A coronation is clearly in the best interests of the country and the party.
Burnham has shown he can win an election and he is what MPs want. I don't understand what having a contest will achieve except paralysing the country, for Burnham to win anyway.
He isn't running to just be Labour leader but PM and running the UK and representing us on the world stage. He is also proposing policies left of what Starmer was elected to deliver, he should be tested by Starmer and Streeting in a full leadership contest before he enters Downing Street
Streeting doesn't have the numbers. How many times do I have to say this?
A contest for the sake of a contest isn’t worth it. Why are you so invested in the success of a government you want to fail anyway? And don’t insult my intelligence with some “for the good of the country” bollocks.
Well Streeting clearly thinks it is and says he has the 80 MPs to nominate him to stand. Starmer also thinks it is and says he will contest any Burnham leadership challenge and as incumbent Labour leader would automatically be on the ballot sent to Labour members
Leaders always say they won't quit. If we never doubt their own words i guess we imagined all the leaders who have quit over the years.
And leadership wannabes often say they have more supporters signed up than they do. That's when they don't hold some back to create the illusion of a bandwaggon.
Heck, MPs sometimes even promise their loyalty to multiple leadership hopefuls.
Shocking how much these politicians say things that aren't true.
The only thing that's more shocking is how credulous many of our top political hacks are.
I assume they aren't, but it's part of the rules of the game, like us overreacting to early results or football commentators not calling out obvious diving and fake injuries.
A coronation is clearly in the best interests of the country and the party.
Burnham has shown he can win an election and he is what MPs want. I don't understand what having a contest will achieve except paralysing the country, for Burnham to win anyway.
He isn't running to just be Labour leader but PM and running the UK and representing us on the world stage. He is also proposing policies left of what Starmer was elected to deliver, he should be tested by Starmer and Streeting in a full leadership contest before he enters Downing Street
Streeting doesn't have the numbers. How many times do I have to say this?
A contest for the sake of a contest isn’t worth it. Why are you so invested in the success of a government you want to fail anyway? And don’t insult my intelligence with some “for the good of the country” bollocks.
Well Streeting clearly thinks it is and says he has the 80 MPs to nominate him to stand. Starmer also thinks it is and says he will contest any Burnham leadership challenge and as incumbent Labour leader would automatically be on the ballot sent to Labour members
Leaders always say they won't quit. If we never doubt their own words i guess we imagined all the leaders who have quit over the years.
Unlike Tory leadership contests though where MPs alone can remove a leader, only Labour members can remove a Labour leader
That is not true
100 Labour mps want Starmer out so they can take his legislation down or they can decide on a coronation
It is true, hence Corbyn remained Labour leader in 2016 after winning a members ballot despite most Labour MPs nominating his opponent Owen Smith
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
Liquidised grannies.
Unless the granny is the Prime Minister of Ireland, in which case it's Nantseach
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
Butter, spring onions, veg stock, white wine, lemon juice and zest, crème fraiche, parsley, chives and dill (ingredients can vary)
Cooking the fish sous vide has changed fish for me
The texture and taste are both massively improved. It’s a bit more of a pain in the arse to cook than frying, grilling or baking. But it’s worth the extra time, and near impossible to overcook the fish
Apparently you can buy a sous vide machine and a vacuum sealer. I make do with a large pan of water, a digital thermometer, an electric hob and ziplock bags
I love fish cooked at 48°C
And I did make the sauce with Muscadet for Mum’s birthday, but have a Bordeaux white for tonight
I don't agree with too many of her policies but fair play she's hugely impressive
Other than Berlusconi I think she may have the longest uniterrupted period as PM since the 60s.
Less than 4 years, but that's Italy for you (and us thesedays).
Meloni is singularly impressive not least putting Trump back in his box
My wife and I were talking last night and all the conflicts in the world are at the behest of men
Time to appoint more women
Indeed, for all the abuse she receives Kemi is the only woman leader of a UK wide party and a black woman who has quite a back story
And labour are still not going to appoint a woman leader/PM
For a moment there I thought you were praising my Trump stance.
In encouraging @Taz next holiday planning news, I've found a place in Selcuk that serves a large Tuborg for 150 lira or approximately £2.50.
(Tuborg Gold is, bizarrely, one of the top two Turkish beers. All goes back to a clever JV - pre-Carlsberg takeover - and even cleverer marketing, despite bans on TV advertising, that knocked Efes off its monopolistic perch. I was drinking it in Copenhagen last week, and I'm drinking it in Ephesus today).
