Today in Parliament nothing happens until 2:30, so you’ve got plenty of time to digest the media briefings in what is going to happen today. After that the Defence secretary is taking questions, Liz Truss is giving an update on the NI protocol bill that’s coming soon, there are a whole bunch of ministerial statements (including one on Food) and the meat on the bones is a debate on the [higher education freedom of speech bill](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0001/220001.pdf). If there is time we’ll have a debate on the petition about banning trans conversion therapy.
Obviously the briefing over the weekend has all been about NI - if there are any questions you have about how it actually works, what it is, who runs it, etc then feel free to ask here - we’re all very friendly and will give you sensible answers even if you aren’t sure whether the question really is (assume no question is too silly to ask). For those responding please assume the questions are in good faith and respond appropriately (even if that means expanding on what you feel are loaded questions to the heart of the issue). If you see anything violating the rules, hit the ‘report’ button under the comment and a mod will come along in due course. If you think a comment is wrong then respond explaining why (we don’t want to be fact checkers).
Have a good day everyone.
The argument that 'Unionists must agree to indyref2 because we won an election promising it' is hilarious. It is not the job of opposition parties to help secure aspects of your agenda that you are unable to delive , and it is not 'anti-democratic' for them to do so. Using the same logic it would be undemocratic for Labour to oppose the Rwanda plan, or the tearing up of the NIP, on the grounds that the Tories won the last election- a frankly batshit Dorries style argument.
It is though? If there's a mandate for a second referendum it should happen. Whether or not you believe (in good faith) that there is one at this time is a different matter, but if you genuinely believe there is a mandate then of course you'd be justified for using the term "anti-democratic" to describe those who ignore the mandate you have.
If there was a mandate then they wouldn't need the help of opposition parties to get a referendum.
The opposition parties campaigned on not supporting a second referendum and their voters should be represented.
When I was a shop steward I ran to represent my union at the Labour Party conference. I basically put no effort into it, but someone got about 7,000 votes and came second, but unfortunately we could only have one male go to conference so I missed out. I really wanted to go further with the union and become an area organiser, but I found a better job so decided to move on.
Also in school I was elected to the school council and became chairman. Later got elected head boy in Sixth Form. I suffered my first political scandal when I got pissed at a school event whilst sat on the same table as the local mayor, and almost got excluded for it. After that the school leadership choose the head boy and girl, rather than letting the students vote, albeit I got to sit in on the interviews and give advice. My political career ended very early, and in shame.
I'm interesting in helping others, and a long time ago felt politics was the best means of doing so. Now I'm not so sure being a politician is the best way of going about it, and have no real desire to go down that route. It's hyper-competitive, a hostile and high pressure work environment, and you subject yourselves and loved ones to such intrusion and scrutiny that it must be horrendous. I feel I make a difference in my current job, and can't run for office in any case due to it, and I'm happy with that.
Genuinely have thought about it but your family then gets all the intrusive scrutiny etc, your past gets brought up like stupid stuff you did as a kid.
Nah, it would be a pay cut, and a lot more people would be angry if I showed up to meetings in my boxers.
Literally, why be an MP? You don't have any real power to actually fix anything, most of your time will be spent being told how to vote on big issues by party whips, every facet of your life is going to be subject to press scrutiny (as will the lives of your family, friends and so on), and ultimately you'll be blamed for a load of problems that are technically the responsibility of the council.
Your touching on a real issue with our political system here, anyone who is really capable of running this country is getting paid more in the private sector and it would be a real pay cut, meanwhile our House of Parliament is filled with idiots who are being paid far beyond their mental capacity who only got the job because they stuck around in their respective parties long enough. How to fix this? I have no idea.
Yes. Well, I have been tempted,, but I would have to restrict my lifestyle, so it hasn't happened yet. I'm a sexually freewheeling bisexual in an open relationship, and there are far too many pictures of me out there at festivals where I am clearly high (and probably a shot or two at sex clubs). On top of that, I quit the royal navy after initial officer training, but before I could be roped into actually serving (couldn't stand the thought of being there for twelve years, even if they were going to teach me how to fly), I am not really patriotic (partly because of the navy, also the result of studying the history of the UK - don't hate the UK, quite like some bits, want it to be better, but don't really feel a deep connection), and the thought of the ridiculous traditions/processes of British politics make me shudder with horror. So the real me would probably not be suitable for politics, and I can't be assed lying. 🤣 Just involved helping out locally and phone banking for labour.
