GPs have high workload and high pay, so the obvious way to avoid becoming burnt out is to work part-time. You still earn well, but you don't kill yourself with the work. More even than that, because of the workload, many GPs are notionally part-time in terms of the number of sessions they work, but they are working full-time in terms of the number of hours they are working.
However, another factor is that a lot of GPs go for a "portfolio" career: they'll work part-time in a GP practice and part-time elsewhere. So, they are still doctoring full-time, often still being a GP full-time, but in more than one place. That can add variety to the job, provide flexibility. I work in healthcare research, so we get lots of GPs who are part-time GP'ing and part-time doing research, for example.
Being a GP is also seen as being more family friendly than being a hospital doctor. When my Mum became a single mother, she switched from being a surgeon to being a GP. That was a long time ago, but similar issues still apply. That said, the rate of being part-time is equally high in male and female GPs.
Yep, depends how you define full-time. Virtually no GPs work 10 sessions a week, which is equivalent to 5 days/42 hours.
Typical is 8 I think for young salaried doctors without kids. Most do other stuff, like picking up locums for £££.
Between 5 and 6% is my prediction. Deposit saved which is unheard of for joke candidates, but only barely.
Realistically it is only people like us who care about politics that will even hear of him or find him funny.
The entire joke will pass most voters by. Farage will get about 90%+ of the vote on a dismal turnout as his voters will turn out to vote for him and next-to-nobody else will.
Is there a market on Farage's vote share? I think Farage will win easily, but I don't think he'll get 90%+. There are plenty of Clacton voters who voted against him. Sure, turnout will be low, but they won't all vanish. They'll turn up and vote for someone.
Not that I can see but I've not searched everywhere. Given this is a 2-horse race, you might regard the market described in the header on Count Binface's vote share to be a proxy for Nigel Farage's vote share. In any such market, check to see if they pay out on percentage of votes cast, or percentage of eligible voters.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
That is indeed the official line. The trouble is that in treating Nigel Farage with the contempt he deserves, the main parties also treat their Clacton-based supporters with contempt they do not.
The Iran war is ramping up again. Overnight the US said it hit dozens of Iranian military targets including air defence systems, radar installations, missile and drone launchers and “small boats”.
In response Iran targeted US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and radar systems in Oman.
Analysts say they are in a state of controlled escalation, the BBC reports.
Trump has somehow managed to negotiate into a worst position.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: “Tehran will not agree to the entry of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the territory of the nuclear facilities.”
Is this again, or just the last time when he signe dthe MOU?
Last time he wanted to interfere with JD Vance getting the credit, so he held a ceremony whilst in France during a dinner with Macron on June 17 to sign the "Memorandum of Understanding" (Islamabad Memorandum), and it was essentially just what the Iranians wanted.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Between 5 and 6% is my prediction. Deposit saved which is unheard of for joke candidates, but only barely.
Realistically it is only people like us who care about politics that will even hear of him or find him funny.
The entire joke will pass most voters by. Farage will get about 90%+ of the vote on a dismal turnout as his voters will turn out to vote for him and next-to-nobody else will.
Is there a market on Farage's vote share? I think Farage will win easily, but I don't think he'll get 90%+. There are plenty of Clacton voters who voted against him. Sure, turnout will be low, but they won't all vanish. They'll turn up and vote for someone.
Not that I can see but I've not searched everywhere. Given this is a 2-horse race, you might regard the market described in the header on Count Binface's vote share to be a proxy for Nigel Farage's vote share. In any such market, check to see if they pay out on percentage of votes cast, or percentage of eligible voters.
It's not a 2-horse race. You'll lose money if you're betting on that presumption!
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed. The Iranian regime is Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni. They hate each other. Iran gave a lot of support to forces fighting the Taliban in the prior civil wars. They also, likewise, opposed ISIS.
"More than 2,700 people may have died in exceptional May and June heatwaves in England and Wales"
Nowhere near as many as killed by the cold each winter, of course.
In the winter of 2024 to 2025, an estimated 2,544 cold-associated deaths occurred across 3 cold weather episodes (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1,965 to 3,131)
Cold-related deaths outnumber heat-related deaths in England. Between 2000 and 2019, cold temperatures were linked to over 60,000 deaths annually, compared with fewer than 800 heat-related deaths.
(Though that 60 000 includes respiratory infections linked to cold damp weather, as well as straightforward coldness.)
Summer Air Conditioning Fuel Payment incoming?
A new drive for air conditioning in care homes and hospitals, perhaps. It might even be linked to some form of apprenticeship scheme for heat pump installers.
And schools, to avoid the absurdity of cancelling classes so children and teachers are told to stew in their own homes which also lack air conditioning.
Better still, air con + filtration ready for the next pandemic! And apprentices. Brought to you by the Department for Joined-Up Government.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
I think it's perfectly possible to think Trump is a vile piece of excrement and a major risk to the planet, and have precisely zero sympathy with a bunch of mass-murdering scum like the IRGC and their acolytes.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed. The Iranian regime is Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni. They hate each other. Iran gave a lot of support to forces fighting the Taliban in the prior civil wars. They also, likewise, opposed ISIS.
Thanks. I knew ISIS were Sunni. It's as bad, and to an outsider almost as pointless, as the "Christian" religious wars of the 15th & 16th Centuries.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed. The Iranian regime is Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni. They hate each other. Iran gave a lot of support to forces fighting the Taliban in the prior civil wars. They also, likewise, opposed ISIS.
Thanks. I knew ISIS were Sunni. It's as bad, and to an outsider almost as pointless, as the "Christian" religious wars of the 15th & 16th Centuries.