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
Yes, that's kind of it. Leaving Wes out of it, how many ministers have been good at their brief and invested in it. Jenkins used the Home Secretaryship to undertake a liberalisation program, Lansley used Health to crowbar market forces into the NHS ad absurdum, Lawson shadowed the Deutschmark, Milliband is turning Britain Green and damn the consequences. All these people believed in their mission and largely carried it out. Who else?
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
Butter, spring onions, veg stock, white wine, lemon juice and zest, crème fraiche, parsley, chives and dill (ingredients can vary)
Cooking the fish sous vide has changed fish for me
The texture and taste are both massively improved. It’s a bit more of a pain in the arse to cook than frying, grilling or baking. But it’s worth the extra time, and near impossible to overcook the fish
Apparently you can buy a sous vide machine and a vacuum sealer. I make do with a large pan of water, a digital thermometer, an electric hob and ziplock bags
I love fish cooked at 48°C
Just put it out in the sun next week during Malcolm's "global warming my arse" warm spell. Sous soleil.
Cooking very low in the oven has the same effect, and uses virtually no electricity despite the fear of this. I've not tried with fish though.
It transformed pork fillet for me. Those dick-shaped things that look nice in the packet but are a bugger to cook right. 6 hours at 50 or 55C (depending whether the oven runs hot or cool), then a quick flash fry - or vice versa. From the trickiest toughest meat that's either inedible or raw, to something dead posh.
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
No way he's offered a promotion from where he was before.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
Butter, spring onions, veg stock, white wine, lemon juice and zest, crème fraiche, parsley, chives and dill (ingredients can vary)
Cooking the fish sous vide has changed fish for me
The texture and taste are both massively improved. It’s a bit more of a pain in the arse to cook than frying, grilling or baking. But it’s worth the extra time, and near impossible to overcook the fish
Apparently you can buy a sous vide machine and a vacuum sealer. I make do with a large pan of water, a digital thermometer, an electric hob and ziplock bags
I love fish cooked at 48°C
Just put it out in the sun next week during Malcolm's "global warming my arse" warm spell. Sous soleil.
Cooking very low in the oven has the same effect, and uses virtually no electricity despite the fear of this. I've not tried with fish though.
It transformed pork fillet for me. Those dick-shaped things that look nice in the packet but are a bugger to cook right. 6 hours at 50 or 55C (depending whether the oven runs hot or cool), then a quick flash fry - or vice versa. From the trickiest toughest meat that's either inedible or raw, to something dead posh.
It doesn’t take as long as meat, only about an hour for a fish fillet. And it doesn’t need a slow cook; it’s just the best way of bringing it to that perfect temperature, texture and taste
I love slow and low cooking meat, but it’s a different game from sous vide fish
A coronation is clearly in the best interests of the country and the party.
Burnham has shown he can win an election and he is what MPs want. I don't understand what having a contest will achieve except paralysing the country, for Burnham to win anyway.
He isn't running to just be Labour leader but PM and running the UK and representing us on the world stage. He is also proposing policies left of what Starmer was elected to deliver, he should be tested by Starmer and Streeting in a full leadership contest before he enters Downing Street
But that's a tiny, totally unrepresentative electorate. Labour members.
Why aren't you calling for a GE if you're worried about lack of scrutiny and mandate?
Labour MPs too who nominate the candidates. Starmer would also contest as incumbent.
The winner can face the voters still at the next general election as well
Ok. But if it's a coronation that will effectively be the clear and settled will of Labour MPs. They'll have pressured Starmer to stand down and not supplied 81+ nominations to anyone bar AB as a replacement.
When it comes to legitimacy for appointing a PM there are two candidates: the voters in a general election, (with the king having a tie breaker when there is conflict or doubt) and outside that, the MPs of the party sustaining the government of the day. But not the party members.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
Labour is NOT in opposition - if Labour want to change lead it's up to their MPs.
Last thing we need is a set of people who want even more for themselves getting to pick the candidate who offers them most sweeties.
I think the United (Opposed To Everything) Kingdom is apt .
Nothing gets done because politicians are too frightened to tell some home truths . Put taxes up to pay for defence opposed, try and build anything opposed , try and deal with social care opposed etc .
The public just aren’t interested in anyone telling them the reality so just want to continue down the path into la la land .
I think this is wrong.
Politicians have bought into the focus group bullshit to the point they don’t want to upset anyone.
This leads to upsetting everyone.
See the driving test farce.