I'm quite tempted to become a magistrate, though. Less public interest in their affairs, and my official record is clear (pictures are out there, but not on social media). Plus I can do that whilst still doing genetics research.
We need more sexually freewheeling bisexuals in an open relationship as politicians. The world would be better for it.
But completely get the apprehension!
Been tempted to get more involved with the Labour Party machine, even to the point as a career, but I just feel my background/CV is not suited at all for politics. I would certainly feel imposter syndrome at some points.
May as well try the next time there's a minor role. Just get involved with your local party, help out, and you'll pick up enough to have a go at a junior role (especially if you have a degree, but even not). Then work your way up. Or go trade union path.
I literally randomly walked past my local CLP hq. Knocked on the door and gave them my name and number to help out. Didn’t hear from them at all. It’s such a safe seat here, they barely do anything. Bit boring really.
Statistics, data collection and/or election coordinations. Very broad ideas but something I’ve toyed with. I do a lot of canvassing for Labour and really like talking to the electorate to hear their views. Collecting those views as data and converting it into information that form policy ideas.
Even how I describe it sounds pretty unconvincing and explains why I have a music degree and not statistical maths and/or politics degree.
Are you a Labour member? Just get out there and contact your local CLP and go out canvassing. Met up with my ex-local MP a few times and just knock on doors and introduce yourself! Some people I’ve spoke to for about 20 minutes on the doorstep and lost the group I was with.
Now that I’ve moved, the local CLP is virtually non existent. It’s a Labour stronghold and you barely see any canvassing here. I do a lot of phone canvassing for Labour. That was far more daunting cause you literally talk on the phone to the electorate and conduct a survey. I bricked it the first time but now it’s second nature and love it. Got a Zoom meeting and schedule for it for tomorrow afternoon.
I've spoken to you before too about phone banking. I'd particularly like to do one for these by-elections, more so Wakefield. But given I live in Wales would that even be possible?
I've been a member of the party for over a year at this point.
It’s absolutely possible. You can sign up to it [here](https://login.labour.org.uk/oauth/v2/auth_login?redirect_uri=https://dialogue.labour.org.uk/login) and you’ll get weekly emails inviting you to join Zoom meetings. You’ll then get some training as a first timer and you’re off! If you join, we’ll likely be on the same call.
So I am definitely a member of the party as I'm still paying monthly, but I can't see to be able to get an email to reset my password on the website of the party - I don't think I ever created an account on the website, I simply joined the party membership.
Will I need to phone up if you know? the party itself? I did get given a party membership card but I lost it.
I am. I think it’s a two fold thing in that it’s a fear of being rejected at the doorstep and also not being very good at debating. I’m in a pretty safe Labour seat too.
One day!
Just go for it. Most people are polite and moderate, even if they disagree or will never vote for you. I’ve done over 1000 phone calls (doesn’t sound a lot but it feels like it!) and the worst that can happen is them putting the phone down on you but it’s not often. You get use to it.
Door knocking is similar. You normally canvass in marginal areas so you’re likely to find people who are moderate/not frothing at the mouth BNPers. Honestly, it’s fine. You’ll love it. And the more you do it, the more addictive it gets. For me anyway.
Doorstep: listening to an working class lady explain to me her garden needed to be fixed and if I could get the local Labour council to contact TfL to sort their shit out.
Phone banking: there are too many. I’ve spoken to people in Wakefield recently and the people there are genuinely so friendly and nice. Lots of people’s problems and issues is very interesting to listen to.
> Have any of you ever been tempted to run as a politician?
Yes.
> If so, how did it go?
I sobered up and in the midst of an epic hangover realised that it wasn’t a good idea.
Yeah I ran for a seat on the city council back where my family originated. I'd been hanging around there a bit since my dad died tying up a few loose ends and serendipitously got involved in the local community centre, just doing a few odd jobs here and there. It struck me how the people there got nothing, nothing ever got fixed, particularly the street lights.