The Iranian government are a bunch of Shi'ites, but the Afghan government are even shittier.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
That is indeed the official line. The trouble is that in treating Nigel Farage with the contempt he deserves, the main parties also treat their Clacton-based supporters with contempt they do not.
a possible view, but with two sides to it. The other side is that Farage was elected for a term of up to five years, and as it is an abuse of process to resign and stand again without a reason the other parties do best to let the 2024 result stand so far as they are concerned; only fighting if a byelection is held by operation of law. To take it seriously encourages attention seeking idiots (like DD in that case) to play games.
(I agree that DD had a proper political cause, but when you are already elected, the House of Commons is the place to fight it.)
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed. The Iranian regime is Shi'a. The Taliban are Sunni. They hate each other. Iran gave a lot of support to forces fighting the Taliban in the prior civil wars. They also, likewise, opposed ISIS.
Thanks. I knew ISIS were Sunni. It's as bad, and to an outsider almost as pointless, as the "Christian" religious wars of the 15th & 16th Centuries.
A point David Cameron missed when urging us to fight alongside our enemies against their enemies.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Even that 28 days was a substantial cut from their original demand for 90 days though. And Kelvin Mackenzie offered to stand against Davis on a platform of pro-42 days 'or even 420 days.'
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
"More than 2,700 people may have died in exceptional May and June heatwaves in England and Wales"
Nowhere near as many as killed by the cold each winter, of course.
In the winter of 2024 to 2025, an estimated 2,544 cold-associated deaths occurred across 3 cold weather episodes (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1,965 to 3,131)
Cold-related deaths outnumber heat-related deaths in England. Between 2000 and 2019, cold temperatures were linked to over 60,000 deaths annually, compared with fewer than 800 heat-related deaths.
(Though that 60 000 includes respiratory infections linked to cold damp weather, as well as straightforward coldness.)
Summer Air Conditioning Fuel Payment incoming?
A new drive for air conditioning in care homes and hospitals, perhaps. It might even be linked to some form of apprenticeship scheme for heat pump installers.
And schools, to avoid the absurdity of cancelling classes so children and teachers are told to stew in their own homes which also lack air conditioning.
Better still, air con + filtration ready for the next pandemic! And apprentices. Brought to you by the Department for Joined-Up Government.
Quick google check: it costs a couple of thousand pounds to install aircon for a classroom.
Hard to find how many classrooms there are in the UK, but there are about 600 000 teachers, which kind of makes sense because it goes with about 10 million school age children. So let's say 600 000 aircons needed.
That makes a bit more than a billion pounds. Which sounds scary, but capital spending always does. That we're not filtering germs out of the air in schools is silly.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Didn't they have a Holocaust survivor arrested for heckling Jack Straw at the Labour Party conference over this issue, or am I muddling my dates there?
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Didn't they have a Holocaust survivor arrested for heckling Jack Straw at the Labour Party conference over this issue, or am I muddling my dates there?
Yes, Wolfgang Walther
Manhandled out of the conference by thugs with SIA accreditation, as was a man who objected to the rough treatment the frail old man received.
"More than 2,700 people may have died in exceptional May and June heatwaves in England and Wales"
Nowhere near as many as killed by the cold each winter, of course.
In the winter of 2024 to 2025, an estimated 2,544 cold-associated deaths occurred across 3 cold weather episodes (95% confidence interval [CI]: 1,965 to 3,131)
Cold-related deaths outnumber heat-related deaths in England. Between 2000 and 2019, cold temperatures were linked to over 60,000 deaths annually, compared with fewer than 800 heat-related deaths.
(Though that 60 000 includes respiratory infections linked to cold damp weather, as well as straightforward coldness.)
Summer Air Conditioning Fuel Payment incoming?
A new drive for air conditioning in care homes and hospitals, perhaps. It might even be linked to some form of apprenticeship scheme for heat pump installers.
And schools, to avoid the absurdity of cancelling classes so children and teachers are told to stew in their own homes which also lack air conditioning.
Better still, air con + filtration ready for the next pandemic! And apprentices. Brought to you by the Department for Joined-Up Government.
Quick google check: it costs a couple of thousand pounds to install aircon for a classroom.
Hard to find how many classrooms there are in the UK, but there are about 600 000 teachers, which kind of makes sense because it goes with about 10 million school age children. So let's say 600 000 aircons needed.
That makes a bit more than a billion pounds. Which sounds scary, but capital spending always does. That we're not filtering germs out of the air in schools is silly.
Agreed. Although it would be of more practical value if it could also filter out some of the parasites infecting our education system.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Even that 28 days was a substantial cut from their original demand for 90 days though. And Kelvin Mackenzie offered to stand against Davis on a platform of pro-42 days 'or even 420 days.'
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Even that 28 days was a substantial cut from their original demand for 90 days though. And Kelvin Mackenzie offered to stand against Davis on a platform of pro-42 days 'or even 420 days.'
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
All true, though I don't recall Kelvin Mackenzie being anything to do with Brown's government.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
I witnessed a government whip arguing for unlimited, to an MP, in public. It was a very high pressure sales attempt.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Didn't they have a Holocaust survivor arrested for heckling Jack Straw at the Labour Party conference over this issue, or am I muddling my dates there?
Yes, Wolfgang Walther
Manhandled out of the conference by thugs with SIA accreditation, as was a man who objected to the rough treatment the frail old man received.
Seems it was over Iraq, but he was arrested under the Terrorism Act. So I was wrong.
I knew there was some connection with terrorism but couldn't remember what it was.
The Iran war is ramping up again. Overnight the US said it hit dozens of Iranian military targets including air defence systems, radar installations, missile and drone launchers and “small boats”.
In response Iran targeted US bases in Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan and radar systems in Oman.
Analysts say they are in a state of controlled escalation, the BBC reports.
