Credit where it’s due, to at least one UK government agency.
Mon 9th June, midday. Mr Sandpit applies for a new passport online.
The website is easy to understand, has a reading age of about 8, uses details from existing passport to verify identity, uploads new photo, no setting up of an ‘account’ or passwords required. Overseas payment card worked just fine. Tracking number given and told to send old passport back to them.
Saturday 27th June, 9am, new passport arrives by courier 3,500 miles from the UK.
19 days total, including three days each way for the courier.
A number of email follow ups given at each stage of the process, often enough to be reassuring but not too often as to be annoying.
Well done to the Passport Office. 👏
Now, how can we get all of the other UK Gov agencies to be this efficient?
There was a guy who worked for David Cameron who did all this. He had private sector/tech experience and was also a SPaD. Forget his name.
Think he nows writes the odd article in the Times/FT.
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
Credit where it’s due, to at least one UK government agency.
Mon 9th June, midday. Mr Sandpit applies for a new passport online.
The website is easy to understand, has a reading age of about 8, uses details from existing passport to verify identity, uploads new photo, no setting up of an ‘account’ or passwords required. Overseas payment card worked just fine. Tracking number given and told to send old passport back to them.
Saturday 27th June, 9am, new passport arrives by courier 3,500 miles from the UK.
19 days total, including three days each way for the courier.
A number of email follow ups given at each stage of the process, often enough to be reassuring but not too often as to be annoying.
Well done to the Passport Office. 👏
Now, how can we get all of the other UK Gov agencies to be this efficient?
Just a renewal then? My experience getting a completely new passport was the opposite. Uploading photos straight from photo booths is good but the rest involved jumping through hoops to prove I am me, including buying new hardware to install new software because the Passport Office does not know Teams (and similar) can be used via a browser as well as the app, and have not set up proper infrastructure on their side. Only a cynic would suggest the government deliberately creates problems in order to solve them by rolling out digital IDs; it could easily be incompetence.
Interesting. Yes mine was a renewal, AIUI getting a first passport requires much tighter identify verification than a renewal.
I had mine renewed, marvelously efficient process.
Yes i was seriously impressed. It can be a little unnerving to live in an area of some regional instability with no passport, so very pleased that the process took less than three weeks.
I hardly ever recommend summary execution for media folk but in this case..
. @LouiseRawAuthor I will be pursuing a press complaint against you @DailyMail for this revolting, dangerous, damaging headline.
His poor daughter went to live with him after a difficult life, hoping for love and stability. He got her blind drunk & raped her. She killed herself. Shame on you.
Even leaving aside the headline, just on the details we have how on earth did this disgusting excuse for a human being only get one year in prison?
What was the judge smoking?
Uncle Malmesbury’s simple rules for not being in a Sentencing Mob (either direction)
1) Find out what the defendant was charged with 2) Look up the sentencing guidelines - they are online and easy to read 3) read the judges sentencing remarks. They very often contain references to the tables in the sentencing guidelines that constrain the sentence.
The number of sentences that get changed on appeal is very small, because judges follow the sentencing guidelines carefully.
The issue is often (1)
The issue is often (2), that the sentencing guidelines don’t match up with what the public sees as the significance of the crime.
I think you are wrong on that - feel free to find an example though.
Very often the issue is down charging - a lesser offence than the one apparently commited.
Eg it appears here that he was charged only with 'romping'.
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
True. Blair had little as well.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
Credit where it’s due, to at least one UK government agency.
Mon 9th June, midday. Mr Sandpit applies for a new passport online.
The website is easy to understand, has a reading age of about 8, uses details from existing passport to verify identity, uploads new photo, no setting up of an ‘account’ or passwords required. Overseas payment card worked just fine. Tracking number given and told to send old passport back to them.
Saturday 27th June, 9am, new passport arrives by courier 3,500 miles from the UK.
19 days total, including three days each way for the courier.
A number of email follow ups given at each stage of the process, often enough to be reassuring but not too often as to be annoying.
Well done to the Passport Office. 👏
Now, how can we get all of the other UK Gov agencies to be this efficient?
There was a guy who worked for David Cameron who did all this. He had private sector/tech experience and was also a SPaD. Forget his name.
Think he nows writes the odd article in the Times/FT.
They ran Gov.uk almost like a start up and used modern engineering practices. Very little use of consultants. Freedom to fail and try again.
I hardly ever recommend summary execution for media folk but in this case..
. @LouiseRawAuthor I will be pursuing a press complaint against you @DailyMail for this revolting, dangerous, damaging headline.
His poor daughter went to live with him after a difficult life, hoping for love and stability. He got her blind drunk & raped her. She killed herself. Shame on you.
Even leaving aside the headline, just on the details we have how on earth did this disgusting excuse for a human being only get one year in prison?
What was the judge smoking?
Uncle Malmesbury’s simple rules for not being in a Sentencing Mob (either direction)
1) Find out what the defendant was charged with 2) Look up the sentencing guidelines - they are online and easy to read 3) read the judges sentencing remarks. They very often contain references to the tables in the sentencing guidelines that constrain the sentence.
The number of sentences that get changed on appeal is very small, because judges follow the sentencing guidelines carefully.
The issue is often (1)
The issue is often (2), that the sentencing guidelines don’t match up with what the public sees as the significance of the crime.
I think you are wrong on that - feel free to find an example though.
Very often the issue is down charging - a lesser offence than the one apparently commited.
The obvious one from recent times is Huw Edwards, guilty of three counts of making indecent images of children, but getting a suspended sentence.
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
I think Burnham will be taking into account: Who is competent, can make difficult decisions and make them stick? Miliband and Mahmoud. Who can I trust, who will work with me and not have their own agenda? Miliband but not Mahmoud. So Miliband gets the job.
I don't think he will take much notice of who is popular with his MPs, the public or PB. He doesn't need to. He needs an effective CoE.
