weekend amid mounting pressure from his cabinet in the wake of Andy Burnham’s by-election victory, The Times has been told.
The prime minister has publicly insisted that he will not “walk away” and has said he is prepared to fight a challenge from Burnham if it comes to a leadership contest.
However, privately sources close to the prime minister said he recognises there is growing pressure from the backbenches for him to go. He is expected to take the weekend with his wife and family to consider his position before deciding whether to fight on.
He has a Jewish wife and Jewish kids, and Sabbath is about to start in two hours. He's not going to announce anything tonight.
To be honest when I read that I thought he must have resigned
Oh the irony of that statement.
His love for his wife, his family and their faith has made a significant impact on this life long atheist.
How impossibly hard it must have been for him, between a rock and a hard place.
A Party whose core plead for Palestine recognition, a family following the Jewish faith.
An impossible conundrum
Attacked from the left for being pro Israel, which he isn't, attacked by the right and Israel for being anti semitic, which he isn't. Desperate to protect his family from the media, which he has always done.
He may not be indeed he isn't a great politician but take politics out if the equation and he us an intensely decent family man.
Which makes the constant right wing media character assassination the more desperate and sickening.
What on earth are you on about this right wing media nonsense
This is Labour defenestrating their sitting PM all on their own
The right wing media set out to destroy Starmer in an orchestrated campaign from day one.
It worked.
Everybody knows it except you it seems.
They did, however he was very much the master of his own destiny too.
Relying on McSweeney and Reeves was a very bad idea.
"‘You can’t walk away’: Lady Starmer leading fight for PM to stay on Keir Starmer’s wobbles will be calmed by his ‘rock,’ Downing Street insiders insist" (£)
Starmer to weigh up future over weekend, Times told
Sir Keir Starmer will weigh up his future over the weekend amid mounting pressure from his cabinet in the wake of Andy Burnham’s by-election victory, The Times has been told.
The prime minister has publicly insisted that he will not “walk away” and has said he is prepared to fight a challenge from Burnham if it comes to a leadership contest.
However, privately sources close to the prime minister said he recognises there is growing pressure from the backbenches for him to go. He is expected to take the weekend with his wife and family to consider his position before deciding whether to fight on.
He has a Jewish wife and Jewish kids, and Sabbath is about to start in two hours. He's not going to announce anything tonight.
To be honest when I read that I thought he must have resigned
Oh the irony of that statement.
His love for his wife, his family and their faith has made a significant impact on this life long atheist.
How impossibly hard it must have been for him, between a rock and a hard place.
A Party whose core plead for Palestine recognition, a family following the Jewish faith.
An impossible conundrum
Attacked from the left for being pro Israel, which he isn't, attacked by the right and Israel for being anti semitic, which he isn't. Desperate to protect his family from the media, which he has always done.
He may not be indeed he isn't a great politician but take politics out if the equation and he us an intensely decent family man.
Which makes the constant right wing media character assassination the more desperate and sickening.
What on earth are you on about this right wing media nonsense
This is Labour defenestrating their sitting PM all on their own
The right wing media set out to destroy Starmer in an orchestrated campaign from day one.
It worked.
Everybody knows it except you it seems.
400 Labour MPs are at liberty to ignore the right-wing press, no?
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?
You sure? The usual abbreviation is CUW for Curacao West Indies
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?
You sure? The usual abbreviation is CUW for Curacao West Indies
“Tell everybody, waiting for superman That they should try to hold on the best they can He hasn’t dropped them Forgot them Or anything It’s just to heavy for superman To lift”
"‘You can’t walk away’: Lady Starmer leading fight for PM to stay on Keir Starmer’s wobbles will be calmed by his ‘rock,’ Downing Street insiders insist" (£)
"‘You can’t walk away’: Lady Starmer leading fight for PM to stay on Keir Starmer’s wobbles will be calmed by his ‘rock,’ Downing Street insiders insist" (£)
“Tell everybody, waiting for superman That they should try to hold on the best they can He hasn’t dropped them Forgot them Or anything It’s just to heavy for superman To lift”
I was hoping that he wouldn't be President when the handover took place but the old Air Force One was retired today and the new one is online. I don't like the new colour scheme.