Trump has somehow managed to negotiate into a worst position.
Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman: “Tehran will not agree to the entry of International Atomic Energy Agency inspectors into the territory of the nuclear facilities.”
Is this again, or just the last time when he signe dthe MOU?
Last time he wanted to interfere with JD Vance getting the credit, so he held a ceremony whilst in France during a dinner with Macron on June 17 to sign the "Memorandum of Understanding" (Islamabad Memorandum), and it was essentially just what the Iranians wanted.
If I'm right though, having signed it, the US basically ignored it anyway. Someone on another forum pointed out each day the ways the US was in breach of its own MoU. Indeed, I think the US started immediately in breach of it, and went from there.
Again, it's minor, but its just another way in which the rest of the world will realise they can't trust anything the current US administration agrees to and everything has to be immediately transactional and short term as there is no way you can get the US to do anything down the line.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Even that 28 days was a substantial cut from their original demand for 90 days though. And Kelvin Mackenzie offered to stand against Davis on a platform of pro-42 days 'or even 420 days.'
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
Even that 28 days was a substantial cut from their original demand for 90 days though. And Kelvin Mackenzie offered to stand against Davis on a platform of pro-42 days 'or even 420 days.'
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
All true, though I don't recall Kelvin Mackenzie being anything to do with Brown's government.
He offered to stand in place of the Labour candidate (as there wasn't one) in support of the government's programme.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
I witnessed a government whip arguing for unlimited, to an MP, in public. It was a very high pressure sales attempt.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
What about causing funerals? Is that also good PR?
Just to draw attention to the weighty matters of state that our courts are dealing with due gravity these days. It's a 170 paragraph interlocutory judgment in a libel etc case involving Lozza. At the end of it some lawyers are going to be a good deal better off.
Paras 7 and 8 are quite enough to give the gist and tone of what is going on. Perhaps one can use it to form a view on how good Lozza would be at running the country, as he seeks to do.
7 A key feature of the pleaded case is Publication 2 which forms part of the harassment, misuse of private information and breach of data protection claims but is not said to be libellous. This is a tweet by the Defendant on 30 April 2024, which included a photograph of the Claimant who appears to be getting out of a car. It is apparent that she was not wearing underpants. This is referred to in the POC as "an intimate photograph of the Claimant after she had been upskirted" and I will refer to it as "the Photograph".
8 The text of the tweet stated:
"I for one applaud the celebration of modesty which Narinder highlighted in her criticism of @LeilaniDowding for getting her baps out. We need standards in public life"
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
I witnessed a government whip arguing for unlimited, to an MP, in public. It was a very high pressure sales attempt.
Irrefutable evidence.
Which I believe as I had a similar experience.
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
In doing so, however, Davis threw away an excellent chance to be Home Secretary and do something practical about it.
It was not sensible and it was not ultimately effective.
Farage appears to be making exactly the same mistake.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
What about causing funerals? Is that also good PR?
I don’t generally speak ill of the dead, it’s a very bad trend of recent years and I’m a generally positive person who sees the good in everyone, even if we fundamentally disagree on everything.
But I have to admit I won’t shed a tear for Iranian and Russian leaders who find themselves six feet under, no matter how it happened.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
That’s a shame as I know a couple of Iranians in the UK. The regime can never be supported. Trump is awful but comparable to Iran ? Really ?
The Iranian regime is as vile as the Israeli one.
Don't forget Trump is basically Hitler. Lots of PBers say so.
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
What about causing funerals? Is that also good PR?
I don’t generally speak ill of the dead, it’s a very bad trend of recent years and I’m a generally positive person who sees the good in everyone, even if we fundamentally disagree on everything.
But I have to admit I won’t shed a tear for Iranian and Russian leaders who find themselves six feet under, no matter how it happened.
While I don't regard Trump as on the same level as these evil, murdering bastards, I won't weep for him either. He has not been a source of good for America, let alone the rest of the world.
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
I witnessed a government whip arguing for unlimited, to an MP, in public. It was a very high pressure sales attempt.
Irrefutable evidence.
Which I believe as I had a similar experience.
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
You can see why the other parties didn't want to campaign on the policy DD resigned over.
Farage was just hoping to get in early and didn't quite grasp that no-one needed to play his game and had a very simple excuse for ignoring this election.
Pandering to the hard left in the Labour Party Burnham is going to roll back on the proposed 5 year extension to ILR to 10:years.
According to the great labour thinker, Angela Rayner, it was un British changing the rules retrospectively. Of course that’s never happened before.
Oh dear. It’s going to be a long three years.
If Labour drop back to where they are now (or lower) he might not last the three years.
So who’s going to be Labours Sunak ?
If he’s Truss.
A Miliband I reckon, possibly David if he is really returning to UK politics.
I'm fascinated by just how tied to Burnham the MP's are now. So may backers that no one else can make the contest? Every single one of them is now a hostage to fortune. Give it a sticky few months with no real change for Labour's polling, or worse, a decline and then what? One of the things that did for the Tories was changing the leader too often. That's not to say that Johnson could have stayed, but they clearly chose a mad option and then corrected, but to the outside world it was nuts.
I love the brewing side of it. I hate the bottling side.
Amen to that. I have, in the past, brewed 40 pints of real ales and then bottled them all. Takes an age and the sterilising/cleaning is a PITA. Wine much less so. Plus I love watching wines bubbling away in the demi-john.
Just to draw attention to the weighty matters of state that our courts are dealing with due gravity these days. It's a 170 paragraph interlocutory judgment in a libel etc case involving Lozza. At the end of it some lawyers are going to be a good deal better off.
Paras 7 and 8 are quite enough to give the gist and tone of what is going on. Perhaps one can use it to form a view on how good Lozza would be at running the country, as he seeks to do.
