I’m in Croyde this week so got Spotlight news on. They’ve just said that there were cameras in Anne Widdacombe’s house which caught the attack.
If so, why the fuck did the police allow the idea that it was a burglary develop? What an utter disgrace.
I guess your average Devon plod is more like the detectives in Hot Fuzz than Poirot. Why does it matter to you so much that it took them 48 hours to nick the alleged killer?
An aggravated burglary is a reasonable first assumption in such a murder, in the absence of domestic violence.
Been binge watching Criminal Minds, but it should not take an FBI Behavioural Analyst to profile that a body hit with a hammer 21 times is overkill and more than just a burglary, especially combined with the victimology.
Given the nature of the murder, and the nature of the victim, terrorism should have been the first thought.
Even now I am not convinced the murder was terrorism, as there seems no attempt to terrorise others by the killing.
We do not yet know the motive (if there was a clear one) and it looks to me that the offence of murder during the course of an aggravated burglary fits the known facts quite well.
Come now, foxy. One doesn't travel hundreds of miles to steal a wallet. Other motives for taking a wallet after killing someone are available.
The coppers didn't know the bad guy had driven 300 miles at that point.
I don't know why a I am defending the rozzers. I can't stand 'em.
Foxy's comment begins "Even now I am not convinced...".
...the murder was terrorism"
The UK definition of Terrorism is an action or threat designed to influence the government or intimidate the public. Its purpose is to advance a political, religious or ideological cause.
We do not yet know if that was the motive for the killing.
Had a quick Google and it turn out I may have misunderstood aggravated burglary. I thought the motive had to be burglary, but apparently not. The mere combination of a weapon and a burglary will do.
Jacob Bethell out of Hundred and could miss England’s Test series
All-rounder, 22, will not feature for Birmingham Phoenix and it is unclear if he’ll be fit to face Pakistan, while Tom Moody emerges as candidate to replace Brendon McCullum
I’m in Croyde this week so got Spotlight news on. They’ve just said that there were cameras in Anne Widdacombe’s house which caught the attack.
If so, why the fuck did the police allow the idea that it was a burglary develop? What an utter disgrace.
I guess your average Devon plod is more like the detectives in Hot Fuzz than Poirot. Why does it matter to you so much that it took them 48 hours to nick the alleged killer?
An aggravated burglary is a reasonable first assumption in such a murder, in the absence of domestic violence.
Been binge watching Criminal Minds, but it should not take an FBI Behavioural Analyst to profile that a body hit with a hammer 21 times is overkill and more than just a burglary, especially combined with the victimology.
Given the nature of the murder, and the nature of the victim, terrorism should have been the first thought.
Even now I am not convinced the murder was terrorism, as there seems no attempt to terrorise others by the killing.
We do not yet know the motive (if there was a clear one) and it looks to me that the offence of murder during the course of an aggravated burglary fits the known facts quite well.
Come now, foxy. One doesn't travel hundreds of miles to steal a wallet. Other motives for taking a wallet after killing someone are available.
The coppers didn't know the bad guy had driven 300 miles at that point.
I don't know why a I am defending the rozzers. I can't stand 'em.
Foxy's comment begins "Even now I am not convinced...".
...the murder was terrorism"
The UK definition of Terrorism is an action or threat designed to influence the government or intimidate the public. Its purpose is to advance a political, religious or ideological cause.
We do not yet know if that was the motive for the killing.
Had a quick Google and it turn out I may have misunderstood aggravated burglary. I thought the motive had to be burglary, but apparently not. The mere combination of a weapon and a burglary will do.
Looking at the comments, it's beginning to dawn on me that a lot of you don't know what Northern Soul is. To that end, here is the tail end of a Culture Show episode from 2013 which includes Paul Mason (yes, that Paul Mason) dancing in the Northern Soul manner.
Gosh, some people are hard to please. Widdecombe was brutally murdered. The police have caught the murderer (presumably) very quickly, and he is now safely locked up. Looks to me like the police have done pretty well.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
Jacob Bethell out of Hundred and could miss England’s Test series
All-rounder, 22, will not feature for Birmingham Phoenix and it is unclear if he’ll be fit to face Pakistan, while Tom Moody emerges as candidate to replace Brendon McCullum
Gosh, some people are hard to please. Widdecombe was brutally murdered. The police have caught the murderer (presumably) very quickly, and he is now safely locked up. Looks to me like the police have done pretty well.