2nd USA goal looks like an utter shocker that it was overturned by VAR. Remove the offside player and both the keeper and crucially the defender are far more likely to be able to stop the scorer
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Since Biblical times. The sovereign nation-state has to be invented and reinvented constantly. See Ernest Renan’s lecture “What is a Nation?” in 1882. The minute we worked out how to ford a river or cross a desert we ran the risk of "us" splitting into "good us like me" and "bad us like them". It sounds stupid but people really have to do this. Although in fairness, it's also the job of the King.
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.
The underspending was £169,000 on a budget of £417,000,000. That’s 0.04%
It hardly lives up to the enthusiasm of the headline
"Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure nineteen six, result happiness. Annual income twenty pounds, annual expenditure twenty pounds nought and six, result misery."
Not yet it seems, I thought he'd go with Dykes after Shanklands performance v Haiti. He may start Dykes up top alone v Brazil
Dykes is more Australian standard than Scotland.
He's a good heritage on him big Lyndon, family near Dumfries.
Another Doonhamer, Grant Hanley has the small task of keeping Vinicius jnr at bay on Wed nite/Thurs morn. Just as well that guy is no good
THey say the first half a yard of pace is in the brain.
Lyndon and Grant, who I've seen play quite regularly are 100% hard working good guys but f me, at this level they'd need 5 seconds mental awareness to make up for complete lack of physical pace!
YouGov polling for The Times found that voters have significant doubts about an Andy Burnham premiership, with 79 per cent saying they knew nothing or little about Starmer’s probable successor.
How many politicians would the "Voters" actually know much about in this day and age when most Voters are switched off to anything but X and othr social media.
To equate "don't know much about" to having "significant doubts" too is something of a dangerous link.
This would apply to probably all but a handful of current or recent politicians, take out Starmer, Sunak, Truss , Boris, Farage ? who else would any more that 21% actually claim to know much about?
Not yet it seems, I thought he'd go with Dykes after Shanklands performance v Haiti. He may start Dykes up top alone v Brazil
Dykes is more Australian standard than Scotland.
He's a good heritage on him big Lyndon, family near Dumfries.
Another Doonhamer, Grant Hanley has the small task of keeping Vinicius jnr at bay on Wed nite/Thurs morn. Just as well that guy is no good
THey say the first half a yard of pace is in the brain.
Lyndon and Grant, who I've seen play quite regularly are 100% hard working good guys but f me, at this level they'd need 5 seconds mental awareness to make up for complete lack of physical pace!
Signalling should always fail to red (it's known as a "right-side" failure) if there's a problem or failure to synch data, or co-ordinate train pathing, so incidents like this should never happen. And, across billions of other train journeys, they don't. We have an excellent record and train travel in this country is very, very safe.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
He might unite many liberals and the left behind him, Reform and increasingly Tory voters though are not fans of Burnham
You're seeing things through the ideological lens of someone interested in and who follows politics. Freedman circulated some research from the politics professor at Nuffield, Oxford yesterday that made the point that a lot of voters simply want what they termed 'valence' - " the non-ideological things that matter to practically everyone, regardless of which ideological ‘bloc’ they belong to: competence, delivery, commitment to people’s primary concerns" - and that these issues can override more ideological issues for many of them. They suggest " the British electorate has been primarily punishing the two largest parties on the issues of competence, or failures in competence, and for the primary issue of the cost of living, and feelings of economic insecurity", and that this underpins much of the support for Reform and the Greens.
Whether or not Burnham can address and deliver those things is another question entirely - as the professor goes on to set out in the rest of her piece - but it's not as simple as saying that Reform and Tory voters "are not fans of Burnham". Not least because, very clearly, many Makerfield voters who backed Reform in local elections last month just voted for Burnham this month.
How does a collision between two trains even happen? You would think that there would be computer safeguards these days
It seems extraordinary and on what also looks a straight section of line
Does a collision not just require a signalling error? Or a failure in status reporting on a junction?
It does not, however, look like a high speed collision - judging by the published photographs. We are fortunate in not having smashed up coaches spread all over the surrounding area.
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.)