7 A key feature of the pleaded case is Publication 2 which forms part of the harassment, misuse of private information and breach of data protection claims but is not said to be libellous. This is a tweet by the Defendant on 30 April 2024, which included a photograph of the Claimant who appears to be getting out of a car. It is apparent that she was not wearing underpants. This is referred to in the POC as "an intimate photograph of the Claimant after she had been upskirted" and I will refer to it as "the Photograph".
8 The text of the tweet stated:
"I for one applaud the celebration of modesty which Narinder highlighted in her criticism of @LeilaniDowding for getting her baps out. We need standards in public life"
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
What about causing funerals? Is that also good PR?
I don’t generally speak ill of the dead, it’s a very bad trend of recent years and I’m a generally positive person who sees the good in everyone, even if we fundamentally disagree on everything.
But I have to admit I won’t shed a tear for Iranian and Russian leaders who find themselves six feet under, no matter how it happened.
While I don't regard Trump as on the same level as these evil, murdering bastards, I won't weep for him either. He has not been a source of good for America, let alone the rest of the world.
I know that I defend Trump more than most on here, but he really isn’t evil. Misguided, self-serving, unwilling to listen to others, guilty as charged. But that doesn’t make someone evil.
Putin and Khomeni, they’re actually evil, people who have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
I love the brewing side of it. I hate the bottling side.
Amen to that. I have, in the past, brewed 40 pints of real ales and then bottled them all. Takes an age and the sterilising/cleaning is a PITA. Wine much less so. Plus I love watching wines bubbling away in the demi-john.
Yeah, I brew my wine in 6 bottle batches. Either from fruit or cartons of juice. Frozen fruit from the supermarket or dried raisins/sultanas do the job
I love listening to the noise of the bubbling caused by the yeast. I’m using Gervin currently.
I racked off five batches this morning. It’s a nice easy jobs
Iran Foreign Ministry says the agreement with the US has “undoubtedly entered a crisis phase,” spokesman Esmail Baghaei says in his weekly press conference. Says ships taking US parallel routes in Hormuz are at risk.
US markets open in only a few hours.
We must be a due a leak to Axios about how well negotiates are going???
Need to get a real leader into the White House instead of the loser who is there who can get regime change in Iran.
Trump is pathetic.
So, to get regime change in Iran, you want regime change in the US? Do you suggest the same approach to achieving regime change, starting with bombing Washington?
TBF, I'm sure I'm not the only person on this board who would be delighted to see the pseudo-religious grifting paedophiles with links to organised crime and holding power through dubious election results with the backing of more or less openly corrupt courts removed.
And it would be good to see the back of the Ayatollahs too.
Iran entered the negotiations not like the vanquished Party, but like the victors.
I’d like all three sides to be replaced. The Mullahs, MAGA and the Far Right Israeli regime
I wasn't at all sympathetic to the Iranian regime until Trump started bombing them. Now I'm not quite so sure!
Don’t be sympathetic to them!
So many of the problems in the Middle East of the past half century have Iran’s fingerprints all over them.
Quite agree and not just the Middle East. They've been supplying drones to Russia AIUI. Don't THINK, but I may be wrong, that they helped the Taliban, though. TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
Indeed, Iran and Russia are the World’s two biggest problems at the moment, and it’s not surprising that they’re helping each other’s adventures.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
What about causing funerals? Is that also good PR?
I don’t generally speak ill of the dead, it’s a very bad trend of recent years and I’m a generally positive person who sees the good in everyone, even if we fundamentally disagree on everything.
But I have to admit I won’t shed a tear for Iranian and Russian leaders who find themselves six feet under, no matter how it happened.
While I don't regard Trump as on the same level as these evil, murdering bastards, I won't weep for him either. He has not been a source of good for America, let alone the rest of the world.
I know that I defend Trump more than most on here, but he really isn’t evil. Misguided, self-serving, unwilling to listen to others, guilty as charged. But that doesn’t make you evil.
Putin and Khomeni, they’re actually evil, people who have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
I wouldn’t say you were an out and out defender, just more nuanced. That fails the PB purity test though
Am I alone in finding Farage a total arse *and* Binface a bit of thin joke?
No, you are not alone. Binface is a bit of a thin joke, marginally enlivening by-elections. Much the same proposition as Lord Sutch (without His Heavy Friends) but with a *slightly* more satirical edge. The character occupies much the same comedy space as any "topical news quiz".
Yes, if he were funnier or had a shred of political sense he'd be in with a shout, but he seems to be nothing more than an attention-seeker with a sub-Beano comedy act. He'll struggle to make 20%, even against Farage.
I think that's right. It's a shame we don't have a Martin Bell type candidate to humiliate Farage. Can't someone persuade Martin Lewis to stand? Or what about some national treasure? Judi Dench MP would be amusing.
The issue with Binface is he brings democracy (further) into disrepute.
Not just Binface. Labour, Conservative, Green, LibDem voters don't count because their betters in London decided humiliating Nigel Farage was more important than democracy. Not that that isn't altogether a bad thing.
Not quite. It isn't a rule of democracy that you take stunts seriously. To resign and stand again in a seat you already hold for another three years is nothing to do with democracy, it is (as it was for Davis) an obvious abuse of process and should not be allowed.
There used to be a tradition of by-elections for many things - such as the assumption of ministerial office.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
Simply untrue. The government was seeking to extend detention without charge for terror suspects from 28 to 42 days. That's bad enough without you throwing in the 'unlimited' untruth.
They were actively canvassing MPs to get support for unlimited detention. 42 days was the compromise they could get through.