I hope guiding principles are: Devolve, devolve devolve but within a national framework that encourages sharing of best practice to enhance productivity Simplify, simplify, simplify. Regulations, legislation, taxation to improve productivity and motivation but fewer jobs for lawyers and accountants. Sorry
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
I read somewhere that one of the next World Cups was in Saudi Arabia, and the other jointly between Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, which should both have rather closer times.
I thought one of the criteria for hosting the World Cup was plenty of beer.
This is probably part of Saudi Arabia's urgent mission to diversify its economy away from oil (tourism being one aspect).
Still looking forward to the 150 mile long 250 metre wide 1km tall futuristic city of the line, to have more tourists than Paris and more densely populated than London.
Why not just build a futuristic city that isn't shaped like a line? Screw you, that's why.
Pretty sure the utter madness that was The Line has been axed.
They’re still building a version of it, but it will be a few hundred metres long rather than a couple of hundred kilometres!
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
AB is in the centre of the normal Labour range. Streeting is at the extreme right of that range
In todays PLP AB is seen as centre left or even "left" by some Streeting in todays terms is seen as centre right.
If Burnham followed SKS's lead almost the entire cabinet barring Miliband would be off to the backbenches
AB is more of a broad church politician but i would expect the a number important posts would be held by fellow centre left politicians Ed, Ang, Louise. Streetings best hope is Home or Defence imo
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
AB is in the centre of the normal Labour range. Streeting is at the extreme right of that range
In todays PLP AB is seen as centre left or even "left" by some Streeting in todays terms is seen as centre right.
If Burnham followed SKS's lead almost the entire cabinet barring Miliband would be off to the backbenches
AB is more of a broad church politician but i would expect the a number important posts would be held by fellow centre left politicians Ed, Ang, Louise. Streetings best hope is Home or Defence imo
The idea Streeting is extreme right of Labour is absolutely insane.
Cooling down outdoors in rural Derbyshire this morning but the inside of our stone cottage is akin to an oven and it will take several days for the heat to dissipate.
Any halfwit who comes on here and claims the Conservative election win of December 2019 was a "surprise" really can't be taken seriously. The rise in Conservative VI in the opinion polls from the nadir of May 2019 and the departure of May through to the election was clear. Indeed, had Johnson been able to hold off another month (which he couldn't), he'd have likely won a bigger victory.
The bigger question is how many people voted for Boris rather than for the Conservatives and how much of that vote was an anti-Corbyn vote just a the 1983 landslide was a vote against Foot and the 2024 landslide a vote against the Conservatives.
On that tangent, I see Baron Case is sounding off claiming there should be an election every time there is a change of Prime Minister - er, no, that's not how democracy works, you numbskull. Whether people vote for a candidate or a party or against a candidate or party is irrelevant, votes add up in 650 constituencies to elect MPs who are members of a party. It's for a party to decide who their leader is (whether that includes a membership vote or not).
Now, a new Prime Minister can decide to seek their own mandate but the mandate won by Labour in 2024 is valid until at least 2029 and there's simply no obligation for Labour to go to the country simply because they have changed their leader.
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
All of this is just a reminder of the above. Labour are still Labour.
Well I'm sorry about that, Lucky, but I don't know what to suggest.
I suspect that the electorate will suggest something in 2029.
Ah 2029. Just the thought of that gives me a warm glow. Exit Donald Trump. So that's a great year coming, the best, regardless of anything that happens or doesn't happen here.
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
All of this is just a reminder of the above. Labour are still Labour.
Well I'm sorry about that, Lucky, but I don't know what to suggest.
I suspect that the electorate will suggest something in 2029.
Ah 2029. Just the thought of that gives me a warm glow. Exit Donald Trump. So that's a great year coming, the best, regardless of anything that happens or doesn't happen here.
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
I hardly ever recommend summary execution for media folk but in this case..
. @LouiseRawAuthor I will be pursuing a press complaint against you @DailyMail for this revolting, dangerous, damaging headline.
His poor daughter went to live with him after a difficult life, hoping for love and stability. He got her blind drunk & raped her. She killed herself. Shame on you.
Even leaving aside the headline, just on the details we have how on earth did this disgusting excuse for a human being only get one year in prison?
What was the judge smoking?
Uncle Malmesbury’s simple rules for not being in a Sentencing Mob (either direction)
1) Find out what the defendant was charged with 2) Look up the sentencing guidelines - they are online and easy to read 3) read the judges sentencing remarks. They very often contain references to the tables in the sentencing guidelines that constrain the sentence.
The number of sentences that get changed on appeal is very small, because judges follow the sentencing guidelines carefully.
The issue is often (1)
The issue is often (2), that the sentencing guidelines don’t match up with what the public sees as the significance of the crime.
I think you are wrong on that - feel free to find an example though.
Very often the issue is down charging - a lesser offence than the one apparently commited.
The obvious one from recent times is Huw Edwards, guilty of three counts of making indecent images of children, but getting a suspended sentence.
“…was Huw Edwards not sent to prison? The simple answer is ... there is no simple and uniform solution for dealing with offenders.
The offence he committed could in theory lead to 10 years in jail.
But, in practice, detailed sentencing guidelines, developed over years of comparing varying cases, save that severe punishment for the worst of the worst people who are producing the images that Williams scooped up and went on to share. Edwards, by receiving them, was at the bottom of that chain of abuse.
So his sentence was always going to be well short of that maximum 10 years - and, likely to be shorter than the 12 months suspended sentence given to Alex Williams in March.
The guidelines say that for someone in Edwards' position, the starting point is a year in jail with a range of between six months and three years.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring began his sentencing calculation with a year. He knocked three months off to take into account the mental health evidence and the fact that this was a first offence. This is absolutely standard procedure.
He then discounted the sentence by a third, bringing it down to six months, to credit the earliest possible guilty plea.