I am quite free with criticisms of the police in many areas, but I'm really not feeling the outrage on this one. I think our expectations have been truly skewed.
Gosh, some people are hard to please. Widdecombe was brutally murdered. The police have caught the murderer (presumably) very quickly, and he is now safely locked up. Looks to me like the police have done pretty well.
Two things can be true at once. The original local Devon plod made a boo boo and collared the wrong person, it happens. Then they compounded that by also making an unwise statement. The bigger boys took over the case, and got an arrest swiftly, good work by them.
Small boat arrivals are down 47% compared to the same time last year .
This can’t be attributed to unfavourable weather conditions .
There’s been none in the last ten days . I look forward to the media reporting on this , cue tumbleweed …….
In the first 3 weeks of July, despite the perfect weather in the Channel, there have been 555 small boat arrivals. In the same 3 weeks last year there were 5454.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
Gosh, some people are hard to please. Widdecombe was brutally murdered. The police have caught the murderer (presumably) very quickly, and he is now safely locked up. Looks to me like the police have done pretty well.
Two things can be true at once. The original local Devon plod made a boo boo and collared the wrong person, it happens. Then they compounded that by also making an unwise statement. The bigger boys took over the case, and got an arrest swiftly, good work by them.
In the US, "soul" has a meaning somewhat different meaning than in the UK. For example, "souls to the polls" means, roughly, that black churches should encourage their members to vote.
I don't suppose there will be any parallel for the first, but I hope that Northern Soul's political success will produce some music worth listening to. Any evidence of that, so far? (If Wikipedia is right, the movement with that name has a way to go. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Northern_soul )
That's "soul" in US language being an alternative word for "person", is it not? I believe in the case of eg an air emergency, the report would include "6 souls on board" or similar.
Northern Soul is very much the musical style name, reused.
I always treated "souls to the polls" as a snappy promotional slogan in the context of a church, though . I'm sure I've seen videos of "get out the vote" where entire congregations go to vote as a parade, because the history is of powerful groups trying to prevent them having a vote and it is something to cherish.
It's treating the process of voting as performative and celebrational, liturgical, in the way in the UK we perform our constitution at the opening of every session of Parliament.
I see under the somewhat weird and unclear 'ministerial rankings', the First Secretary of State outranks all other ministers, including Great Offices, apart from the Chancellor.
Wait, Sarwar's jacking it in already? After just standing at the Holyrood election? Are there enough of them left in SLab for a decent leadership punch up?
Small boat arrivals are down 47% compared to the same time last year .
This can’t be attributed to unfavourable weather conditions .
There’s been none in the last ten days . I look forward to the media reporting on this , cue tumbleweed …….
In the first 3 weeks of July, despite the perfect weather in the Channel, there have been 555 small boat arrivals. In the same 3 weeks last year there were 5454.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
I would feel more confident that it wasn't due to random factors if someone could point to a cause for it.
Otherwise it would just as likely that there would be a lot of catch-up in August.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Gosh, some people are hard to please. Widdecombe was brutally murdered. The police have caught the murderer (presumably) very quickly, and he is now safely locked up. Looks to me like the police have done pretty well.
Two things can be true at once. The original local Devon plod made a boo boo and collared the wrong person, it happens. Then they compounded that by also making an unwise statement. The bigger boys took over the case, and got an arrest swiftly, good work by them.
Have you never seen that documentary from Shipton Abbot called Beyond Paradise? They are useless.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
There’s a chap on the ’angelogravity.blogspot.com’ blog who periodically dumps links to skipped episodes, totp2, and other miscellanea in the comments.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Friday night on BBC4 is TOTP night, with 3-4 old episodes back to back. I think a lot of others are still in existence, just no longer broadcast because of either host or performers.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
And Burnham as a trade sector journalist for all of 5 minutes before becoming a researcher for Tessa Jowell. Mahmood specialised in private indemnity law but didn't exactly work for a business or firm.
Even if majority Oxbridge, 55% of the Cabinet went to one of those elite universities it is also a very state educated Cabinet. 72% of Burnham's Cabinet went to a comprehensive, just 24% a private school. Indeed more were educated in the North of England, 41% than received a private education
Small boat arrivals are down 47% compared to the same time last year .
This can’t be attributed to unfavourable weather conditions .
There’s been none in the last ten days . I look forward to the media reporting on this , cue tumbleweed …….