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
Still totally untrue. Nobody at all was arguing for unlimited detention as you claim. 90 days was the maximum floated, but this was rejected very quickly to be replaced by 42 days.
I witnessed a government whip arguing for unlimited, to an MP, in public. It was a very high pressure sales attempt.
Irrefutable evidence.
Which I believe as I had a similar experience.
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
I’m surprised that anyone is surprised about unlimited detention without trial being pushed.
It’s in (or was) the pile of folders that gets brought out and presented to ministers after each terrorist attack.
Thatcher told them no, more than once. Michael Howard semi-joked that a vital job of a Home Sec. was shoving the whole pile in the bin.
The government, at the time of which we were speaking, was peculiarly in the thrawl of “intelligence briefings”. Not just Iraq, but the bizarre stuff that led to an illegal surveillance operation against hippy tree climbers that lasted many years. And resulted in lots of lawsuits, some of which are still ongoing.
What does @Richard_Tyndall make of the geological claims about similarity to Norway ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621m9l1qr1o ..Future Works said about 20,000 vehicles currently travel across the Peak District each day, including large numbers of lorries. They argue that road links between Manchester and Sheffield are inadequate, with many motorists forced to take lengthy diversions. The group said a tunnel would improve connections between two of the largest cities in the north of England while reducing traffic impacts on the national park. The project would also involve moving existing electricity infrastructure, which campaigners have said could clear the way for the restoration of the Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield. Norway model The idea of a trans-Pennine tunnel has been considered before, but concerns over cost have prevented it from progressing. The project's backers said it could be funded without direct support from Westminster. Future Works said a previous government assessment estimated a tunnel could cost £10.6bn using conventional UK construction methods, including large tunnel-boring machines. The group is instead proposing the use of a "drill-and-blast" tunnelling technique commonly used in Norway. Supporters of the approach said it relies on smaller specialist teams and the natural strength of the surrounding rock, reducing costs significantly. The organisation estimates that, based on Scandinavian construction costs, the tunnel could be built for less than £2bn, with savings helping to fund the reinstatement of the Woodhead railway. They said the tunnel costs could be recouped through tolls over time...
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
In doing so, however, Davis threw away an excellent chance to be Home Secretary and do something practical about it.
It was not sensible and it was not ultimately effective.
Farage appears to be making exactly the same mistake.
Given that the plan was defeated I am not sure it would be correct to say it was ultimately ineffective.
Its got like this many reasons, not least too many wankers with axes to grind and a police force too wedded to trying to police social media that rather than just tell people to go away, they take it seriously, adding fire to the flames.
And in the end it can be rather costly - "Graham Linehan receives settlement from Met over online post arrest"
Whatever the rights and wrongs of being rude about people online, was it really appropriate of the met to use armed officers to arrest Linehan? Well 25 grand and an apology says not.
What does @Richard_Tyndall make of the geological claims about similarity to Norway ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621m9l1qr1o ..Future Works said about 20,000 vehicles currently travel across the Peak District each day, including large numbers of lorries. They argue that road links between Manchester and Sheffield are inadequate, with many motorists forced to take lengthy diversions. The group said a tunnel would improve connections between two of the largest cities in the north of England while reducing traffic impacts on the national park. The project would also involve moving existing electricity infrastructure, which campaigners have said could clear the way for the restoration of the Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield. Norway model The idea of a trans-Pennine tunnel has been considered before, but concerns over cost have prevented it from progressing. The project's backers said it could be funded without direct support from Westminster. Future Works said a previous government assessment estimated a tunnel could cost £10.6bn using conventional UK construction methods, including large tunnel-boring machines. The group is instead proposing the use of a "drill-and-blast" tunnelling technique commonly used in Norway. Supporters of the approach said it relies on smaller specialist teams and the natural strength of the surrounding rock, reducing costs significantly. The organisation estimates that, based on Scandinavian construction costs, the tunnel could be built for less than £2bn, with savings helping to fund the reinstatement of the Woodhead railway. They said the tunnel costs could be recouped through tolls over time...
Personally I very much agree. It does depend on the rock types but the core of the pennines is millstone grit and carboniferous limestone. Both would be well suited to blasting.
As an aside I started my geology career working as a shotfirer for Tarmac up at Middleton Limestone mine above Wirksworth in Derbyshire. There we blasted tunnels to form a pillar and stall system large enough to drive RD140 dumper trucks through (they are the really big bastards)
So yes. blasting tunnels through the stuff is very effective.
Its got like this many reasons, not least too many wankers with axes to grind and a police force too wedded to trying to police social media that rather than just tell people to go away, they take it seriously, adding fire to the flames.
And in the end it can be rather costly - "Graham Linehan receives settlement from Met over online post arrest"
Whatever the rights and wrongs of being rude about people online, was it really appropriate of the met to use armed officers to arrest Linehan? Well 25 grand and an apology says not.
Toby Young and the Free Speech Union strikes again.
He’s now got enough subscriptions and donations to retain some heavyweight media barristers.
Linehan is an Irish citizen living in the US, who was arrested in the UK for comments made in the US that were objected to by someone in the UK. He was arriving in the UK to attend court as the defendant.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
The new information being that South Yorkshire Police are bloody useless?
Unfortunately for Hodges, he's going to come out of this looking quite bad. Whether it's fair or not, he looks like he's been downplaying what always looked the most likely outcome of the investigation.
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
The filter is - show me in chronological order the posts of the people I want to read.
It was how twitter used to do things, how facebook did when it initially started and is how Bluesky does it..
Counter-terror police are now leading the investigation after "new information and evidence came to light"
Oh crap, that suggests politically motivated.
In quite a lot of the violent attacks we have seen in recent years, you have individuals who are mentally unwell, who have latched onto a cause that justifies the violence they seem to be intent on anyway. Nutters finding a flag.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
The new information being that South Yorkshire Police are bloody useless?