Yes - but you have to decide your priorities. People will normally accept governments pursuing one or two unpopular policies if they seem part of a generally acceptable whole - they tend to accept that unwelcome decisions may be needed if the general picture is right. For example, I don't favour monarchy, but I wouldn't advise any party to make abolition of the monarchy a key objective - people would rightly feel that the government wasn't attending primarily to improving their lives.
For me, the key Labour policy should be improving the situation of the poorer half of society, ideally through measures such as improved education which pay an economic benefit in the long run as well. If that means that comfortably-off people (like me) are paying more tax, that's OK.
Can we start, whoever replaces Starmer, with the removal of Phillipson? She's utterly mad, and comes across as a rather nasty piece of work to boot.
I can't imagine, to take only the obvious examples, why she thinks extending Gove's policies on academies, defunding proper teacher training programmes to extend the lunacy that is Teach First and crippling an already buckling SEND system is going to do anything to improve children's education.
But really she should just be sacked for that truly ghastly video with Gemma Collins.
Phillipson is a gender-critical feminist who was appointed as Minister for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities to do gender-critical things, which she is doing thoroughly. The education of children and the pursuit of equality is not relevant although if it happens then that is a happy accident.
Entirely off thread, but I'm having a lovely day. My daughter and I are cycling coast to coast in aid of her trip nezt year to do voluntary work in Cambodia. 50 miles today, 50 milea tomorrow. The weather is being implausibly kind and the North of England ia beautiful. There is much of Northern Cumbria which is new to me - Silloth is surprisingly impressive with its views over the Solway - and, in the sunshine, the lanes and small villages between the Lake District and the Solway are gorgeous, with wide views to Scotland, the Pennines and the Cumbrian Fells. I particularly enjoyed the band of sandstone villages south of Carlisle. We are now in Haltwhistle, opposite the Centre of Britain hotel and just down the street from the Centre of Britain launderette. Haltwhistle is full of exuberant teenagers, presumably revelling in GCSEs and A Levels being over and the joy of being young and free and at large in the summer.
All downhill from here. Except for the absolute bastard of a climb up to the Stanegate tomorrow morning to avoid the A69.
Here are our bikes at Silloth, dipping their wheels in the Irish Sea (sort of - it seemed above and beyond the call of duty to pilot them all the way out to the waterline given the tide, and they needed to be rescued from sinking into the wet sand shortly after this. (It would have been a poor start to the adventure to lose our bikes to quicksand.)
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
Entirely off thread, but I'm having a lovely day. My daughter and I are cycling coast to coast in aid of her trip nezt year to do voluntary work in Cambodia. 50 miles today, 50 milea tomorrow. The weather is being implausibly kind and the North of England ia beautiful. There is much of Northern Cumbria which is new to me - Silloth is surprisingly impressive with its views over the Solway - and, in the sunshine, the lanes and small villages between the Lake District and the Solway are gorgeous, with wide views to Scotland, the Pennines and the Cumbrian Fells. I particularly enjoyed the band of sandstone villages south of Carlisle. We are now in Haltwhistle, opposite the Centre of Britain hotel and just down the street from the Centre of Britain launderette. Haltwhistle is full of exuberant teenagers, presumably revelling in GCSEs and A Levels being over and the joy of being young and free and at large in the summer.
All downhill from here. Except for the absolute bastard of a climb up to the Stanegate tomorrow morning to avoid the A69.
Here are our bikes at Silloth, dipping their wheels in the Irish Sea (sort of - it seemed above and beyond the call of duty to pilot them all the way out to the waterline given the tide, and they needed to be rescued from sinking into the wet sand shortly after this.
Happy news! Lacking a picture of a happy dog, but still pleasant to hear, thank you.
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
Entirely off thread, but I'm having a lovely day. My daughter and I are cycling coast to coast in aid of her trip nezt year to do voluntary work in Cambodia. 50 miles today, 50 milea tomorrow. The weather is being implausibly kind and the North of England ia beautiful. There is much of Northern Cumbria which is new to me - Silloth is surprisingly impressive with its views over the Solway - and, in the sunshine, the lanes and small villages between the Lake District and the Solway are gorgeous, with wide views to Scotland, the Pennines and the Cumbrian Fells. I particularly enjoyed the band of sandstone villages south of Carlisle. We are now in Haltwhistle, opposite the Centre of Britain hotel and just down the street from the Centre of Britain launderette. Haltwhistle is full of exuberant teenagers, presumably revelling in GCSEs and A Levels being over and the joy of being young and free and at large in the summer.
All downhill from here. Except for the absolute bastard of a climb up to the Stanegate tomorrow morning to avoid the A69.