In the first 3 weeks of July, despite the perfect weather in the Channel, there have been 555 small boat arrivals. In the same 3 weeks last year there were 5454.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
I would feel more confident that it wasn't due to random factors if someone could point to a cause for it.
Otherwise it would just as likely that there would be a lot of catch-up in August.
Partly boring incremental squeezing, but perhaps mostly reductions in the flows into southern Europe during 2024/5.
(Which I've got a vague recollection of someone- was it @MoonRabbit?- highlighting ages ago.)
But there's a virtuous circle here- the fewer crossings attempted, the easier it is to stop the attempts and the more sufficient the returns deal becomes.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
She is a Burnham loyalist
He's been in post a day, how many loyalists can there be?
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Friday night on BBC4 is TOTP night, with 3-4 old episodes back to back. I think a lot of others are still in existence, just no longer broadcast because of either host or performers.
Sadly from its start most episodes don’t exist until well into the seventies.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Small boat arrivals are down 47% compared to the same time last year .
This can’t be attributed to unfavourable weather conditions .
There’s been none in the last ten days . I look forward to the media reporting on this , cue tumbleweed …….
In the first 3 weeks of July, despite the perfect weather in the Channel, there have been 555 small boat arrivals. In the same 3 weeks last year there were 5454.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
I would feel more confident that it wasn't due to random factors if someone could point to a cause for it.
Otherwise it would just as likely that there would be a lot of catch-up in August.
Partly boring incremental squeezing, but perhaps mostly reductions in the flows into southern Europe during 2024/5.
(Which I've got a vague recollection of someone- was it @MoonRabbit?- highlighting ages ago.)
But there's a virtuous circle here- the fewer crossings attempted, the easier it is to stop the attempts and the more sufficient the returns deal becomes.
Also speeds up processing time, and reduces need for accommodation.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
You may have stricter standards than government. No quality check for MPs, for a start.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
She is a Burnham loyalist
Well Boris had to go after a police caution.
Wikipedia, with citation, claims she went to a magistrates court and pleaded guilty
“ The Times newspaper has been told that Haigh's employer, Aviva, launched an investigation after she claimed that company mobile phones had been stolen or gone missing "on repeated occasions", before referring the matter to the police. [65] During the interview with the police, Haigh said that her solicitor had advised her not to comment, and she did not respond to questions about the use of the phone when approached for comment.[66][67] A case file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service and she was charged with fraud by false representation. Six months before she was elected as an MP at the 2015 general election in November 2014, Haigh pleaded guilty when she appeared at the Camberwell Green magistrates' court, and received a conditional discharge.[68]”
In better news for Kemi Yougov today has the Tories up to second, just ahead of Labour. Though like Deltapoll it was taken after Burnham was elected Labour leader but before he became PM
Reform 23% Conservatives 21% Labour 20% Green 14% LD 12% Res 3% SNP 3%
Wait, Sarwar's jacking it in already? After just standing at the Holyrood election? Are there enough of them left in SLab for a decent leadership punch up?
Burnham seems to be quite enjoying rewarding all the people who helped do for Starmer.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
I've not seen that before, although I love the Persuaders title sequence.
I watched the first dozen on the ITV YouTube channel. Quite fun.
It’s a great title sequence
The Protectors is even better. Robert Vaughn opens his window out onto a Fiat 850 coupe barrel rolling to Avenues and Alleyways.
A bridge blowing up, Robert Vaughn cracking eggs and patting a dogs head, Nyree Dawn Porter underwater swimming, Tony Anholt looking suave. With a cracking theme.
It’s a joy
But nothing at all tops season 1 of Space 1999’s titles.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
She wouldn't be in my Cabinet for that, but then Lucy Powell wouldn't be in my Cabinet for being awfully useless and unpleasantly partisan.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
You may have stricter standards than government. No quality check for MPs, for a start.
There are some checks for MPs, bankrupts cannot be MPs.
Lab 28% (+8) Reform 28% (-) Con 18% (+1) Lib Dem 10% (-2) Green 10% (-3) SNP 3% (-) Other 2% (-2) Plaid 1% (-)
Kemi fans please explain.
Also those PBers who got excited by 3 polls showing Labour in third place last week explain.
It’s just one poll!
Holidaying political blog editors please explain the logic of anyone getting excited by just one poll. 🤷♀️
As political anoraks, we all know what became of the Labour Party yesterday was a disaster.