The Light, IIRC, is available online for free. We looked at it in a training course on conspiracy theories. It’s full of various nutty theories, lots around medicine. It’s well written, they know how to push their case. It mimics a scientific tone. It’s not wholly right-wing and MAGA friendly.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
He might unite many liberals and the left behind him, Reform and increasingly Tory voters though are not fans of Burnham
You're seeing things through the ideological lens of someone interested in and who follows politics. Freedman circulated some research from the politics professor at Nuffield, Oxford yesterday that made the point that a lot of voters simply want what they termed 'valence' - " the non-ideological things that matter to practically everyone, regardless of which ideological ‘bloc’ they belong to: competence, delivery, commitment to people’s primary concerns" - and that these issues can override more ideological issues for many of them. They suggest " the British electorate has been primarily punishing the two largest parties on the issues of competence, or failures in competence, and for the primary issue of the cost of living, and feelings of economic insecurity", and that this underpins much of the support for Reform and the Greens.
Whether or not Burnham can address and deliver those things is another question entirely - as the professor goes on to set out in the rest of her piece - but it's not as simple as saying that Reform and Tory voters "are not fans of Burnham". Not least because, very clearly, many Makerfield voters who backed Reform in local elections last month just voted for Burnham this month.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
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.)
The Light, IIRC, is available online for free. We looked at it in a training course on conspiracy theories. It’s full of various nutty theories, lots around medicine. It’s well written, they know how to push their case. It mimics a scientific tone. It’s not wholly right-wing and MAGA friendly.
It looks pretty resolutely right-wing to me, unless Wiki is lying...
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
But this at least was definitely and unequivocally of Starmer's own doing. Every previous Prime Minister acknowledged they were Prime Minister for everyone whether they voted for them or not. The Presidents of France explicitly say the same. But no, Starmer said he was Prime Minister for those who voted for him and the rest of us were "Free to Leave". Well Keir, the time has come and you are free to leave, the most despised leader this country has had since 1689. Don't lose you seal in the Thames on your way out !
2nd USA goal looks like an utter shocker that it was overturned by VAR. Remove the offside player and both the keeper and crucially the defender are far more likely to be able to stop the scorer
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
Not sure that everyone was behind Churchill. He lost a landslide election when the war was still underway against Japan, and there was a VONC in 1942 concerning Churchill's conduct of the war.
Over recent years we have had such turnover of MPs from purges and one landslide then another that few MPs have deep roots in Parliament and how to conduct themselves. It is part of the explanation why we are shortly onto our 7th PM in a decade. It seems we are more like the Italians than they are themselves now.
2nd USA goal looks like an utter shocker that it was overturned by VAR. Remove the offside player and both the keeper and crucially the defender are far more likely to be able to stop the scorer
Hw was clearly "active". Very poor decision
i thought the shot hit an australian player rendering everyone onside?
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
But this at least was definitely and unequivocally of Starmer's own doing. Every previous Prime Minister acknowledged they were Prime Minister for everyone whether they voted for them or not. The Presidents of France explicitly say the same. But no, Starmer said he was Prime Minister for those who voted for him and the rest of us were "Free to Leave". Well Keir, the time has come and you are free to leave, the most despised leader this country has had since 1689. Don't lose you seal in the Thames on your way out !
and that comment was addressed at the labour party and it's members not the whole country
2nd USA goal looks like an utter shocker that it was overturned by VAR. Remove the offside player and both the keeper and crucially the defender are far more likely to be able to stop the scorer
Hw was clearly "active". Very poor decision
i thought the shot hit an australian player rendering everyone onside?
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
But this at least was definitely and unequivocally of Starmer's own doing. Every previous Prime Minister acknowledged they were Prime Minister for everyone whether they voted for them or not. The Presidents of France explicitly say the same. But no, Starmer said he was Prime Minister for those who voted for him and the rest of us were "Free to Leave". Well Keir, the time has come and you are free to leave, the most despised leader this country has had since 1689. Don't lose you seal in the Thames on your way out !
@A_View_From_Cumbria5 You are so disingenuous it is unbelievable. You are not a member of the Labour Party. He wasn’t talking to you or anyone else but instead suggesting those in the Labour Party - most of whom DID vote for him - were free to leave THE LABOUR PARTY.