Again, this discount for an admission is a standard feature of sentencing law. It is an offer to focus an offender’s mind on pleading guilty early and accepting their crimes.
It saves a huge amount of public money by not tying up the criminal justice system with a jury trial. And it means, if the offender is willing, they can get on with the long and hard process of rehabilitation as soon as possible.
The next question was whether Edwards needed to be jailed to protect the public. The chief magistrate concluded not, because he accepted evidence that the offender before him had already understood the gravity of what he had done - and was responding to therapy.
And so he moved down a notch from immediate jail to a suspended six month sentence. That means that if Edwards were to commit another offence in the next two years, he would be likely to go to jail immediately. But if he stays on the road to reform, he won't.”
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
“Common sense” is almost always bollocks because on the whole people know the square of fuck all about most things of any complexity
A Terrible Thing Happened to My Family Even in today's climate, there should be one fundamental principle everyone respects: whatever you think about someone in politics, you leave their kids alone. https://petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/a-terrible-thing-happened-to-my-family Someone decided to hurt our family this week. I’m furious, and I want to share what happened.
You’ve probably heard of “swatting.” It’s a cruel and dangerous kind of hoax that has started happening more frequently in recent years. Someone anonymously calls 911 with a false report of imminent danger, such as a hostage situation, at the home of a public figure. Law enforcement swarms the house, guns drawn, terrifying the unsuspecting homeowner and family and sometimes even leading to deaths or injuries in the confusion. It’s happened to dozens of lawmakers, judges, celebrities, and others. (When I was in the Cabinet, someone attempted to do this to our home, but fortunately the hoax was quickly detected.) It’s become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents.
Now imagine the same concept, but with Child Protective Services instead of a SWAT team. Hadn’t thought of that? Me neither, until a few days ago when a police officer and a CPS worker showed up at our home and politely asked to speak with me.
I showed them in, invited them on the deck so that we could hear each other over the barking dog, and asked what was going on. They explained that there had been an allegation against me, that it concerned our four-year-old twins, and that a forensic interview had been arranged for the children the following day. I could not be present at the children’s interview, nor could any family member sit in. Afterwards, they would come back and interview me. And only then would they tell me anything about the nature of the allegation...
A Terrible Thing Happened to My Family Even in today's climate, there should be one fundamental principle everyone respects: whatever you think about someone in politics, you leave their kids alone. https://petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/a-terrible-thing-happened-to-my-family Someone decided to hurt our family this week. I’m furious, and I want to share what happened.
You’ve probably heard of “swatting.” It’s a cruel and dangerous kind of hoax that has started happening more frequently in recent years. Someone anonymously calls 911 with a false report of imminent danger, such as a hostage situation, at the home of a public figure. Law enforcement swarms the house, guns drawn, terrifying the unsuspecting homeowner and family and sometimes even leading to deaths or injuries in the confusion. It’s happened to dozens of lawmakers, judges, celebrities, and others. (When I was in the Cabinet, someone attempted to do this to our home, but fortunately the hoax was quickly detected.) It’s become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents.
Now imagine the same concept, but with Child Protective Services instead of a SWAT team. Hadn’t thought of that? Me neither, until a few days ago when a police officer and a CPS worker showed up at our home and politely asked to speak with me.
I showed them in, invited them on the deck so that we could hear each other over the barking dog, and asked what was going on. They explained that there had been an allegation against me, that it concerned our four-year-old twins, and that a forensic interview had been arranged for the children the following day. I could not be present at the children’s interview, nor could any family member sit in. Afterwards, they would come back and interview me. And only then would they tell me anything about the nature of the allegation...
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
“Common sense” is almost always bollocks because on the whole people know the square of fuck all about most things of any complexity
I would suggest that Common Sense left politics many, many years ago.
Consider the enthusiasm for unilateral disarmament. In the 1930s, opposing Hitler.
No, I’m not talking about delays in rearmament. There was a large, and popular, movement saying that the answer was total pacifism.
Credit where it’s due, to at least one UK government agency.
Mon 9th June, midday. Mr Sandpit applies for a new passport online.
The website is easy to understand, has a reading age of about 8, uses details from existing passport to verify identity, uploads new photo, no setting up of an ‘account’ or passwords required. Overseas payment card worked just fine. Tracking number given and told to send old passport back to them.
Saturday 27th June, 9am, new passport arrives by courier 3,500 miles from the UK.
19 days total, including three days each way for the courier.
A number of email follow ups given at each stage of the process, often enough to be reassuring but not too often as to be annoying.
Well done to the Passport Office. 👏
Now, how can we get all of the other UK Gov agencies to be this efficient?
Just a renewal then? My experience getting a completely new passport was the opposite. Uploading photos straight from photo booths is good but the rest involved jumping through hoops to prove I am me, including buying new hardware to install new software because the Passport Office does not know Teams (and similar) can be used via a browser as well as the app, and have not set up proper infrastructure on their side. Only a cynic would suggest the government deliberately creates problems in order to solve them by rolling out digital IDs; it could easily be incompetence.
Interesting. Yes mine was a renewal, AIUI getting a first passport requires much tighter identify verification than a renewal.
Getting my son (born to a German mother in Germany) a British passport involved jumping through a few hoops as you might expect, but I don't remember the process being unduly onerous. The requirements were all well explained and it was dealt with reasonably efficiently.
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Given Mahmoud's new resettlement scheme idea (what could possibly go wrong?) quitting whilst she's ahead at the Home Office might not be such a bad thing.
All of this is just a reminder of the above. Labour are still Labour.
Well I'm sorry about that, Lucky, but I don't know what to suggest.
I suspect that the electorate will suggest something in 2029.
Ah 2029. Just the thought of that gives me a warm glow. Exit Donald Trump. So that's a great year coming, the best, regardless of anything that happens or doesn't happen here.