If you notice I very rarely do threads on single VI polls (Ipsos is usually the one exception due to the leader ratings).
I’ve said the polls are worth analysing in October.
Okay. You just fancied a “please explain Kemi fans” wind up. That’s perfectly fair and understandable. And it worked.
However, as you mentioned analysis. My header is ready, it’s called “Long Range Insight into Tactical Voting at the next General Election” and I have dropped it in the usual place to you to consider publishing.
So how do we know this far out from May 3rd 2029 exactly how the tactical voting plays out next time? With a meaningful and most serious round up of such analysis - not by me, but from polling firms and psephologists.
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
She wouldn't be in my Cabinet for that, but then Lucy Powell wouldn't be in my Cabinet for being awfully useless and unpleasantly partisan.
I wonder if champagne corks are popping in the @ydoethur household at her new gig.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
In particular the jury in a later trial can normally be told about previous convictions if they involve dishonesty. As opposed to other convictions where relevance must be argued.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Wait, Sarwar's jacking it in already? After just standing at the Holyrood election? Are there enough of them left in SLab for a decent leadership punch up?
Have not been for years so they just keep scraping the barrel,
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
It's a Telegraph unhinged headline but behind that it is not a good look.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
bollox, she should not be near any job with responsibility, totally dodgy
Anyhoo I am delighted so many of you have spotted the subtle music reference in the headline.
I wouldn't spot a musical reference if I was smacked in the face with a Beatles hit.
Perhaps if our politicians experienced a day in the life of an ordinary person they'd realise they need a bit of help from the taxman. Take a look at the Scandinavian countries. They have it sussed. Ask a typical Brit if they think the government is on their side and they won't say yes. But a Norwegian would.
Wait, Sarwar's jacking it in already? After just standing at the Holyrood election? Are there enough of them left in SLab for a decent leadership punch up?
Have not been for years so they just keep scraping the barrel,
The only two Slab MSPs I can name are Jackie Bailie and Paul Sweeney.
Wikipedia informs me Joe Fagan is an MSP as of the 2026 election, so he should run on the slogan - Scottish Labour - That's Livin Alright.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
Somehow this makes him, and them, more in touch with the country.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Nah, because she'd be working in banking she'd be barred, for example lawyers and accountants have to declare certain spent convictions.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
She wouldn't be in my Cabinet for that, but then Lucy Powell wouldn't be in my Cabinet for being awfully useless and unpleasantly partisan.
I wonder if champagne corks are popping in the @ydoethur household at her new gig.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Rewarding disloyalty and failure... good move Andy
You are so partisan.
Sarwar has been a poor leader for SLab.
Rewarding him with a peerage and a government job seems undeserved.
Are you new to politics?
Why are so concerned about my opinions? Seems unnecessarily personal...
It's tedious to read, a bit like Brixian's posts at times.
For example you seemed be to shocked that Burnham had appointed a non lawyer as Lord Chancellor, this is not unprecedented.
In the last decade or so the Tories appointed at least four non lawyers to the role.
Chris Grayling, Michael Gove, Liz Truss, and David Lidington.
Just ignore me then. That's absolutely fine.
I have been anti-Labour from my late teens. I first canvassed in 1987. This was influenced by the interruptions to my state education in the 70s and 80s by strikes.
I have voted Tory and Lib Dem and frequently spoil my ballot when I can't find a candidate to support. I will never consider voting Reform/Restore.
I will put my hand up to having forgotten about the past Tory Lord Chancellors. But I do believe that the Blair messing with the role was bad for our system and that an experienced lawyer should be in role of Lord Chancellor. By all means separate it from SoS for Justice.
That story we talked about here several weeks ago of the legal "Electrically Assisted Pedal Cycle" (EAPC) which was taken away then destroyed, and where there were some great comments, has broken through again, and it is linked in with another story of the wheelchair put in the vehicle pound.
They are getting on to the police training issue (in this case they tested it with the motor switched OFF, and just wound it up to an indicated 60kph or whatever with the back wheel off the ground, then confiscated), and the impact on people who use them legally.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
I've not seen that before, although I love the Persuaders title sequence.
I watched the first dozen on the ITV YouTube channel. Quite fun.
It’s a great title sequence
I love that title sequence . John Barry was an absolute legend . I remember as a kid so excited towards Christmas when they’d show a Bond film .