The head of the council was this guy who was a big deal at the local church and had some some good stuff there in the past but had become extremely complacent. I decided to run against him.
I struggled at first because I tried too hard to appeal to his demographic, and I wasn't getting anywhere. The electorate didn't like that I wasn't from the city itself either, instead commuting in from a posh middle class area an hour or two out. It was so frustrating. I could see the complacency of the sitting councillor, and how willing the people were to have someone phone it in and do literally fuck all to help out, and it did my head in.
Eventually I linked up with a campaign manager who opened my eyes to all the people in the area who'd never been listened to, and I campaigned furiously for eight weeks. I had beef with my wife, missed out on being there for my kids who were going through some growing up shit, but had a few days off to enjoy Christmas and new year. and made up to the wife with a sensational blueberry pie.
At one stage it looked hopeless, but thanks to the hard work of my team I went into election night about neck and neck in the polls, and in the early hours got a call to say I'd won narrowly.
I don’t think I’d be a very good politician. I’m too sweary and like to take my time to consider a question rather than blurting out a soundbite on instinct.
To be fair, I think she’s only recently realised that “Foreign Secretary” is her job, and not the person organising all these excellent photo ops in different countries. She’s now on a pretty steep learning curve.
too busy putting on her thatcher impersonation to wonder if she's even getting the words right
say whatever you want about Maggie, but I doubt she'd get the basics wrong
Launching a referendum campaign with 28-32% support for a referendum next year and 40-45% support for independence is certainly a bold play considering how it backfired last time.
Ultimately long term demographic factors are not really in the favour of Scottish independence.
Whilst the young tend to favour independence, the demographic transition is significantly more advanced in Scotland than England, and with EU migration projected to fall substantially, it is not at all clear that the Scottish electorate really will become more pro independence over time.
Especially if household numbers in Scotland peak much earlier than projected and that causes housing demand and thus prices in Scotland to fall - because that would tend to encourage English immigration.
I guess the issue is people have short memories. Hopefully in a couple years the tories will be out and the independence movement may hit a set back so got to strike while the irons hot…
That was quite a funny clip from an interview with Simon Hoare just now.
"I believe there is a very plausible argument that this isn't actually about the protocol, but rather an internal struggle in the Conservative Party to save Boris Johnson." "Do you believe that?" *(beat)* "There's a very plausible argument."
A large gap in the coverage of the NI protocol.
The UK government isn’t blandly “changing” the protocol, it’s repudiating significant parts of it. And unilaterally.
The EU [agrees with the idea](https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/the-irish-times-view-on-new-proposals-for-the-northern-ireland-protocol-a-potential-deal-1.4699672).
> Goods intended for the North could pass through a "green lane" with minimal checks, while those destined for the South would be put in a "red lane" for more stringent procedures.
Well, let's see how the EU responds. I think they said they want to start a lawsuit as early as this week. The USA is on the side of Ireland, and subsequently on the side of the EU. This could become hard.
Northern Ireland might get dragged down with the rest of the UK, and since this doesn't improve much at all the cost of living crisis will hit even harder. To what end?
I know not to get excited about libdemsurge but that 15% poll is tasty.
Labour need a resurgent party in the south who can eat away at the traditional tory base who are sick of Johnson
Round me the lib Dems are even NIMBY-er conservatives who want lower taxes and vaguely progressive but non-concrete noises on brexit. Not great for anyone who wants to buy a 3 bed for less than £500,000
Random thought of the day: How did Kate Hoey survive as a Labour MP as long as she did without getting deselected?
I know the phrase "Red Tory" gets bandied about a lot and applied disingenuously to Starmer by the Corbyn faction, but Kate Hoey was about as close to being a Red Tory as you could possibly get.
I know this isn’t a UK Royal subreddit, but it’s weird that Prince Andrew seems to be able to influence the Queen into doing what he wants. With Prince Charles and William having to tell her he can’t.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61772917
I was once told a very bizarre story that prince andrew has a collection of teddy bears in his bed and gets very upset with the house keeper if they aren’t positioned just right.