Here are our bikes at Silloth, dipping their wheels in the Irish Sea (sort of - it seemed above and beyond the call of duty to pilot them all the way out to the waterline given the tide, and they needed to be rescued from sinking into the wet sand shortly after this.
Happy news! Lacking a picture of a happy dog, but still pleasant to hear, thank you.
That's rather an impolite way to refer to @Cookie 's daughter.
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
I’ve become quite obsessed by cooking fish sous vide since the revelation of sous vide monkfish in Nantes
I’ve cooked monkfish (twice; once for my mum’s birthday dinner last week, when it went down very well), cod, haddock, sea bass and salmon (twice; I love how the salmon still looks carrot coloured once it’s properly cooked)
Tonight I’m going to have hake, with a Nantaise sauce, green vegetables and fries
Sounds lovely. What does Nantaise sauce contain? Muscadet, surely.
Butter, spring onions, veg stock, white wine, lemon juice and zest, crème fraiche, parsley, chives and dill (ingredients can vary)
Cooking the fish sous vide has changed fish for me
The texture and taste are both massively improved. It’s a bit more of a pain in the arse to cook than frying, grilling or baking. But it’s worth the extra time, and near impossible to overcook the fish
Apparently you can buy a sous vide machine and a vacuum sealer. I make do with a large pan of water, a digital thermometer, an electric hob and ziplock bags
I love fish cooked at 48°C
Just put it out in the sun next week during Malcolm's "global warming my arse" warm spell. Sous soleil.
Cooking very low in the oven has the same effect, and uses virtually no electricity despite the fear of this. I've not tried with fish though.
It transformed pork fillet for me. Those dick-shaped things that look nice in the packet but are a bugger to cook right. 6 hours at 50 or 55C (depending whether the oven runs hot or cool), then a quick flash fry - or vice versa. From the trickiest toughest meat that's either inedible or raw, to something dead posh.
It doesn’t take as long as meat, only about an hour for a fish fillet. And it doesn’t need a slow cook; it’s just the best way of bringing it to that perfect temperature, texture and taste
I love slow and low cooking meat, but it’s a different game from sous vide fish
Use BPA-free bags if you can please - those made for the purpose should be. You don't want monkfish with a side order of developing mammary glands or worse.
Now they want to jeopardise the global economy to keep Bibi out of stir and give Bart a boner
There are two resources in Lebanon that are highly valuable to Israel. The first is land and the second is water. Extending control to the Litani has the same effect as controlling the West Bank's access to the Jordan i.e. the WB doesn't have any access as it is all under military control. There is a long term desire (promised land, chosen people) to increase control of land even if borders are somewhat flexible. The main issue is how to you reach peaceful agreement with the people whose land you have just taken? I suggest Israel doesn't actually care much in the same way most settlers throughout history don't care (and I include Britain in that)
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
So did Goebels.
Lads. I don't think Ed has won over @Luckyguy1983 to his case! Time for a rethink?
A coronation is clearly in the best interests of the country and the party.
Burnham has shown he can win an election and he is what MPs want. I don't understand what having a contest will achieve except paralysing the country, for Burnham to win anyway.
He isn't running to just be Labour leader but PM and running the UK and representing us on the world stage. He is also proposing policies left of what Starmer was elected to deliver, he should be tested by Starmer and Streeting in a full leadership contest before he enters Downing Street
But that's a tiny, totally unrepresentative electorate. Labour members.
Why aren't you calling for a GE if you're worried about lack of scrutiny and mandate?
Labour MPs too who nominate the candidates. Starmer would also contest as incumbent.
The winner can face the voters still at the next general election as well
Ok. But if it's a coronation that will effectively be the clear and settled will of Labour MPs. They'll have pressured Starmer to stand down and not supplied 81+ nominations to anyone bar AB as a replacement.
When it comes to legitimacy for appointing a PM there are two candidates: the voters in a general election, (with the king having a tie breaker when there is conflict or doubt) and outside that, the MPs of the party sustaining the government of the day. But not the party members.
Yes I'm happy with either coronation or MP vote. I don't, as a member, want a vote on it.
He overstates the case - too obviously a pro-Wes post - but I Ed should stay in energy. He actually has a passion for his brief, and a clear policy programme even if it's divisive. Wes would be a reasonably reassuring chancellor for the markets.
So did Goebels.
Shit joke, worse spelling.
Meh. I don't know how to spell the name and did not consider it important enough to look it up. As for the quality of the quip, there are a few people on PB whose estimation on that score I might be mildly interested in - you're definitely not one of them.