He was an absolute genius.
His theme to Midnight Cowboy is amazing. Just a guy with a harmonica yet soooooo good.
I read John (Nigel) Taylor's autobiography. For you it is worth a read, he discusses the benefits of the Midland Red bus from Alcester via Hollywood into Birmingham, as opposed to a WMPTE bus from the Maypole. Gay Hill Golf Club gets an interesting name check too. He writes about difficulties John Barry had over the score for A View to a Kill with Nick Rhodes. I knew Nick Rhodes (as Nicholas Bates) very, very well at Woodrush. He was an over confident arse at school, so to learn he was telling John Barry how to do his job came as no surprise.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Nah, because she'd be working in banking she'd be barred, for example lawyers and accountants have to declare certain spent convictions.
Yet she can be the Chief Operating Officer for an entire government.
I knew the spotlight would be on Lou. She is the Peter Mandelson of this government.
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
I've seen the following sequence play out in the early company mobile phone era, circa 2000 (so a decade earlier):-
1. Person: I want a new phone 2. Person to HR: my phone's been nicked. Please get me a new one. 3. HR to Person: OK, here's a new phone. We'll claim it on insurance. 4. HR to Insurance: an employee's had their phone nicked, send money. 5. Insurance to HR: we need a crime number. 6. HR to Person: we need a crime number. 7. Person to Police: my phone's been nicked. I need a crime number.
Maybe adding the mugging claim prompted the police actually to investigate and it all unravelled from there.
But who knows? It's embarrassing but hardly crime of the century.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Nah, because she'd be working in banking she'd be barred, for example lawyers and accountants have to declare certain spent convictions.
Not neccesarily barred, but should show on a DRB. It is possible to employ them eyes open.
I once hired a manager with a 1 year suspended sentence for causing death by dangerous driving. She was very good in her role, and ever so grateful for the opportunity to restart her career.
Of course, because the geopolitical constraints are the same as they were last week. The more interesting question is to what extent he will get away with it.
My guess is "rather more than Starmer." That's politics.
One of the greatest tragedies of TV prior to 78 is the lack of retention of material in the archives.
TOTP was especially savaged
I found Steve Wright/ Mark Radcliffe's TOTP2 useful. There is some great early seventies material available that isn't found anywhere else.
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
I met John Henshall at a convention who developed the Fish Eye lens and returned the Jean Genie to the BBC. Nice chap
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
I've not seen that before, although I love the Persuaders title sequence.
I watched the first dozen on the ITV YouTube channel. Quite fun.
It’s a great title sequence
I love that title sequence . John Barry was an absolute legend . I remember as a kid so excited towards Christmas when they’d show a Bond film .
He was an absolute genius.
His theme to Midnight Cowboy is amazing. Just a guy with a harmonica yet soooooo good.
I read John (Nigel) Taylor's autobiography. For you it is worth a read, he discusses the benefits of the Midland Red bus from Alcester via Hollywood into Birmingham, as opposed to a WMPTE bus from the Maypole. Gay Hill Golf Club gets an interesting name check too. He writes about difficulties John Barry had over the score for A View to a Kill with Nick Rhodes. I knew Nick Rhodes (as Nicholas Bates) very, very well at Woodrush. He was an over confident arse at school, so to learn he was telling John Barry how to do his job came as no surprise.
Thanks. I will have to look it up. See if it is on audible.
Didn’t realise there was such a Midlands connection.
That story reminds me of the time a newcomer actor playing a companion in Dr Who gave advice to Richard Todd on how to act !!
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
I've seen the following sequence play out in the early company mobile phone era, circa 2000 (so a decade earlier):-
1. Person: I want a new phone 2. Person to HR: my phone's been nicked. Please get me a new one. 3. HR to Person: OK, here's a new phone. We'll claim it on insurance. 4. HR to Insurance: an employee's had their phone nicked, send money. 5. Insurance to HR: we need a crime number. 6. HR to Person: we need a crime number. 7. Person to Police: my phone's been nicked. I need a crime number.
Maybe adding the mugging claim prompted the police actually to investigate and it all unravelled from there.
But who knows? It's embarrassing but hardly crime of the century.
It does however show a disregard for honesty.
Maybe I'm unusual but I wouldn't get past my conscience on that one.