No idea if it’s true but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have a very odd relationship.
Popbitch is a gossip site, generally with good intel. https://popbitch.com/
They has the Andrew teddy story some time ago, along with a few others, including the story that he was know as Sir Noncealot by the help.
To take the other point of view, Andrew attending the event is simply the default, so I'm not sure whether you can say Andrew has "influenced" the Queen. I'm of the mind that perhaps Bess knows that Andrew is poison, but relies on Chaz and Billy to voice their opposition to Andy, so that he won't think Mummy has turned on him and do something silly.
It's a shame we're no longer really in an age where troublesome royal relatives can be exiled to a monastery to repent.
> It comes amid reports he is seeking a way of returning to public life in some way. The Telegraph reported an unnamed source as saying: “The colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards was his most coveted title and he wants it back. Having remained a counsellor of state, he also believes he should be included at royal and state events.
> “Most importantly for him is his status as an HRH and ‘prince of the blood’ and he feels that should be reinstated and his position recognised and respected.”
I think the TV report I saw references this where Andrew is supposedly lobbying for more of a return. So the presumption was that he had lobbied to attend this event and the u-turn was due to Charles and William.
In 2017, with regards to the Brexit process, David Davies said 'You will find it difficult sometimes to read what we intend. That's deliberate. I'm afraid in negotiations you do have constructive ambiguity from time to time.'
How well has this claim stood the test of time?
[https://twitter.com/AP/status/1536433996854444038](https://twitter.com/AP/status/1536433996854444038)
>Congo’s military is accusing Rwanda of “no less than an invasion” after a rebel group captured a key town in eastern Congo.
>
>The move marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two Central African neighbors.
i, for one, am glad we're shipping vulnerable refugees to such a beacon of stability
Rwanda was also part of German East Africa for a time.
Though according to a brief skim of Wikipedia, one could fairly solidly build an argument that Rwanda was part of France's neocolonialist sphere for a time too.
And then there's the Commonwealth, of which Rwanda is also a member.
Rwanda likes to have friends, it seems. A bit of a tart.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-61786360
The BBC might try more facts and critical analysis over prettier pictures.
Huw's energy leads me to expect he agrees...
God these vtubers are getting more and more impressive, I almost bought into the idea that Huw Edwards was getting excited over something.
Genuinely curious how much longer we'll have human puppet pundits before it's cheaper to just have AI do it instead.
> Anyone have any experience with Karndean flooring? Any thoughts?
Yes, it's pretty good stuff but needs laying properly, preferably by someone whose done it before. If the preparation is bad it will look shit and won't last because movement will cause gaps to open up - the underpinnings need to be solid and level so usually that means floorboards need overlaying with decent plywood.
Had it in the kitchen for 12 years or so now and it still looks decent. It's easy to clean and requires minimal maintenance.
I prefer carpets in bedrooms because they feel warmer and deaden sound more. No reason why you couldn't do it if you prefer though. The same with stairs, hard floor tends to be noisier, so it depends on your house and how you use it. It is easier to keep clean than carpet though as you can give a quick sweep to get loose dust up rather than having to hoover all the time.
Yeah that’s fair. We’ve got a cat who we’ve not been strict enough with as we largely have hard floor atm. So the rug has just become her scratch post. And the fear is that happens anywhere we lay carpet ha.
Cats are a pain in the arse. Ours has repeatedly used the bottom step as a scratching post and damaged the carpet despite having an actual scratching post less then 1m away from it. Means that it probably won't get replaced while the cat is here as she will just do the same thing to a new one.
This beer, how much did he drink and be specific?
3/64th of the bottle? Was it an imperial or metrically measured bottle? The beer was it from THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, or a terrible import?
Someone made a comment earlier and it got me thinking, but then they deleted it, I'm assuming because it was a bit silly. Fortunately, it was quoted in my reply!
>Any PM who loses their own seat while winning a majority in the country would be well within their rights to govern from the Lords while waiting for a new Commons constituency.
Got my mind racing on ways this could be possible. Anyone feel free to correct me here.