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
The new information being that South Yorkshire Police are bloody useless?
They’ve probably now searched the house of the suspect, and found evidence of some collaboration, coersion, or a wider network of lunatics.
What does @Richard_Tyndall make of the geological claims about similarity to Norway ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621m9l1qr1o ..Future Works said about 20,000 vehicles currently travel across the Peak District each day, including large numbers of lorries. They argue that road links between Manchester and Sheffield are inadequate, with many motorists forced to take lengthy diversions. The group said a tunnel would improve connections between two of the largest cities in the north of England while reducing traffic impacts on the national park. The project would also involve moving existing electricity infrastructure, which campaigners have said could clear the way for the restoration of the Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield. Norway model The idea of a trans-Pennine tunnel has been considered before, but concerns over cost have prevented it from progressing. The project's backers said it could be funded without direct support from Westminster. Future Works said a previous government assessment estimated a tunnel could cost £10.6bn using conventional UK construction methods, including large tunnel-boring machines. The group is instead proposing the use of a "drill-and-blast" tunnelling technique commonly used in Norway. Supporters of the approach said it relies on smaller specialist teams and the natural strength of the surrounding rock, reducing costs significantly. The organisation estimates that, based on Scandinavian construction costs, the tunnel could be built for less than £2bn, with savings helping to fund the reinstatement of the Woodhead railway. They said the tunnel costs could be recouped through tolls over time...
Personally I very much agree. It does depend on the rock types but the core of the pennines is millstone grit and carboniferous limestone. Both would be well suited to blasting.
As an aside I started my geology career working as a shotfirer for Tarmac up at Middleton Limestone mine above Wirksworth in Derbyshire. There we blasted tunnels to form a pillar and stall system large enough to drive RD140 dumper trucks through (they are the really big bastards)
So yes. blasting tunnels through the stuff is very effective.
And very traditional - see the reasons that Nobel was trying to stabilise nitroglycerine. The big market wasn't the military, at that point.
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
You could still search by keyword, or a feed solely of accounts that you have chosen to follow.
But it stops the social media companies using algorithms to feed you posts that will rile you up.
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
Well then, they can be legally liable for what they publish.
Not breaking the law - a radical concept for the radical Malmesbury UnDicatorship.
What does @Richard_Tyndall make of the geological claims about similarity to Norway ?
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621m9l1qr1o ..Future Works said about 20,000 vehicles currently travel across the Peak District each day, including large numbers of lorries. They argue that road links between Manchester and Sheffield are inadequate, with many motorists forced to take lengthy diversions. The group said a tunnel would improve connections between two of the largest cities in the north of England while reducing traffic impacts on the national park. The project would also involve moving existing electricity infrastructure, which campaigners have said could clear the way for the restoration of the Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield. Norway model The idea of a trans-Pennine tunnel has been considered before, but concerns over cost have prevented it from progressing. The project's backers said it could be funded without direct support from Westminster. Future Works said a previous government assessment estimated a tunnel could cost £10.6bn using conventional UK construction methods, including large tunnel-boring machines. The group is instead proposing the use of a "drill-and-blast" tunnelling technique commonly used in Norway. Supporters of the approach said it relies on smaller specialist teams and the natural strength of the surrounding rock, reducing costs significantly. The organisation estimates that, based on Scandinavian construction costs, the tunnel could be built for less than £2bn, with savings helping to fund the reinstatement of the Woodhead railway. They said the tunnel costs could be recouped through tolls over time...
Personally I very much agree. It does depend on the rock types but the core of the pennines is millstone grit and carboniferous limestone. Both would be well suited to blasting.
As an aside I started my geology career working as a shotfirer for Tarmac up at Middleton Limestone mine above Wirksworth in Derbyshire. There we blasted tunnels to form a pillar and stall system large enough to drive RD140 dumper trucks through (they are the really big bastards)
So yes. blasting tunnels through the stuff is very effective.
That was gut feeling, but I'm glad to have it confirmed by someone who knows what they're talking about. Thanks.
The economic benefits would be very significant for the region.
Burnham should fast track this through planning, as the environmental arguments favour it, too.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
The new information being that South Yorkshire Police are bloody useless?
They’ve probably now searched the house of the suspect, and found evidence of some collaboration, coersion, or a wider network of lunatics.
It did seem unlikely that a lone idiot suddenly jumped in his car and drove from Rotherham to Devon on a whim. If it turns out that he was repeatedly reported to Prevent or other services but no one acted, then lessons definitely haven't been learned.
Unfortunately for Hodges, he's going to come out of this looking quite bad. Whether it's fair or not, he looks like he's been downplaying what always looked the most likely outcome of the investigation.
And the police have behaved appallingly.
The police should simply have said that they didn't know. Instead, they said, "we don't know, but we're confident it's not political or terrorist." Which makes them look like idiots when they find evidence that shows different.
Olly Robbins mounting legal challenge to his dismissal (Sky)
I'd have thought he'd win quite easily given the facts.
Robbins decided on his own initiative and contrary to normal practice to ignore vetting on Mandelson and didn't tell his boss. Then it went pear shaped. I would expect to be sacked in those circumstances.
I wouldn't be surprised if it ended in a haggle and a relatively modest settlement.
Starmer doesn't come out of the episode well either. A score draw I think.
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
You could still search by keyword, or a feed solely of accounts that you have chosen to follow.
But it stops the social media companies using algorithms to feed you posts that will rile you up.
Doesn't that mean no advertising, and hence no business?
Which might be fair enough, given the harm that the machines are doing to human minds.