Oh sweet summer child
Lol. I know. Believe it when it happens is probably the best mindset. But I think it will. The midterms will be illuminating.
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
I read somewhere that one of the next World Cups was in Saudi Arabia, and the other jointly between Spain, Portugal, and Morocco, which should both have rather closer times.
Would you believe there's suspicion the award to Saudi Arabia was not on the up and up?
It's the reason why The Englsh FA have decided to no longer bid to host future World Cups.
Along with the US, the UK is one of very few countries who could hold the World Cup at short notice, with sufficient stadia already extant.
Some of those US stadia are amazing, but their polluting the game with mid-half ad breaks, half-time music shows, and outrageous ticket pricing, and all the associated American over-the-top hyperbole isn't so welcome. Some of the reporting on their TV is absurd; you'd think Americans had never seen a group of fans walking along a street or drinking in a bar before.
I hardly ever recommend summary execution for media folk but in this case..
. @LouiseRawAuthor I will be pursuing a press complaint against you @DailyMail for this revolting, dangerous, damaging headline.
His poor daughter went to live with him after a difficult life, hoping for love and stability. He got her blind drunk & raped her. She killed herself. Shame on you.
Even leaving aside the headline, just on the details we have how on earth did this disgusting excuse for a human being only get one year in prison?
What was the judge smoking?
Uncle Malmesbury’s simple rules for not being in a Sentencing Mob (either direction)
1) Find out what the defendant was charged with 2) Look up the sentencing guidelines - they are online and easy to read 3) read the judges sentencing remarks. They very often contain references to the tables in the sentencing guidelines that constrain the sentence.
The number of sentences that get changed on appeal is very small, because judges follow the sentencing guidelines carefully.
The issue is often (1)
The issue is often (2), that the sentencing guidelines don’t match up with what the public sees as the significance of the crime.
I think you are wrong on that - feel free to find an example though.
Very often the issue is down charging - a lesser offence than the one apparently commited.
The obvious one from recent times is Huw Edwards, guilty of three counts of making indecent images of children, but getting a suspended sentence.
“…was Huw Edwards not sent to prison? The simple answer is ... there is no simple and uniform solution for dealing with offenders.
The offence he committed could in theory lead to 10 years in jail.
But, in practice, detailed sentencing guidelines, developed over years of comparing varying cases, save that severe punishment for the worst of the worst people who are producing the images that Williams scooped up and went on to share. Edwards, by receiving them, was at the bottom of that chain of abuse.
So his sentence was always going to be well short of that maximum 10 years - and, likely to be shorter than the 12 months suspended sentence given to Alex Williams in March.
The guidelines say that for someone in Edwards' position, the starting point is a year in jail with a range of between six months and three years.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring began his sentencing calculation with a year. He knocked three months off to take into account the mental health evidence and the fact that this was a first offence. This is absolutely standard procedure.
He then discounted the sentence by a third, bringing it down to six months, to credit the earliest possible guilty plea.
Again, this discount for an admission is a standard feature of sentencing law. It is an offer to focus an offender’s mind on pleading guilty early and accepting their crimes.
It saves a huge amount of public money by not tying up the criminal justice system with a jury trial. And it means, if the offender is willing, they can get on with the long and hard process of rehabilitation as soon as possible.
The next question was whether Edwards needed to be jailed to protect the public. The chief magistrate concluded not, because he accepted evidence that the offender before him had already understood the gravity of what he had done - and was responding to therapy.
And so he moved down a notch from immediate jail to a suspended six month sentence. That means that if Edwards were to commit another offence in the next two years, he would be likely to go to jail immediately. But if he stays on the road to reform, he won't.”
I think that is all reasonable apart from the last part. Why are suspended sentences suspended for such a short period of time. I would suggest that the suspension should be at 10x the sentence. So six months suspended is for at least 5 years. A two year suspended sentence suspended for 20 years.
The deal shouldn't be behave for 2 years and we'll forget about it.
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
It’s going to have to be redesigned!
At the very least, the default specification for anything new needs the comfortable operating temperature raised
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
Strking examples of Conservative common sense when in power including the Brexit Referendum without a plan (and arguably pushing Brexit towards 'no deal' in the first place), the Truss budget, the Rwanda asylum plan, shutting down the Department of Energy & Climate Change, cutting police numbers by 20,000, the hostile environment and 'go home vans', cancelling HS2 after sinking billions into it, partygate, PPE procurement, rolling out universal credit from 2015 despite knowing it didnt work, hollowing out our armed forces, among others. Plenty there for Kemi to be reflecting on and apologising for!
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
It’s going to have to be redesigned!
Or the World could go Green.
Desperately need a climate change realist post Trump
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
True. Blair had little as well.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
And one of the problems many Prime Ministers have had is that, important though Foreign Affairs are, that's not where the votes are. We want a Mayor doing stuff to make our local lives better. When that's not happening, we tend to blame the PM.
The answer is probably to have beefed-up local government everywhere, so that stuff is handled and Westminster's job is shrunk back to their capacity. We'll have to see if Andy gets that, and is happy about being left with the half of the job he's less interested in.
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
There's an interesting interview with Sirs'kiy (that's how you transliterate it correctly if you want to pass your Russian A-Level) in the Times today in which he is not exactly on message about the prospect of imminent victory and makes up a load of numbers with 237% accuracy.
It was giving interviews to Western media that got Zaluzhniy shitcanned so we'll have to see how this goes.
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Add to which Miliband is an effective minister and Mahmoud isn't.
(Leaving aside whether you agree with the policies that they are implementing in one case and not implementing in the other case).
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
It’s going to have to be redesigned!
Or the World could go Green.
Desperately need a climate change realist post Trump
Trouble is that, at this stage, it's going to have to be both.
We need to adapt to the higher temperatures we're getting, and the even higher ones that are pretty much inevitable from here. Those "the weather in 2050" stories weren't just ecoloon propaganda. For a start, it's only June 2026.