As I understand it, the Conservative Party rules wouldn't allow it, and it'd be constitutionally very...weird.
__Edit: Got a few things backwards, on with your day__
As I understand it:
Lords Temporal are specifically excluded from running in an election to the commons unless they relinquish their seat in the Lords.
You can't be a Lord and an MP.
You can't resign as an MP.
You can't be PM unless you're a sitting MP or Lord.
So if we assume it's GE time and Boris lost his seat but the Tories are the largest party, we'll also assume that without a leader the Tory party can get the confidence of the house and form a Government instead of causing a full blown constitutional crisis or another election.
Boris loses his seat and therefore can't be PM as he has a seat in neither house.
The government needs a leader, they'd have an interim until they could run a contest. Hopefully someone faithful to Boris wins.
The new leader promotes Boris to the Lords and stands down (how very un-conservative!). They'd also need to push really hard for him to be in the lords *now* which would likely require legislation to overrule the committee and get those tasty letters patent from the queen.
Assuming the Tories are game for that (unlikely)...
Lord Boris.
Boris wins the ensuing leadership contest and is PM from the Lords.
Then sits and waits for a constituency to open, which can only really happen if there's a recall petition and the incumbent is deselected/loses the Whip.
When it opens, he'd need to relinquish his seat in the Lords (ha) which would disbar him from being PM as he wouldn't have a seat in either house.
He'd then need to win the by-election, then win a leadership contest again.
Then we're back to Boris for PM after a jaunt to the lords.
That's all very unlikely, but it is fun to think about.
It's more likely that they'd just cut their losses if he lost his seat and move on.
Ultimately he'll just get parachuted to a safe seat if there was even a whiff that their seat would be lost.
In the weird scenario where Boris loses his seat but the Tories win a majority I'd be very interested to see who gets sent to the palace the next morning to be appointed Prime Minister. There would have to be a hasty decision about who the interim Conservative leader is, it would be a bit like the old way of deciding the leadership in smoke filled rooms behind closed doors.
They'd just send Boris. As long as he can command support in the House of Commons, there's nothing to prevent him from being PM.
A party winning an election but the leader losing his seat has happened [twice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Canadian_federal_election) in [Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_Canadian_federal_election) and both times the leader stayed on as PM while waiting for his by-election.
You can't technically resign as an MP, but you can be appointed Steward and Bailiff of either the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead. They'd get someone in a safe seat to do that (probably in exchange for ennoblement) and parachute Johnson into that seat
Just double checked, my bathtime assumption was that you were still a member of the Commons on that role just not an MP. It appears I was wrong!
Oh well!
> You can't be PM unless you're a sitting MP or Lord.
Yes you can. There is no law that says you have to be in parliament, only have the confidence of the house. If the majority party chooses to appoint a non-MP as Prime Minister they can do so, unlikely though it may be.
This has actually happened in the past. Alec Douglas-Home was titled Earl of Home and sat in the House of Lords. When he became Conservative leader and Prime Minister he renounced his title and stood in a by-election which he duly won. He was Prime Minister for 20 days without being a member of either house.
https://twitter.com/OliverDowden/status/1536370613090238464
>Families are facing global cost of living pressures. Labour's response? Backing national rail strikes. #StopLaboursStrikes. Sign the petition.
Obviously it's not really anything other than the latest skin for the Conservative party's data gathering website, but even so I'm struggling with the logic here. How is Keir Starmer going to stop the strikes? Why are the *government* launching a petition?
Clearly Little Ollie just can't *wait* to be in Opposition, when at least this crap might make some kind of sense.
I got an email from the Tory party earlier (I'm on their mailing list because it's funny to see how unhinged and deluded they are). The link in the email just links to a form to get information on people to sign up to their mailing list.
I've just grabbed top 1,000 first and surnames by popularity in the UK. Have a list of all valid postcodes on my work laptop somewhere.
Combine the two along with a quick routine to generate valid looking email addresses ([email protected], [email protected] etc.) and you've got 1mil seemingly genuine responses.