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
I think the United (Opposed To Everything) Kingdom is apt .
Nothing gets done because politicians are too frightened to tell some home truths . Put taxes up to pay for defence opposed, try and build anything opposed , try and deal with social care opposed etc .
The public just aren’t interested in anyone telling them the reality so just want to continue down the path into la la land .
I think this is wrong.
Politicians have bought into the focus group bullshit to the point they don’t want to upset anyone.
This leads to upsetting everyone.
See the driving test farce.
Yes - but you have to decide your priorities. People will normally accept governments pursuing one or two unpopular policies if they seem part of a generally acceptable whole - they tend to accept that unwelcome decisions may be needed if the general picture is right. For example, I don't favour monarchy, but I wouldn't advise any party to make abolition of the monarchy a key objective - people would rightly feel that the government wasn't attending primarily to improving their lives.
For me, the key Labour policy should be improving the situation of the poorer half of society, ideally through measures such as improved education which pay an economic benefit in the long run as well. If that means that comfortably-off people (like me) are paying more tax, that's OK.
Can we start, whoever replaces Starmer, with the removal of Phillipson? She's utterly mad, and comes across as a rather nasty piece of work to boot.
I can't imagine, to take only the obvious examples, why she thinks extending Gove's policies on academies, defunding proper teacher training programmes to extend the lunacy that is Teach First and crippling an already buckling SEND system is going to do anything to improve children's education.
But really she should just be sacked for that truly ghastly video with Gemma Collins.
Phillipson is a gender-critical feminist who was appointed as Minister for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities to do gender-critical things, which she is doing thoroughly. The education of children and the pursuit of equality is not relevant although if it happens then that is a happy accident.
I think the United (Opposed To Everything) Kingdom is apt .
Nothing gets done because politicians are too frightened to tell some home truths . Put taxes up to pay for defence opposed, try and build anything opposed , try and deal with social care opposed etc .
The public just aren’t interested in anyone telling them the reality so just want to continue down the path into la la land .
I think this is wrong.
Politicians have bought into the focus group bullshit to the point they don’t want to upset anyone.
This leads to upsetting everyone.
See the driving test farce.
Yes - but you have to decide your priorities. People will normally accept governments pursuing one or two unpopular policies if they seem part of a generally acceptable whole - they tend to accept that unwelcome decisions may be needed if the general picture is right. For example, I don't favour monarchy, but I wouldn't advise any party to make abolition of the monarchy a key objective - people would rightly feel that the government wasn't attending primarily to improving their lives.
For me, the key Labour policy should be improving the situation of the poorer half of society, ideally through measures such as improved education which pay an economic benefit in the long run as well. If that means that comfortably-off people (like me) are paying more tax, that's OK.
Can we start, whoever replaces Starmer, with the removal of Phillipson? She's utterly mad, and comes across as a rather nasty piece of work to boot.
I can't imagine, to take only the obvious examples, why she thinks extending Gove's policies on academies, defunding proper teacher training programmes to extend the lunacy that is Teach First and crippling an already buckling SEND system is going to do anything to improve children's education.
But really she should just be sacked for that truly ghastly video with Gemma Collins.
Phillipson is a gender-critical feminist who was appointed as Minister for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities to do gender-critical things, which she is doing thoroughly. The education of children and the pursuit of equality is not relevant although if it happens then that is a happy accident.
But completely irrelevant to her objectives.
Thats utter bollocks.
Ask the hundreds of thousands of kids getting good education and fed
BBC commentator at Queen's tennis: "Probably the poshest crowd in the world".
I'd imagine Cowes, Henley regatta and any polo match would rival Queen's.
I can't really comment because I've not been to any, but to paraphrase Groucho Marx, any event I might go to is not going be a the poshest.
Polo is a strange one in the UK as more and more oiks are going so they can fill their insta accounts as the backdrop is aspirational and plenty of good looking people and champagne.
Certain parts of Europe it’s still very exclusive, Paris and Geneva definitely were in my experience, I used to play a bit in Geneva and I felt like a bit of a pleb as the sorts who went were serious old school European money and complicated titles.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
What the feck does the Telegraph know about the Labour Party
I think the United (Opposed To Everything) Kingdom is apt .
Nothing gets done because politicians are too frightened to tell some home truths . Put taxes up to pay for defence opposed, try and build anything opposed , try and deal with social care opposed etc .
The public just aren’t interested in anyone telling them the reality so just want to continue down the path into la la land .
I think this is wrong.