Unfortunately for Hodges, he's going to come out of this looking quite bad. Whether it's fair or not, he looks like he's been downplaying what always looked the most likely outcome of the investigation.
And the police have behaved appallingly.
The police should simply have said that they didn't know. Instead, they said, "we don't know, but we're confident it's not political or terrorist." Which makes them look like idiots when they find evidence that shows different.
If you don't know, say so.
I am certain they wouldn't have been downplaying the possibility of it being a politically-motivated attack had the victim been a Labour politician.
Unfortunately for Hodges, he's going to come out of this looking quite bad. Whether it's fair or not, he looks like he's been downplaying what always looked the most likely outcome of the investigation.
And the police have behaved appallingly.
All the evidence on Friday pointed in one direction - it's only now that they've discovered a very different picture.
And the last thing we want is everything being initially terrorism when it usually isn't - heck it make sense that it was previously a robbery or similar that went wrong.
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
Just ban Twitter. For 12 months. See if we miss it a year later.
Just make all sites and apps which use algorithms*, legally liable for the comments they publish.
*beyond time ordered
You want all 5,000,000 tweets a day (in time order, with no other means of selection) flooding your feed or timeline or whatever they call it? That's 5 or 6,000 every second. People calling for no algorithms need to consider the practicalities.
You could still search by keyword, or a feed solely of accounts that you have chosen to follow.
But it stops the social media companies using algorithms to feed you posts that will rile you up.
Doesn't that mean no advertising, and hence no business?
Which might be fair enough, given the harm that the machines are doing to human minds.
It means less advertising, and a less profitable business, but not none.
Comments
https://bsky.app/profile/fesshole.bsky.social/post/3mqjb2zgxfu24
Typical is 8 I think for young salaried doctors without kids. Most do other stuff, like picking up locums for £££.
I’m marking my macabre anniversary with a beer
Cheers!
Last time he wanted to interfere with JD Vance getting the credit, so he held a ceremony whilst in France during a dinner with Macron on June 17 to sign the "Memorandum of Understanding" (Islamabad Memorandum), and it was essentially just what the Iranians wanted.
Davis’ by-election was a protest about a government going berserk - they were trying to get unlimited detention without trial.
TBH I was a bit surprised the Americans let the funerals go undisturbed.
And schools, to avoid the absurdity of cancelling classes so children and teachers are told to stew in their own homes which also lack air conditioning.
Better still, air con + filtration ready for the next pandemic! And apprentices. Brought to you by the Department for Joined-Up Government.
Letting funerals happen is good PR, there’s plenty of bad things you can say about Trump and Hegseth but they’re not that stupid.
(I agree that DD had a proper political cause, but when you are already elected, the House of Commons is the place to fight it.)
They were using heavy pressure - claiming that 42 days was not enough and would lead to terrorist attacks succeeding.
The whole thing was ridiculous anyway. As Davis himself said, they could quite easily have avoided the whole farrago by changing the rules around post-charge questioning.
Hard to find how many classrooms there are in the UK, but there are about 600 000 teachers, which kind of makes sense because it goes with about 10 million school age children. So let's say 600 000 aircons needed.
That makes a bit more than a billion pounds. Which sounds scary, but capital spending always does. That we're not filtering germs out of the air in schools is silly.
Manhandled out of the conference by thugs with SIA accreditation, as was a man who objected to the rough treatment the frail old man received.
I knew there was some connection with terrorism but couldn't remember what it was.
We’ve got a load ready to be bottled next week
Again, it's minor, but its just another way in which the rest of the world will realise they can't trust anything the current US administration agrees to and everything has to be immediately transactional and short term as there is no way you can get the US to do anything down the line.
Irony squared!!
Pandering to the hard left in the Labour Party Burnham is going to roll back on the proposed 5 year extension to ILR to 10:years.
According to the great labour thinker, Angela Rayner, it was un British changing the rules retrospectively. Of course that’s never happened before.
Oh dear. It’s going to be a long three years.
I love the brewing side of it. I hate the bottling side.
If he’s Truss.
And it’s not enough for the Greens and their leader
“ Labour plans to withhold benefits to people who have been granted Indefinite Leave to Remain.
Performative cruelty and total cowardice.
That’s why the Greens will replace Labour”
https://x.com/zackpolanski/status/2076576952320745860?s=61
Paras 7 and 8 are quite enough to give the gist and tone of what is going on. Perhaps one can use it to form a view on how good Lozza would be at running the country, as he seeks to do.
7 A key feature of the pleaded case is Publication 2 which forms part of the harassment, misuse of private information and breach of data protection claims but is not said to be libellous. This is a tweet by the Defendant on 30 April 2024, which included a photograph of the Claimant who appears to be getting out of a car. It is apparent that she was not wearing underpants. This is referred to in the POC as "an intimate photograph of the Claimant after she had been upskirted" and I will refer to it as "the Photograph".
8 The text of the tweet stated:
"I for one applaud the celebration of modesty which Narinder highlighted in her criticism of @LeilaniDowding for getting her baps out. We need standards in public life"
https://www.bailii.org/ew/cases/EWHC/KB/2026/1743.html
There is, besides, a world of difference between David Davis and Farage.
Davis resigned on a point of principle to highlight a dangerous authoritarian movement within the Labour Government - and it is to the shame of the other opposition parties that they did not take this seriuously. Farage has resigned as a tactic to try and avoid the more serious impact of being forced into a further by-election against his will after he is found to have broken Parliamentary rules.
Davis was looking after all our interests. Farage is only bothered with looking after his own.
It was not sensible and it was not ultimately effective.
Farage appears to be making exactly the same mistake.
But I have to admit I won’t shed a tear for Iranian and Russian leaders who find themselves six feet under, no matter how it happened.