We also need as much deep green and tech green to get carbon dioxide levels stabilised as soon as possible.
Most of our ancestors didn't know what they were doing, but some did. Thanks, ancestors.
Thancestors. (Cut to the melted ice castle for ants from Look Around You.)
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
True. Blair had little as well.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
And one of the problems many Prime Ministers have had is that, important though Foreign Affairs are, that's not where the votes are. We want a Mayor doing stuff to make our local lives better. When that's not happening, we tend to blame the PM.
The answer is probably to have beefed-up local government everywhere, so that stuff is handled and Westminster's job is shrunk back to their capacity. We'll have to see if Andy gets that, and is happy about being left with the half of the job he's less interested in.
I’m not sure people want local devolution like that within England
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
I find that people who actually have common sense don't talk about it, and those that do talk about common sense don't have any.
There must be some exceptions to this rule I suppose but Badenoch certainly isn't one.
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
True. Blair had little as well.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
And one of the problems many Prime Ministers have had is that, important though Foreign Affairs are, that's not where the votes are. We want a Mayor doing stuff to make our local lives better. When that's not happening, we tend to blame the PM.
The answer is probably to have beefed-up local government everywhere, so that stuff is handled and Westminster's job is shrunk back to their capacity. We'll have to see if Andy gets that, and is happy about being left with the half of the job he's less interested in.
I’m not sure people want local devolution like that within England
Its needed and, I suspect, wanted, to undo the damage done during both the Thatcher and Blair era that has left our state so difficult to govern effectively. Centralising everything to Westminster and Whitehall was never a sensible thing to be doing.
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
The 'heat wave' (three hot sunny days) is a distant memory here. When's it due to break where you are?
Currently on the train to the inferno (London) and we’re being told to put the blinds down on the train because the aircon isn’t powerful enough. This is the east coast mainline ffs
No part of our rail network was designed for temperatures above 30 degrees.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
It’s going to have to be redesigned!
Or the World could go Green.
Desperately need a climate change realist post Trump
Trouble is that, at this stage, it's going to have to be both.
We need to adapt to the higher temperatures we're getting, and the even higher ones that are pretty much inevitable from here. Those "the weather in 2050" stories weren't just ecoloon propaganda. For a start, it's only June 2026.
We also need as much deep green and tech green to get carbon dioxide levels stabilised as soon as possible.
Most of our ancestors didn't know what they were doing, but some did. Thanks, ancestors.
Thancestors. (Cut to the melted ice castle for ants from Look Around You.)
I'd say PBers are generally above average awareness and intelligence, and yet we still have some on here with comments like this:
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
I find that people who actually have common sense don't talk about it, and those that do talk about common sense don't have any.
There must be some exceptions to this rule I suppose but Badenoch certainly isn't one.
I will have to review Sunak's speech (I probably won't tbf), but I don't remember it being particularly gracious. I do remember repeated bitching from him during his tenure about previous Conservative PMs, which I call the opposite of gracious. To be truly gracious is to own ones' own part in the state of the country and it's rejection of your Government, not to use it to passive-aggressively attack your rival faction within the Party.
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
True. Blair had little as well.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
And one of the problems many Prime Ministers have had is that, important though Foreign Affairs are, that's not where the votes are. We want a Mayor doing stuff to make our local lives better. When that's not happening, we tend to blame the PM.
The answer is probably to have beefed-up local government everywhere, so that stuff is handled and Westminster's job is shrunk back to their capacity. We'll have to see if Andy gets that, and is happy about being left with the half of the job he's less interested in.
I’m not sure people want local devolution like that within England
Its needed and, I suspect, wanted, to undo the damage done during both the Thatcher and Blair era that has left our state so difficult to govern effectively. Centralising everything to Westminster and Whitehall was never a sensible thing to be doing.
Local politicians are absolute imbeciles who waste their time debating pride flags and climate emergencies rather than doing productive things
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Whilst you support Trump
For the 100th time no I don’t support him. I just don’t think he’s Hitler, and try to correct some of the more deranged things said about him.
That's true, Hitler was a strategic mastermind compared to Trump.
Also 'not Hitler' is a pretty low bar to clear, and as Trump physically, mentally and morally disintegrates he's finding it more and more difficult.
He is taking rather a long time to disintegrate physically isn't he? I remember breathless reports of him being chucked out of the White House window in a bin bag - he's made a very quick recovery from that.
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
These things are partly in the eye of the beholder, unless objective criteria are set. Callaghan and Heath were both OK IMO, and I'm not sure I'd credit Major with being reasonably successful. But I agree with your underlying point - it's hard to predict success. What is evident is that Britain is increasingly inclined to give PMs short shrift, to an extent that exceeds Italy.
Churchill was interesting - ideal for the precise circumstances in which he was chosen, and otherwise pretty terrible. The electorate seem to have judged both phases correctly.
As I'm in a tetchy mood this morning, I see that waste of space Kemi Badenoch is wittering on about "common sense" again.
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
I find that people who actually have common sense don't talk about it, and those that do talk about common sense don't have any.
There must be some exceptions to this rule I suppose but Badenoch certainly isn't one.
I will have to review Sunak's speech (I probably won't tbf), but I don't remember it being particularly gracious. I do remember repeated bitching from him during his tenure about previous Conservative PMs, which I call the opposite of gracious. To be truly gracious is to own ones' own part in the state of the country and it's rejection of your Government, not to use it to passive-aggressively attack your rival faction within the Party.
If polling and focus groups tell you that significant numbers of former Tory voters are voting Labour / Reform because of Boris and Truss the only thing you can do as leader is to attempt distance yourself from Boris and Truss..
It's seeming like Wes Streeting is out of contention for COTE, with a choice of Milliband or Mahmoud. Along with a few other straws in the wind, it's really just a reminder that Labour always, always contrives a way to shoot itself (and us) in the foot.