Andy Burnham makes first Labour figure to call for Starmer to quit a minister
Anas Sarwar, the Scottish Labour leader, will be a minister in the Department for Business, Innovation, Science and Trade after accepting a place in the Lords
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
No. It went to court, she was convicted and she got an unconditional discharge IIRC.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
She wouldn't be in my Cabinet for that, but then Lucy Powell wouldn't be in my Cabinet for being awfully useless and unpleasantly partisan.
I wonder if champagne corks are popping in the @ydoethur household at her new gig.
I refer the hon poster to the comment I made on a previous thread:
Between the Americans, Iranians, Russians and Ukrainians, there soon won't be any tankers left. (Sorry for the sing-song nature of that sentence but I can't be bothered to recast it.)
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Nah, because she'd be working in banking she'd be barred, for example lawyers and accountants have to declare certain spent convictions.
Yet she can be the Chief Operating Officer for an entire government.
I knew the spotlight would be on Lou. She is the Peter Mandelson of this government.
No, Mandeleson had a long track record of repeated bad behaviour with no real repentance.
Haigh has gone straight and was a very effective Transport minister.
She deserves a second chance. She knows she won't get a third.
Convicted fraudster Louise Haigh stripped of oversight of fraud office
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
The headline seems ridiculously over the top . I mean what did she have to gain from misleading police and I tend to think it was a genuine mistake . She should of course have informed the police immediately that she had found her phone .
I've seen the following sequence play out in the early company mobile phone era, circa 2000 (so a decade earlier):-
1. Person: I want a new phone 2. Person to HR: my phone's been nicked. Please get me a new one. 3. HR to Person: OK, here's a new phone. We'll claim it on insurance. 4. HR to Insurance: an employee's had their phone nicked, send money. 5. Insurance to HR: we need a crime number. 6. HR to Person: we need a crime number. 7. Person to Police: my phone's been nicked. I need a crime number.
Maybe adding the mugging claim prompted the police actually to investigate and it all unravelled from there.
But who knows? It's embarrassing but hardly crime of the century.
My old boss started at 1, he wanted a colour blackberry and his was an old black and white one.
They said no.
By some unhappy coincidence a couple of weeks later the screen was cracked by accident rendering it unusable.
Andy Burnham has appointed the most Oxbridge-educated Cabinet in modern times. 17 of the 28 Ministers appointed were educated at either Oxford or Cambridge, according to analysis by The i Paper
And yet bugger all of them (i think 3) have had a job in the private sector let alone run a business.
I started looking at the careers of the Cabinet, working down from the PM, and I only had to look at the first seven before I found four who have worked in the private sector (Burnham: journalist, Haigh:Aviva, Mahmood: barrister, Streeting: PWC). No doubt if I continued my efforts I would have found many more. Must try harder!
Haigh ended up with a conviction for fraud !!
Police caution (now spent) but then it was spent when Starmer sacked her. So what has changed?
It would still show up on an enhanced DBS check which means she couldn't work for me.
It would be filtered out from enhanced DBS checks after 12 years, surely? Fraud, conditional discharge...
Nah, because she'd be working in banking she'd be barred, for example lawyers and accountants have to declare certain spent convictions.
Not neccesarily barred, but should show on a DRB. It is possible to employ them eyes open.
I once hired a manager with a 1 year suspended sentence for causing death by dangerous driving. She was very good in her role, and ever so grateful for the opportunity to restart her career.
I too employ people with spent criminal records, they're not all recidivists, as I noted yesterday I was saddened by the resignation of James Timpson as Prisons Minister.
This is purely politics, Nigel Farage is in a lot of trouble for his involvement with a convicted fraudster, he can use Louise Haigh to blunt those attacks.
Small boat arrivals are down 47% compared to the same time last year .
This can’t be attributed to unfavourable weather conditions .
There’s been none in the last ten days . I look forward to the media reporting on this , cue tumbleweed …….
In the first 3 weeks of July, despite the perfect weather in the Channel, there have been 555 small boat arrivals. In the same 3 weeks last year there were 5454.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
I would feel more confident that it wasn't due to random factors if someone could point to a cause for it.
Otherwise it would just as likely that there would be a lot of catch-up in August.
I think we have extra French police on the beaches, and also a couple of major crime figures may have been caught.
Comments
My particular favourite TOTP clip after Sweet's Fox on the Run, Virginia Plain, Maggie May and Starman is Andy Kim's Rock me Gently, spoiled I am afraid by that disgusting old white haired Yorkshire pedo pawing underage girls.