Politicians have bought into the focus group bullshit to the point they don’t want to upset anyone.
This leads to upsetting everyone.
See the driving test farce.
Yes - but you have to decide your priorities. People will normally accept governments pursuing one or two unpopular policies if they seem part of a generally acceptable whole - they tend to accept that unwelcome decisions may be needed if the general picture is right. For example, I don't favour monarchy, but I wouldn't advise any party to make abolition of the monarchy a key objective - people would rightly feel that the government wasn't attending primarily to improving their lives.
For me, the key Labour policy should be improving the situation of the poorer half of society, ideally through measures such as improved education which pay an economic benefit in the long run as well. If that means that comfortably-off people (like me) are paying more tax, that's OK.
Can we start, whoever replaces Starmer, with the removal of Phillipson? She's utterly mad, and comes across as a rather nasty piece of work to boot.
I can't imagine, to take only the obvious examples, why she thinks extending Gove's policies on academies, defunding proper teacher training programmes to extend the lunacy that is Teach First and crippling an already buckling SEND system is going to do anything to improve children's education.
But really she should just be sacked for that truly ghastly video with Gemma Collins.
Phillipson is a gender-critical feminist who was appointed as Minister for Education and Minister for Women and Equalities to do gender-critical things, which she is doing thoroughly. The education of children and the pursuit of equality is not relevant although if it happens then that is a happy accident.
But completely irrelevant to her objectives.
Thats utter bollocks.
Ask the hundreds of thousands of kids getting good education and fed
I'm sorry to say, not least because of the efforts of this government, that the private schools are just not that large.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
What the feck does the Telegraph know about the Labour Party
It's got feck all yo do with them.
They have as much knowledge and right to comment on Labour as you do on the Tories I guess.
Not looking forward to 37 degrees on Wednesday without AC.
There was a lot of concern about the world cup being played in the heat of a North American summer. As it turns out would have been worse in England!
I still think every other WC should be played in a northern winter. It is after all a winter sport
As much as that would suit me, it is a world cup not a european cup and europe accounts for about 10-15% of the worlds population. Different countries have different climates. As long as the conditions are safe, they'll do.
Both the author and the publisher point towards the precise opposite likely being the more sensible course.
Clearly you haven't bothered to read it. As he sensibly points out parties who anoint their leaders midterm without even a full leadership campaign tend to not be rewarded by voters. See Brown and Sunak, Home and arguably May
Since I am not yet old enough to be reading the Telegraph, you certainly aren’t.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
The Tories love this stage managed hustings shit
Go around flanneling the gereatric gentry and garden parties aka toff piss ups.
Goes on and on, achieves feck all but stagnation and drift
It delivered Liz Truss for fecks sake.
Labour should do what Labour do, sort it, get on with it.
He is right. It's the summer months so they have the space to do a proper debate. If he was smart Starmer would do what Michael Howard did: arrange a proper debate between the candidate. That resulted in David Cameron and six years of Conservative or adjacent government.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
The Tories love this stage managed hustings shit
Go around flanneling the gereatric gentry and garden parties aka toff piss ups.
Goes on and on, achieves feck all but stagnation and drift
It delivered Liz Truss for fecks sake.
Labour should do what Labour do, sort it, get on with it.
Peter Cairns suggested offering renewables to the mullahs to get them to make peace. Interesting idea, and one I think worth pursuing, especially if part of an intelligent propaganda campaign.
I have to add that I have no knowledge of Iran's energy needs, which one would need to know in order to evaluate it.
Burnham will govern from the centre right on immigration IMHO
I'm gonna be honest I think no one really knows what he will be like. There has been a lot of projection so far. He is someone who has been in many labour groups over the years. What does the real AB actually think?
Entirely off thread, but I'm having a lovely day. My daughter and I are cycling coast to coast in aid of her trip nezt year to do voluntary work in Cambodia. 50 miles today, 50 milea tomorrow. The weather is being implausibly kind and the North of England ia beautiful. There is much of Northern Cumbria which is new to me - Silloth is surprisingly impressive with its views over the Solway - and, in the sunshine, the lanes and small villages between the Lake District and the Solway are gorgeous, with wide views to Scotland, the Pennines and the Cumbrian Fells. I particularly enjoyed the band of sandstone villages south of Carlisle. We are now in Haltwhistle, opposite the Centre of Britain hotel and just down the street from the Centre of Britain launderette. Haltwhistle is full of exuberant teenagers, presumably revelling in GCSEs and A Levels being over and the joy of being young and free and at large in the summer.