Hmm, go with the super popular (with Labour Members) Miliband, or the super unpopular (with Labour Members) Mahmoud? Tough choice for a PM.
Maybe pick the unpopular one, as a lightning rod for crap decisions PM might make?
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Yes, i'm pessimistic for actually regaining overall territory, and the Russians are not totally fumb and may counter the current momentum, but good news is to be welcomed.
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Whilst you support Trump
For the 100th time no I don’t support him. I just don’t think he’s Hitler, and try to correct some of the more deranged things said about him.
That's true, Hitler was a strategic mastermind compared to Trump.
Also 'not Hitler' is a pretty low bar to clear, and as Trump physically, mentally and morally disintegrates he's finding it more and more difficult.
He is taking rather a long time to disintegrate physically isn't he? I remember breathless reports of him being chucked out of the White House window in a bin bag - he's made a very quick recovery from that.
He's a very old man, older than Biden was, and his supporters are embarrassing in their praise of his physical and mental prowess, but opponents are way too quick to jump to him being barely functioning 99% of the time.
SKS reign ends with him backing future Reform MP Mike Tapp against Mahmood
LOL
I think you've got that wrong. Tapp was / is trying to get an exemption so that foreign Social Care workers would be granted indefinite leave to remain earlier than they will be under the new rules..
Shabana Mahmood is the one with the more Reform friendly policy...
FPT - Andy Burnham has been SoS for Health, DEFRA (or its previous equivalent) and Chief Secretary to the Treasury,as well as Mayor of Manchester, so despite never having held a GOS he probably has enough executive experience.
That said, being PM is going to be a shock to him and he doesn't know what's coming.
I have to say - not from personal experience, obviously, but from observation - that being PM doesn't appear to be a job you can prepare for. You do it and then find out whether or not you are good at it.
Many people had vast experience and careful grooming for national leadership. Balfour. Eden. Neville Chamberlain. James Callaghan. Edward Heath. None of those turned out to be any good. We could add Asquith, whose record was at best decidedly mixed.
Meanwhile, several fairly successful PMs were either totally unexpected (Major, Baldwin, Salisbury, Thatcher on becoming party leader) or had been considered and discarded as possibilities due to the glaring faults they had displayed (Lloyd George, Churchill, Palmerston, although we should note they were all wartime leaders).
So maybe Andy will crash and Burnham. Or maybe he will turn out OK. But his previous experience is not of fundamental importance either way.
After all, Liz Truss had lots of experience. Just no brain cells.
These things are partly in the eye of the beholder, unless objective criteria are set. Callaghan and Heath were both OK IMO, and I'm not sure I'd credit Major with being reasonably successful. But I agree with your underlying point - it's hard to predict success. What is evident is that Britain is increasingly inclined to give PMs short shrift, to an extent that exceeds Italy.
Churchill was interesting - ideal for the precise circumstances in which he was chosen, and otherwise pretty terrible. The electorate seem to have judged both phases correctly.
Churchill didn't become PM after winning an election; the Conservative cabinet (or more likely inner circle) decided he was 'the man for the job' after disastrous start to the war, He lost the first two elections he fought as party leader and only 'won' the third because of the FPTP system; Labour got the highest proportion it's ever had in 1951.
The exponential growth of solar capacity and the rate of costs falling isn't widely appreciated. Although it's been very well covered on this forum.
It's going to completely change global energy markets within the next two decades, and act as a long-term cap on energy prices. And no further government subsidies are required.
Unfortunately the UK isn't geographically best placed but it's still going to be a big contributor, particularly on long summer days. It's 37% of power generation at present.
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Whilst you support Trump
For the 100th time no I don’t support him. I just don’t think he’s Hitler, and try to correct some of the more deranged things said about him.
If you need to correct something 100 times, perhaps consider that you are not portraying yourself that way.
It’s not my fault that most of this board has severe TDS.
Alright let’s tackle this head on.
What is an example where you think Trump is right and this board wrong? Just one will do.
Trump's demand Europe pays more into NATO
Every US President has said that for decades. The pertinent question is was he right to threaten to leave and suggest Russia could have a free hand in countries that don't pay their share?
SKS reign ends with him backing future Reform MP Mike Tapp against Mahmood
LOL
I think you've got that wrong. Tapp was / is trying to get an exemption so that foreign Social Care workers would be granted indefinite leave to remain earlier than they will be under the new rules..
Shabana Mahmood is the one with the more Reform friendly policy...
Yes he was stating future policy against the collective responsibility rules on this ocassion
But he is very much one of the most likely to go to Reform if AB doesn't turn the polling round.
He is one of the worst quality Ministers I can remember rewarded for his ultra Zionism rather than any talent
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Whilst you support Trump
For the 100th time no I don’t support him. I just don’t think he’s Hitler, and try to correct some of the more deranged things said about him.
If you need to correct something 100 times, perhaps consider that you are not portraying yourself that way.
It’s not my fault that most of this board has severe TDS.
Alright let’s tackle this head on.
What is an example where you think Trump is right and this board wrong? Just one will do.
Let’s see… Sandpit said (1) Matt Gaetz was a good pick for US Attorney General. He said (2) Trump was right to give the reflecting poll contract to one of his donors without the usual bidding process and that (3) it was definitely sabotage, not incompetence, that had caused damage to it.
SKS reign ends with him backing future Reform MP Mike Tapp against Mahmood
LOL
I think you've got that wrong. Tapp was / is trying to get an exemption so that foreign Social Care workers would be granted indefinite leave to remain earlier than they will be under the new rules..
Shabana Mahmood is the one with the more Reform friendly policy...
Yes he was stating future policy against the collective responsibility rules on this ocassion
But he is very much one of the most likely to go to Reform if AB doesn't turn the polling round.