Its a bit early to call the governments policies a success, but a 90% drop from last July is remarkeable.
Northern Soul is very much the musical style name, reused.
I always treated "souls to the polls" as a snappy promotional slogan in the context of a church, though . I'm sure I've seen videos of "get out the vote" where entire congregations go to vote as a parade, because the history is of powerful groups trying to prevent them having a vote and it is something to cherish.
It's treating the process of voting as performative and celebrational, liturgical, in the way in the UK we perform our constitution at the opening of every session of Parliament.
Yesterday this would have been Dan Jarvis.
Today it is Wes Streeting.
Smooth transfer, not even a momentary pause at a long pre-arranged event.
Is this - at root - an Oxbridge thing. The new Master of College has been elected and so here we go??
Wes Streeting
@wesstreeting
Maximising our deterrence. Creating good jobs. Pushing the frontier of defence innovation.
All to make sure that if deterrence fails, we are ready to fight and win.
Programmes like @GCAP_int demonstrate how we are making that happen with our allies 🇬🇧🇮🇹🇯🇵🇨🇦
https://x.com/wesstreeting/status/2079620639699206285
https://members.parliament.uk/government/cabinet
Hamish Falconer is the bottom of the list, and the Leader of the Lords ranks below the Wales Office (which is below Scotland and Northern Ireland)
Otherwise it would just as likely that there would be a lot of catch-up in August.
Must try harder!
Many performances from the early days exist as they were sold to overseas stations for pop programs so survived as inserts.
Some colour ones exist in private hands. Unlikely so see the light of day.
TOTP fandom is almost as bad as Dr Who fandom.
I have a real affinity for the early pans people pop videos they made, as well as the videos they made to accompany songs they couldn’t get artists over for,
This is my favourite.
https://youtu.be/IXP7q3T1Tmc?is=kwBFZ7KLHlj7MCqY
Even if majority Oxbridge, 55% of the Cabinet went to one of those elite universities it is also a very state educated Cabinet. 72% of Burnham's Cabinet went to a comprehensive, just 24% a private school. Indeed more were educated in the North of England, 41% than received a private education
https://www.suttontrust.com/our-research/sutton-trust-cabinet-analysis-2026/
https://bsky.app/profile/sundersays.bsky.social/post/3mqyomkeqn22t
(Which I've got a vague recollection of someone- was it @MoonRabbit?- highlighting ages ago.)
But there's a virtuous circle here- the fewer crossings attempted, the easier it is to stop the attempts and the more sufficient the returns deal becomes.
It’s a great title sequence
Strong Burnham supporter perhaps.
Yes, it was very minor. Yes, technically the conviction is spent.
But those standing for public office need to be held to a higher standard. A fraud conviction is always a serious matter even a minor one.
Brief for tackling public sector scams handed to Pat McFadden, the Work and Pensions Secretary, instead
Louise Haigh, a convicted fraudster, is being stripped of responsibility for tackling public sector fraud in her new Cabinet role.
Ms Haigh, the new Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster, was appointed to Andy Burnham’s top team on Monday.
She admitted misleading police more than a decade ago after wrongly telling officers her work phone had been stolen when she was “mugged while on a night out” in 2013.
She claimed she initially believed the phone had been taken but later found the handset at home.
The following year, six months before she became an MP, Ms Haigh pleaded guilty to making a false report to police and was handed a conditional discharge by magistrates. It is understood that the conviction is now classified as “spent”.
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/gift/5183178a9c7f99c2
Clearly though Burnham Labour the biggest winners, mainly squeezing the LDs and Greens. First Deltapoll Reform have not led Labour in since March 2025
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Opinion_polling_for_the_next_United_Kingdom_general_election
Rewarding him with a peerage and a government job seems undeserved.
“ The Times newspaper has been told that Haigh's employer, Aviva, launched an investigation after she claimed that company mobile phones had been stolen or gone missing "on repeated occasions", before referring the matter to the police. [65] During the interview with the police, Haigh said that her solicitor had advised her not to comment, and she did not respond to questions about the use of the phone when approached for comment.[66][67] A case file was sent to the Crown Prosecution Service and she was charged with fraud by false representation. Six months before she was elected as an MP at the 2015 general election in November 2014, Haigh pleaded guilty when she appeared at the Camberwell Green magistrates' court, and received a conditional discharge.[68]”
Reform 23%
Conservatives 21%
Labour 20%
Green 14%
LD 12%
Res 3%
SNP 3%
https://x.com/ElectionMapsUK/status/2079484453403980240
It’s a joy
But nothing at all tops season 1 of Space 1999’s titles.