All downhill from here. Except for the absolute bastard of a climb up to the Stanegate tomorrow morning to avoid the A69.
Here are our bikes at Silloth, dipping their wheels in the Irish Sea (sort of - it seemed above and beyond the call of duty to pilot them all the way out to the waterline given the tide, and they needed to be rescued from sinking into the wet sand shortly after this. (It would have been a poor start to the adventure to lose our bikes to quicksand.)
Not far from my home patch where I have been for 35 years. A few miles from your photo there used, incredibly, to be a railway bridge across the Solway linking remote England to remote Scotland. An old friend of mine, who died in this century aged 101, was on that railway journey over the Solway on the day it closed to passengers in 1920.
Burnham will govern from the centre right on immigration IMHO
There is nothing left wing about pretending immigration doesn't need to be fixed which seems to be the position of a big chunk of the Labour parliamentary party. Boris, Jenrick and Braverman left it broken and it needs fixing. Mahmood is doing a decent job so far.
Peter Cairns suggested offering renewables to the mullahs to get them to make peace. Interesting idea, and one I think worth pursuing, especially if part of an intelligent propaganda campaign.
I have to add that I have no knowledge of Iran's energy needs, which one would need to know in order to evaluate it.
POLL: ICE has been abused by the Fake News Media at levels never seen before. They are Great Patriots who work hard, and do a fantastic job in a very hostile environment. Much of this hostility is caused by the Dumocrats and the Fake News. The concept I have had for quite some time — A strong feeling that the name of these Patriots, “ICE,” should be changed to, “NICE,” in that it will totally discombobulate Crooked, Dishonest, and Unpatriotic Reporters and Journalists. For them to say, “We went to a NICE Facility today,” as opposed to “ICE” or, “NICE Agents have deported a Violent Drug Dealer,” they won’t be able to handle it, they will go totally crazy! All it means is adding an “N” (“National”) to “ICE (“Immigration and Customs Enforcement”) — A much more prestigious name. Everyone loves it, but I have been told by the legendary Tom Homan that the Agents do not love it as much as the other population. Who thinks that we should add an “N” to change the name of “ICE” to “NICE?”
Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Peter Cairns suggested offering renewables to the mullahs to get them to make peace. Interesting idea, and one I think worth pursuing, especially if part of an intelligent propaganda campaign.
I have to add that I have no knowledge of Iran's energy needs, which one would need to know in order to evaluate it.
Plutonium is a renewable.
Iran is one of the countries at the frontiest of front lines of climate change. It has already a couple of times recently seen dewpoints that are inevitably fatal for humans (and many animals) even when naked and with limitless water to drink. The zone around the Gulf, particularly on the Northern side, has sickening humidity that is literally deadly. Basically a big shallow soup dish.
Some parts of coastal Pakistan and North India are getting there too.
Peter Cairns suggested offering renewables to the mullahs to get them to make peace. Interesting idea, and one I think worth pursuing, especially if part of an intelligent propaganda campaign.
I have to add that I have no knowledge of Iran's energy needs, which one would need to know in order to evaluate it.
You would have thought oil-fired power stations, or gas if they produce that. Solar might work well, too
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
POLL: ICE has been abused by the Fake News Media at levels never seen before. They are Great Patriots who work hard, and do a fantastic job in a very hostile environment. Much of this hostility is caused by the Dumocrats and the Fake News. The concept I have had for quite some time — A strong feeling that the name of these Patriots, “ICE,” should be changed to, “NICE,” in that it will totally discombobulate Crooked, Dishonest, and Unpatriotic Reporters and Journalists. For them to say, “We went to a NICE Facility today,” as opposed to “ICE” or, “NICE Agents have deported a Violent Drug Dealer,” they won’t be able to handle it, they will go totally crazy! All it means is adding an “N” (“National”) to “ICE (“Immigration and Customs Enforcement”) — A much more prestigious name. Everyone loves it, but I have been told by the legendary Tom Homan that the Agents do not love it as much as the other population. Who thinks that we should add an “N” to change the name of “ICE” to “NICE?”
Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Comments
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/newbies_corner/4972638-new-to-mumsnet-what-are-the-popular-acronyms
My wife and I were talking last night and all the conflicts in the world are at the behest of men
Time to appoint more women
Indeed, for all the abuse she receives Kemi is the only woman leader of a UK wide party and a black woman who has quite a back story
And labour are still not going to appoint a woman leader/PM
@atrupar
JD Vance: "My understanding talking to Steve and Jared this morning is that things are going well ... the United States has all the cards. The straits are now open."
https://x.com/atrupar/status/2068341814889721881
Trump can’t stand that many now think he’s just Netenyahu’s gimp .