He is one of the worst quality Ministers I can remember rewarded for his ultra Zionism rather than any talent
Can't see ultra-Zionism sitting well with Reform though.
SKS reign ends with him backing future Reform MP Mike Tapp against Mahmood
LOL
I think you've got that wrong. Tapp was / is trying to get an exemption so that foreign Social Care workers would be granted indefinite leave to remain earlier than they will be under the new rules..
Shabana Mahmood is the one with the more Reform friendly policy...
What, hoovering in as many asylum seekers as possible via legal routes which will simply encourage NGOs and charities to bring in as many as possible to keep the money coming in.
Betting on Ukraine to win is a mugs game (worse than betting on PAK Womens cricket) despite a few wins here and there IMO!
I’m not betting, just massively cheering on Ukraine from the sidelines.
Whilst you support Trump
For the 100th time no I don’t support him. I just don’t think he’s Hitler, and try to correct some of the more deranged things said about him.
If you need to correct something 100 times, perhaps consider that you are not portraying yourself that way.
It’s not my fault that most of this board has severe TDS.
Alright let’s tackle this head on.
What is an example where you think Trump is right and this board wrong? Just one will do.
Let’s see… Sandpit said (1) Matt Gaetz was a good pick for US Attorney General. He said (2) Trump was right to give the reflecting poll contract to one of his donors without the usual bidding process and that (3) it was definitely sabotage, not incompetence, that had caused damage to it.
the best part is that it seems to have been self sabotage with at least some of the damage due to Trump's convey driving through the drained reflecting pool...
Comments
Think he nows writes the odd article in the Times/FT.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5yz952dm74o
All of this is just a reminder of the above. Labour are still Labour.
Most of it is dealing with Foreign Affairs, international crises, security and defence threats, strategic negotiations, and seminal events.
The point is that domestic political experience isn't really a good training ground for it.
https://www.bbc.com/news/articles/cgm7dvv128ro
Who is competent, can make difficult decisions and make them stick? Miliband and Mahmoud.
Who can I trust, who will work with me and not have their own agenda? Miliband but not Mahmoud.
So Miliband gets the job.
I don't think he will take much notice of who is popular with his MPs, the public or PB. He doesn't need to. He needs an effective CoE.
I hope guiding principles are:
Devolve, devolve devolve but within a national framework that encourages sharing of best practice to enhance productivity
Simplify, simplify, simplify. Regulations, legislation, taxation to improve productivity and motivation but fewer jobs for lawyers and accountants. Sorry
In todays PLP AB is seen as centre left or even "left" by some Streeting in todays terms is seen as centre right.
If Burnham followed SKS's lead almost the entire cabinet barring Miliband would be off to the backbenches
AB is more of a broad church politician but i would expect the a number important posts would be held by fellow centre left politicians Ed, Ang, Louise. Streetings best hope is Home or Defence imo
Cooling down outdoors in rural Derbyshire this morning but the inside of our stone cottage is akin to an oven and it will take several days for the heat to dissipate.
Any halfwit who comes on here and claims the Conservative election win of December 2019 was a "surprise" really can't be taken seriously. The rise in Conservative VI in the opinion polls from the nadir of May 2019 and the departure of May through to the election was clear. Indeed, had Johnson been able to hold off another month (which he couldn't), he'd have likely won a bigger victory.
The bigger question is how many people voted for Boris rather than for the Conservatives and how much of that vote was an anti-Corbyn vote just a the 1983 landslide was a vote against Foot and the 2024 landslide a vote against the Conservatives.
On that tangent, I see Baron Case is sounding off claiming there should be an election every time there is a change of Prime Minister - er, no, that's not how democracy works, you numbskull. Whether people vote for a candidate or a party or against a candidate or party is irrelevant, votes add up in 650 constituencies to elect MPs who are members of a party. It's for a party to decide who their leader is (whether that includes a membership vote or not).
Now, a new Prime Minister can decide to seek their own mandate but the mandate won by Labour in 2024 is valid until at least 2029 and there's simply no obligation for Labour to go to the country simply because they have changed their leader.
Pakistan under 157.5 at 5/6 or 10/11
Since Pak havent got over 126.5 so far in the tournament i would expect even the NED bowlers would restrict them to under 150
DYOR
They could win today possibly but just cant see them getting 158 or more
Now, I'm all for common sense though rather like liberalism, everyone seems to have their own definition and it's quite clear Badenoch's is everything opposed to the Government since July 2024 and that's fair enough - she's in opposition and it's her role to oppose (constructively one would hope).
What irritates me is her notion she would somehow bring back "common sense" - now, we all know common sense didn't end on July 5th 2024, it ended sometime before that during the period of Governments of which she was often a senior member - what was her take on "common sense" then? The stench of hypocrisy pervades all this and while I'm sure she and her supporters would rather we forgot the Conservatives led the Government for 14 years, it's easy for those of us not so well disposed to remind them of the absence of common sense during those years.
I haven't heard a proper mea culpa for these years apart from Rishi Sunak's the day after the election who showed commensurate grace in defeat and my view of him went up several notches but he was primus inter pares and it wouldn't be inappropriate for some of those who shared the Cabinet table to admit mistakes were made rather than stomp around in a permanent tetch - mine will pass with coffee and lunch.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn033p4d82xo
“…was Huw Edwards not sent to prison? The simple answer is ... there is no simple and uniform solution for dealing with offenders.
The offence he committed could in theory lead to 10 years in jail.
But, in practice, detailed sentencing guidelines, developed over years of comparing varying cases, save that severe punishment for the worst of the worst people who are producing the images that Williams scooped up and went on to share.
Edwards, by receiving them, was at the bottom of that chain of abuse.
So his sentence was always going to be well short of that maximum 10 years - and, likely to be shorter than the 12 months suspended sentence given to Alex Williams in March.
The guidelines say that for someone in Edwards' position, the starting point is a year in jail with a range of between six months and three years.