I get enhanced DBS and credit checks.
However, as you mentioned analysis. My header is ready, it’s called “Long Range Insight into Tactical Voting at the next General Election” and I have dropped it in the usual place to you to consider publishing.
So how do we know this far out from May 3rd 2029 exactly how the tactical voting plays out next time?
With a meaningful and most serious round up of such analysis - not by me, but from polling firms and psephologists.
For example you seemed be to shocked that Burnham had appointed a non lawyer as Lord Chancellor, this is not unprecedented.
In the last decade or so the Tories appointed at least four non lawyers to the role.
Chris Grayling, Michael Gove, Liz Truss, and David Lidington.
His theme to Midnight Cowboy is amazing. Just a guy with a harmonica yet soooooo good.
Wikipedia informs me Joe Fagan is an MSP as of the 2026 election, so he should run on the slogan - Scottish Labour - That's Livin Alright.
I think Gove was a favourite.
https://x.com/symonebeez/status/2079582838714704255?s=61
https://jobbie.bot/
I have been anti-Labour from my late teens. I first canvassed in 1987. This was influenced by the interruptions to my state education in the 70s and 80s by strikes.
I have voted Tory and Lib Dem and frequently spoil my ballot when I can't find a candidate to support. I will never consider voting Reform/Restore.
I will put my hand up to having forgotten about the past Tory Lord Chancellors. But I do believe that the Blair messing with the role was bad for our system and that an experienced lawyer should be in role of Lord Chancellor. By all means separate it from SoS for Justice.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyvl7ld06r8o
They are getting on to the police training issue (in this case they tested it with the motor switched OFF, and just wound it up to an indicated 60kph or whatever with the back wheel off the ground, then confiscated), and the impact on people who use them legally.
Video of the police test:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rc5lutTqfVE
It will come back again when they notice the legal action, or a settlement of it.
There was a big piece in Road.cc (who are a good route to wider attention) under their E-Bike Tips stream, which may have been it:
https://road.cc/ebiketips/news/police-seize-and-destroy-delivery-cyclists-legal-e-bike
https://x.com/michaeldweiss/status/2079652890071777643
Same as the old boss.
“ NEW UK PM BURNHAM APPROVES USE OF UK BASES FOR SOME US STRIKES ON IRAN”
https://x.com/deitaone/status/2079644764782084116?s=61
I knew the spotlight would be on Lou. She is the Peter Mandelson of this government.
1. Person: I want a new phone
2. Person to HR: my phone's been nicked. Please get me a new one.
3. HR to Person: OK, here's a new phone. We'll claim it on insurance.
4. HR to Insurance: an employee's had their phone nicked, send money.
5. Insurance to HR: we need a crime number.
6. HR to Person: we need a crime number.
7. Person to Police: my phone's been nicked. I need a crime number.
Maybe adding the mugging claim prompted the police actually to investigate and it all unravelled from there.
But who knows? It's embarrassing but hardly crime of the century.
I once hired a manager with a 1 year suspended sentence for causing death by dangerous driving. She was very good in her role, and ever so grateful for the opportunity to restart her career.
My guess is "rather more than Starmer." That's politics.
Didn’t realise there was such a Midlands connection.
That story reminds me of the time a newcomer actor playing a companion in Dr Who gave advice to Richard Todd on how to act !!
Maybe I'm unusual but I wouldn't get past my conscience on that one.
https://vf.politicalbetting.com/discussion/comment/5607578
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/europe/ukraine-russia-war-live-putin-zelensky-moscow-drone-attack-b3018561.html
Between the Americans, Iranians, Russians and Ukrainians, there soon won't be any tankers left. (Sorry for the sing-song nature of that sentence but I can't be bothered to recast it.)
Haigh has gone straight and was a very effective Transport minister.
She deserves a second chance. She knows she won't get a third.
They said no.
By some unhappy coincidence a couple of weeks later the screen was cracked by accident rendering it unusable.
He got his colour blackberry.
This is purely politics, Nigel Farage is in a lot of trouble for his involvement with a convicted fraudster, he can use Louise Haigh to blunt those attacks.
But I'm not over the detail.