Please retract this rubbish or post evidence that he said what he did. He’s a poor PM but the fact you have to make up bullshit shows you’re a terrible poster.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
Since when did we expect it to be the job of politicians to unite people rather than to govern effectively?
Churchill?
Degrees of uniting people. There's the "All behind you, Winston" of the David Low cartoon. Wartime Churchill probably was the last PM to manage that, and that's probably for the best... You need wartime for that degree of unity to work.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
Not sure that everyone was behind Churchill. He lost a landslide election when the war was still underway against Japan, and there was a VONC in 1942 concerning Churchill's conduct of the war.
Over recent years we have had such turnover of MPs from purges and one landslide then another that few MPs have deep roots in Parliament and how to conduct themselves. It is part of the explanation why we are shortly onto our 7th PM in a decade. It seems we are more like the Italians than they are themselves now.
Spot on re Churchill who had FAR MORE SUPPORT from Attlee and the left than The Tory and Fascist Right Wing whipped up by Nazi supporting and entranced Press Barons and whose Newspapers who to this day still churn out fascist leaning racist tripe called the Daily Mail, Daily Express and Daily Telegraph.
Those who actively wanted a pact with Hitler to attack Russia and Stalin.
Maybe Andy Burnham is the figure that can finally unite the country. He deserves a chance at that.
He might unite many liberals and the left behind him, Reform and increasingly Tory voters though are not fans of Burnham
You're seeing things through the ideological lens of someone interested in and who follows politics. Freedman circulated some research from the politics professor at Nuffield, Oxford yesterday that made the point that a lot of voters simply want what they termed 'valence' - " the non-ideological things that matter to practically everyone, regardless of which ideological ‘bloc’ they belong to: competence, delivery, commitment to people’s primary concerns" - and that these issues can override more ideological issues for many of them. They suggest " the British electorate has been primarily punishing the two largest parties on the issues of competence, or failures in competence, and for the primary issue of the cost of living, and feelings of economic insecurity", and that this underpins much of the support for Reform and the Greens.
Whether or not Burnham can address and deliver those things is another question entirely - as the professor goes on to set out in the rest of her piece - but it's not as simple as saying that Reform and Tory voters "are not fans of Burnham". Not least because, very clearly, many Makerfield voters who backed Reform in local elections last month just voted for Burnham this month.
Many one nation centre Tory's would find Burnham far more palatable than Starmer and would find him far more palatable in non Tory of Labour v Reform seats than a Tory Party desperately trying to mimic Farage on the increasingly less real problem of immifgration and illegal migration and denial of Climate Change.
Looks like the two matches this evening could be competitive: Netherlands v Sweden, Germany v Ivory Coast
Spoken to quite a few Dutch fans this week, lots come down to the SW in June who are hopeful rather than confident in the current generation of Dutch players. Many come to pay homage to William Of Orange who allegedly first set foot in the UK at Brixham where there is a Statue to commemorate the occasion. Christ he's a lot to answer for!
Comments
More believable would be that he can articulate a better plan and direction for the Labour government and deliver some competent governance that people grudgingly accept to make the next election a much tighter affair than the current polls, but even that feels like its only a possibility rather than anything more concrete than that.
No one was aware of it.
They are a very decent side indeed.
I have a feeling it's an African side's year this year.
Steve Clarke's usual tactic is to make changes late in the game, so I wouldn't be surprised if we dont see Gannon Doak, Shankland or Dykes til after 60 mins.
I'd argue this Morocco team is better than the one which made the semi finals last time, same routine as France 98, long ball over the top,deadly quick on the break, too sharp for the Scots defence
While theres only one goal in it Clarke will drill into them to hang on, they'll get a decent chance. Good odds most 3rd place teams with 3 points get through (as it stands)
He is dumb as a brick.
Another Morocco goal will finish this, subs needed for Scotland
Keir Starmer’s wobbles will be calmed by his ‘rock,’ Downing Street insiders insist" (£)
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/06/19/lady-starmer-leads-fight-pm-stay-on/
Relying on McSweeney and Reeves was a very bad idea.
I haven't seen the Scots robbed like that since England stole all her oil.