Cooking the fish sous vide has changed fish for me
The texture and taste are both massively improved. It’s a bit more of a pain in the arse to cook than frying, grilling or baking. But it’s worth the extra time, and near impossible to overcook the fish
Apparently you can buy a sous vide machine and a vacuum sealer. I make do with a large pan of water, a digital thermometer, an electric hob and ziplock bags
I love fish cooked at 48°C
And I did make the sauce with Muscadet for Mum’s birthday, but have a Bordeaux white for tonight
In encouraging @Taz next holiday planning news, I've found a place in Selcuk that serves a large Tuborg for 150 lira or approximately £2.50.
(Tuborg Gold is, bizarrely, one of the top two Turkish beers. All goes back to a clever JV - pre-Carlsberg takeover - and even cleverer marketing, despite bans on TV advertising, that knocked Efes off its monopolistic perch. I was drinking it in Copenhagen last week, and I'm drinking it in Ephesus today).
Cooking very low in the oven has the same effect, and uses virtually no electricity despite the fear of this. I've not tried with fish though.
It transformed pork fillet for me. Those dick-shaped things that look nice in the packet but are a bugger to cook right. 6 hours at 50 or 55C (depending whether the oven runs hot or cool), then a quick flash fry - or vice versa. From the trickiest toughest meat that's either inedible or raw, to something dead posh.
But Starmer is not smart and will not do that.
I love slow and low cooking meat, but it’s a different game from sous vide fish
I can't really comment because I've not been to any, but to paraphrase Groucho Marx, any event I might go to is not going be a the poshest.
Last thing we need is a set of people who want even more for themselves getting to pick the candidate who offers them most sweeties.
We are now in Haltwhistle, opposite the Centre of Britain hotel and just down the street from the Centre of Britain launderette. Haltwhistle is full of exuberant teenagers, presumably revelling in GCSEs and A Levels being over and the joy of being young and free and at large in the summer.
All downhill from here. Except for the absolute bastard of a climb up to the Stanegate tomorrow morning to avoid the A69.
Here are our bikes at Silloth, dipping their wheels in the Irish Sea (sort of - it seemed above and beyond the call of duty to pilot them all the way out to the waterline given the tide, and they needed to be rescued from sinking into the wet sand shortly after this.
(It would have been a poor start to the adventure to lose our bikes to quicksand.)
40 degree day this summer nailed on.
Ask the hundreds of thousands of kids getting good education and fed
Certain parts of Europe it’s still very exclusive, Paris and Geneva definitely were in my experience, I used to play a bit in Geneva and I felt like a bit of a pleb as the sorts who went were serious old school European money and complicated titles.
It's got feck all yo do with them.
Go around flanneling the gereatric gentry and garden parties aka toff piss ups.
Goes on and on, achieves feck all but stagnation and drift
It delivered Liz Truss for fecks sake.
Labour should do what Labour do, sort it, get on with it.
Don't Dither do it.
Message received
I have to add that I have no knowledge of Iran's energy needs, which one would need to know in order to evaluate it.
Why didn’t they field a vaguely likeable and serious candidate?
https://www.metoffice.gov.uk/api/assets/file/SeasonalAssessment-Spring26pdf?prefix=assets&prefix=assets
https://x.com/obbsie/status/2068317577319752095
https://www.bbc.co.uk/sounds/play/m002xzmn
POLL: ICE has been abused by the Fake News Media at levels never seen before. They are Great Patriots who work hard, and do a fantastic job in a very hostile environment. Much of this hostility is caused by the Dumocrats and the Fake News. The concept I have had for quite some time — A strong feeling that the name of these Patriots, “ICE,” should be changed to, “NICE,” in that it will totally discombobulate Crooked, Dishonest, and Unpatriotic Reporters and Journalists. For them to say, “We went to a NICE Facility today,” as opposed to “ICE” or, “NICE Agents have deported a Violent Drug Dealer,” they won’t be able to handle it, they will go totally crazy! All it means is adding an “N” (“National”) to “ICE (“Immigration and Customs Enforcement”) — A much more prestigious name. Everyone loves it, but I have been told by the legendary Tom Homan that the Agents do not love it as much as the other population. Who thinks that we should add an “N” to change the name of “ICE” to “NICE?”
Thank you for your attention to this matter! President DJT
Some parts of coastal Pakistan and North India are getting there too.