Farage was just hoping to get in early and didn't quite grasp that no-one needed to play his game and had a very simple excuse for ignoring this election.
One of the things that did for the Tories was changing the leader too often. That's not to say that Johnson could have stayed, but they clearly chose a mad option and then corrected, but to the outside world it was nuts.
Dan Hodges has been reported to the Police for so called targetted harassment of Farage.
Are the far right going to become as tedious as the cross dressing men in reporting all sorts of nonsense to the Police pleading victimhood ?
https://x.com/sup2communism/status/2076599110769979477?s=61
“ The first ever English woman on the Lord's honours board, pretty special ✨”
https://x.com/englandcricket/status/2076384676902506924?s=61
Explosives could deliver northern boom via cheaper Pennines tunnel
Start-up says Scandinavian tunnelling methods could cut the cost of a proposed dual carriageway connecting Sheffield and Manchester by as much as 90 per cent
https://www.thetimes.com/uk/transport/article/explosives-could-deliver-northern-boom-via-cheaper-pennines-tunnel-qxqgr2qs6
Putin and Khomeni, they’re actually evil, people who have killed hundreds of thousands of innocent civilians.
I love listening to the noise of the bubbling caused by the yeast. I’m using Gervin currently.
I racked off five batches this morning. It’s a nice easy jobs
Bottling 40 pints feels like purgatory
Too late and a dollar short, but credit where it’s due to the UK government.
Muslim Brotherhood next, by any chance, or too worried about putting off Qatari investments?
It’s in (or was) the pile of folders that gets brought out and presented to ministers after each terrorist attack.
Thatcher told them no, more than once. Michael Howard semi-joked that a vital job of a Home Sec. was shoving the whole pile in the bin.
The government, at the time of which we were speaking, was peculiarly in the thrawl of “intelligence briefings”. Not just Iraq, but the bizarre stuff that led to an illegal surveillance operation against hippy tree climbers that lasted many years. And resulted in lots of lawsuits, some of which are still ongoing.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c621m9l1qr1o
..Future Works said about 20,000 vehicles currently travel across the Peak District each day, including large numbers of lorries.
They argue that road links between Manchester and Sheffield are inadequate, with many motorists forced to take lengthy diversions.
The group said a tunnel would improve connections between two of the largest cities in the north of England while reducing traffic impacts on the national park.
The project would also involve moving existing electricity infrastructure, which campaigners have said could clear the way for the restoration of the Woodhead rail route between Manchester and Sheffield.
Norway model
The idea of a trans-Pennine tunnel has been considered before, but concerns over cost have prevented it from progressing.
The project's backers said it could be funded without direct support from Westminster.
Future Works said a previous government assessment estimated a tunnel could cost £10.6bn using conventional UK construction methods, including large tunnel-boring machines.
The group is instead proposing the use of a "drill-and-blast" tunnelling technique commonly used in Norway.
Supporters of the approach said it relies on smaller specialist teams and the natural strength of the surrounding rock, reducing costs significantly.
The organisation estimates that, based on Scandinavian construction costs, the tunnel could be built for less than £2bn, with savings helping to fund the reinstatement of the Woodhead railway.
They said the tunnel costs could be recouped through tolls over time...
I believe we should ban everyone representing a political party from Twitter.
That's new.
Makes an amphibious assault on Crimea look a lot less risky if you can establish a bridgehead with robotic forces.
And in the end it can be rather costly - "Graham Linehan receives settlement from Met over online post arrest"
https://bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cvgdyjeqz8lo
Whatever the rights and wrongs of being rude about people online, was it really appropriate of the met to use armed officers to arrest Linehan? Well 25 grand and an apology says not.
BREAKING on Ann Widdecombe
Counter-terror police are now leading the investigation after "new information and evidence came to light"
As an aside I started my geology career working as a shotfirer for Tarmac up at Middleton Limestone mine above Wirksworth in Derbyshire. There we blasted tunnels to form a pillar and stall system large enough to drive RD140 dumper trucks through (they are the really big bastards)
So yes. blasting tunnels through the stuff is very effective.
*beyond time ordered
Counter terrorism police lead probe into Widdecombe death
Home Secretary to make a statement
Will address the HOC this pm
He’s now got enough subscriptions and donations to retain some heavyweight media barristers.
Linehan is an Irish citizen living in the US, who was arrested in the UK for comments made in the US that were objected to by someone in the UK. He was arriving in the UK to attend court as the defendant.
Counter Terrorism Policing South East have said that “new information and evidence has come to light” and they have taken over the investigation into the death of Ann Widdecombe.
Shabana Mahmood said:
“This morning I have spoken to the head of Counter Terrorism Policing, Following new information and evidence, they are now leading on the investigation into the horrific murder of Ann Widdecombe. The police are pursuing multiple lines of enquiry to establish the motivation for this attack. I will be updating the House further this afternoon. My thoughts today remain with Ann’s family and friends, and all those who loved her.”
Nothing more than the standard populist approach - with populism defined as people who will blindly follow their media stunts.
And the police have behaved appallingly.
It was how twitter used to do things, how facebook did when it initially started and is how Bluesky does it..
But it stops the social media companies using algorithms to feed you posts that will rile you up.
Not breaking the law - a radical concept for the radical Malmesbury UnDicatorship.
Thanks.
The economic benefits would be very significant for the region.
Burnham should fast track this through planning, as the environmental arguments favour it, too.
If you don't know, say so.
I wouldn't be surprised if it ended in a haggle and a relatively modest settlement.
Starmer doesn't come out of the episode well either. A score draw I think.
Which might be fair enough, given the harm that the machines are doing to human minds.
And the last thing we want is everything being initially terrorism when it usually isn't - heck it make sense that it was previously a robbery or similar that went wrong.