Now for the greatest world cup shock ever, Haiti to beat Brazil, we can still win the group on yellow cards if everyone get 4 points.
https://www.betfair.com/exchange/plus/football/market/1.258055739
Another Doonhamer, Grant Hanley has the small task of keeping Vinicius jnr at bay on Wed nite/Thurs morn. Just as well that guy is no good
That they should try to hold on the best they can
He hasn’t dropped them
Forgot them
Or anything
It’s just to heavy
for superman
To lift”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-JvatKwnTK4
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn8kz80n157o
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=LZRB9ZoYf3s
In short: they have redecorated and I don't like it.
https://www.theguardian.com/sport/2026/jun/19/rew-feels-brunt-of-archers-ire-after-brute-of-a-week-for-england-rookie
https://www.dailymail.com/news/article-15914757/Beijing-Triad-gangs-crime-wage-war-Britain-Chinese-Communist-Party-migrants.html
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2026/jun/16/algae-trump-lincoln-memorial-reflecting-pool
Lyndon and Grant, who I've seen play quite regularly are 100% hard working good guys but f me, at this level they'd need 5 seconds mental awareness to make up for complete lack of physical pace!
To equate "don't know much about" to having "significant doubts" too is something of a dangerous link.
This would apply to probably all but a handful of current or recent politicians, take out Starmer, Sunak, Truss , Boris, Farage ? who else would any more that 21% actually claim to know much about?
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/PpcWuBqXJIk
Jack Charlton describes Bobby Moore's complete lack of pace in a 1-minute clip.
https://www.youtube.com/shorts/-4JbC2sYAHE
I'm not convinced branding as such is new; more that Burnham has worked on it.
https://www.abc.net.au/news/2026-06-20/world-cup-laws-paraguay-miguel-almirón-sent-off-covering-mouth/106823206?utm_source=Bluesky&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=bluesky_news.abc.net.au
I quite like 10 seconds for substituted players to get off the pitch and 5 seconds for goal kicks and throw ins.
Team ventriloquism coaches are surely on the horizon.
Signalling should always fail to red (it's known as a "right-side" failure) if there's a problem or failure to synch data, or co-ordinate train pathing, so incidents like this should never happen. And, across billions of other train journeys, they don't. We have an excellent record and train travel in this country is very, very safe.
So what went wrong?
Whether or not Burnham can address and deliver those things is another question entirely - as the professor goes on to set out in the rest of her piece - but it's not as simple as saying that Reform and Tory voters "are not fans of Burnham". Not least because, very clearly, many Makerfield voters who backed Reform in local elections last month just voted for Burnham this month.
It does not, however, look like a high speed collision - judging by the published photographs. We are fortunate in not having smashed up coaches spread all over the surrounding area.
What's more alarming is the lack of "loyal opposition to an acknowledged PM" thing. One of the questions Starmer has never successfully answered is how to respond to the "you're not my REAL PM" from the Kevins to his left and right. Then again, neither did Sunak or May. Truss didn't have time to be asked that. Johnson could initially point to his huge majority, but that effect didn't last. And then we're back to Cameron.
Looking forward, it's pretty easy to see how the strange structure of Burnham's mandate would come back to bite him if things turn sour.
You could say that's a character failure of their leadership. Fair enough, but it's not obvious who the better-but-cruelly-denied Prime Ministers We Never Had were. Some of what we've seen is also a failure of followership, I suspect because society has atomised. And that's going to be much harder to fix.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Light_(newspaper)
Organisations are singular.
Over recent years we have had such turnover of MPs from purges and one landslide then another that few MPs have deep roots in Parliament and how to conduct themselves. It is part of the explanation why we are shortly onto our 7th PM in a decade. It seems we are more like the Italians than they are themselves now.
https://www.fifa.com/en/watch/1uOCG5cpsR45kemo4IdCO3?autoplay=true
https://pa.media/blogs/fact-check/fact-check-sir-keir-starmer-told-labour-members-the-door-is-open-to-leave/
Please retract this rubbish or post evidence that he said what he did. He’s a poor PM but the fact you have to make up bullshit shows you’re a terrible poster.
Better?
Those who actively wanted a pact with Hitler to attack Russia and Stalin.