Chief Magistrate Paul Goldspring began his sentencing calculation with a year. He knocked three months off to take into account the mental health evidence and the fact that this was a first offence. This is absolutely standard procedure.
He then discounted the sentence by a third, bringing it down to six months, to credit the earliest possible guilty plea.
Again, this discount for an admission is a standard feature of sentencing law. It is an offer to focus an offender’s mind on pleading guilty early and accepting their crimes.
It saves a huge amount of public money by not tying up the criminal justice system with a jury trial. And it means, if the offender is willing, they can get on with the long and hard process of rehabilitation as soon as possible.
The next question was whether Edwards needed to be jailed to protect the public. The chief magistrate concluded not, because he accepted evidence that the offender before him had already understood the gravity of what he had done - and was responding to therapy.
And so he moved down a notch from immediate jail to a suspended six month sentence. That means that if Edwards were to commit another offence in the next two years, he would be likely to go to jail immediately. But if he stays on the road to reform, he won't.”
The move comes as Ottawa weighs splitting its future fighter fleet while broadening its defense partnerships beyond the United States.
https://x.com/Aviation_Intel/status/2070545117656850446
Cricket and Politics are my most profitable areas of betting
I am rubbish at Football Betting
A Terrible Thing Happened to My Family
Even in today's climate, there should be one fundamental principle everyone respects: whatever you think about someone in politics, you leave their kids alone.
https://petebuttigieg.substack.com/p/a-terrible-thing-happened-to-my-family
Someone decided to hurt our family this week. I’m furious, and I want to share what happened.
You’ve probably heard of “swatting.” It’s a cruel and dangerous kind of hoax that has started happening more frequently in recent years. Someone anonymously calls 911 with a false report of imminent danger, such as a hostage situation, at the home of a public figure. Law enforcement swarms the house, guns drawn, terrifying the unsuspecting homeowner and family and sometimes even leading to deaths or injuries in the confusion. It’s happened to dozens of lawmakers, judges, celebrities, and others. (When I was in the Cabinet, someone attempted to do this to our home, but fortunately the hoax was quickly detected.) It’s become enough of a problem that the FBI now has a dedicated database to track such incidents.
Now imagine the same concept, but with Child Protective Services instead of a SWAT team. Hadn’t thought of that? Me neither, until a few days ago when a police officer and a CPS worker showed up at our home and politely asked to speak with me.
I showed them in, invited them on the deck so that we could hear each other over the barking dog, and asked what was going on. They explained that there had been an allegation against me, that it concerned our four-year-old twins, and that a forensic interview had been arranged for the children the following day. I could not be present at the children’s interview, nor could any family member sit in. Afterwards, they would come back and interview me. And only then would they tell me anything about the nature of the allegation...
Russian troops on front lines in Zaphorizhzhia and Kherson regions are running out of fuel for generators that power drones and communications.
https://x.com/malcontentmentt/status/2070589984953016633
Slowly, then all at once…
Consider the enthusiasm for unilateral disarmament. In the 1930s, opposing Hitler.
No, I’m not talking about delays in rearmament. There was a large, and popular, movement saying that the answer was total pacifism.
Clientco's office has had instructions to keep blinds down all week with some desks not usable as the air conditioning can't cope and they've lost 5 laptops to water damage.
I did comment well done to those 5 people for getting their laptop upgrades slightly early..
The deal shouldn't be behave for 2 years and we'll forget about it.
Desperately need a climate change realist post Trump
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ThW-fdiunII
The answer is probably to have beefed-up local government everywhere, so that stuff is handled and Westminster's job is shrunk back to their capacity. We'll have to see if Andy gets that, and is happy about being left with the half of the job he's less interested in.
It was giving interviews to Western media that got Zaluzhniy shitcanned so we'll have to see how this goes.
(Leaving aside whether you agree with the policies that they are implementing in one case and not implementing in the other case).
https://x.com/olenarohoza/status/2070626657468047752
We need to adapt to the higher temperatures we're getting, and the even higher ones that are pretty much inevitable from here. Those "the weather in 2050" stories weren't just ecoloon propaganda. For a start, it's only June 2026.
We also need as much deep green and tech green to get carbon dioxide levels stabilised as soon as possible.
Most of our ancestors didn't know what they were doing, but some did. Thanks, ancestors.
Thancestors. (Cut to the melted ice castle for ants from Look Around You.)
There must be some exceptions to this rule I suppose but Badenoch certainly isn't one.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5584142/#Comment_5584142
"It's been a tiny bit higher than it was in June 1957. Nothing to see here."
As long as ostensibly sane, intelligent people fail to get it there is little hope. Sadly.
So unless you think Trump is not deranged and powerful I struggle to understand why you consider TDS a problem.
Did Churchill have severe HDS back in the 30s?
Churchill was interesting - ideal for the precise circumstances in which he was chosen, and otherwise pretty terrible. The electorate seem to have judged both phases correctly.
Pak spend a whole T20 tournament failing to get more than 126 equalling their best today but 31 runs short of the bookies "Par"
What is an example where you think Trump is right and this board wrong? Just one will do.
LOL
And I have TDS!!
Shabana Mahmood is the one with the more Reform friendly policy...
It's going to completely change global energy markets within the next two decades, and act as a long-term cap on energy prices. And no further government subsidies are required.
Unfortunately the UK isn't geographically best placed but it's still going to be a big contributor, particularly on long summer days. It's 37% of power generation at present.
I thought it was an entertaining watch (the film not the skirt)
Or does.
But he is very much one of the most likely to go to Reform if AB doesn't turn the polling round.
He is one of the worst quality Ministers I can remember rewarded for his ultra Zionism rather than any talent
Very Reform friendly.
Just make your arguments.
A vote for LAB is potentially back on the cards, particularly as I live in Bolsover that must currently be a nailed on Reform Gain