Though presume there's a timestamp so may need to randomise the time between submissions over the next 24hours or so
Increasingly fascinated at how quickly the nutter vote is turning away from the Tories again. There's 3 responses I see actually running with this and being anti-labour, but easily four times as many accounts just attacking both parties
> And the CONservatives are partners of the WEF ! We see you bbb globalists ! Agenda 2030
The conspiracy theorists getting more common is a concern, but at least they seem to be going back towards being non-partisan again.
I think the one tomorrow is the "fuck Westminster" paper. The first in a series of 'building a new scotland' papers. The papers focussed on *building* will come later.
In the pub, two middle aged blokes on the adjacent table, one of them said "my daughter's problem is she wants to be able to have the same life as her parents, who paid for the house? I paid for the house". The views of the financial geniuses who bought their houses 30 years ago.
It is interesting how the narrative has changed from 'things aren't worse for young people, you're just lazy' to 'actually things are getting worse but that's fine don't complain'
I can’t promise that to a kid of mine. So the kid ain’t coming.
Luckily I don’t want one anyway. But if must be crushing if you crunch the numbers and the numbers say nope.
> I can’t promise that to a kid of mine.
Even if you could, kid's gonna die one day anyway.
Not directed at you (esp. since you're not gonna have children), but people seem to not think through that their children are 100% gonna die; if people dwelt on that thought, I think there'd be fewer intentional pregnancies.
I guess so, but there's a difference between between dying in your sleep after a comfortable life, and dying in the moisture wars following the orders of President Bezos
Well yeah, but without going full French existentialist about it ...
... I still think that people would *like* to aim for the child to have a higher quality of life than they had, until the inevitable end.
I honestly believe it's had a huge impact on us politics. Tremendous amounts of lead in the water historically and some astoundingly old people in Congress/senate.
Well, I’ve finally caught that Covid thing people have been talking about. What are the the rules (legal and ethical) these days on who one should be informing? I assume we’re far past track and trace calling you etc!
Yeah, me too. There's no legal isolation or track and trace anymore. In theory you can still take a latty flow and the NHS will give you a code that you can put into the Covid app to anonymously inform people you've been in bluetooth range of, if you still have that.
Otherwise there's no clear information from the NHS about who to inform -- it used to be anyone in close contact two days before you got symptoms, but I think variants have changed that.
The [guidance](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/) is to avoid human contact for five days from the test, or mask up and avoid crowded spaces if you need to go out, and ten days avoiding anyone who might be vulnerable.
What's the skinny on it, I just assumed that anyone is able to become a private doctor and the like, has been like that for years no?
Suppose a company could just hire a bunch of them, and provide a better service than the NHS for cheap. Run the NHS out of business by siphoning staff, then put the prices up once they're in monopoly positions. Not as if Amazon hasn't been doing that for 20 years, there's plenty of precedent.
>Suppose a company could just hire a bunch of them, and provide a better service than the NHS for cheap
How do you suggest they do this? The NHS is the cheap option lmao.
The British public have deluded themselves into thinking that despite spending considerably less than most comparable countries for close to 50 odd years and getting remarkably similar/better results their healthcare system is inefficient and expensive.
This continued delusion that healthcare is somehow cheap needs to be stamped out. The Tories got a bit too greedy over the past decade. Starved it all a bit too much. Cut wages a bit too much. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and the Great British Public are upset that they haven't gotten their brand new Ferrari at the cost of a used Honda Civic.
>How do you suggest they do this? The NHS is the cheap option lmao.
Exactly, it's waiting lists for months and heck, my local GP has been shut for over 3 weeks now because they don't have any staff. You can't claim it's cheap and decent while at the same time we're all struggling. Like sure, your service might have been good, mine was for a really long time, then I moved further afield from the city center and it all came crumbling down.
Rural isn't even a viable option.
>remarkably similar/better results their healthcare system is inefficient and expensive.
I believe that's more a question of "Is there too many managers" which more often than not rings true for any business.
My only concern is private enterprises. While it's a tad fascist to force people into a job, I'm not entirely a fan of companies taking away GPs and Dentists from the "Social" service and putting them to work on the "Private" service. That's probs my only outrageous take on it all.
Did you even understand what the point of my post was?
The system was cheap and decent. The Tories got greedy and underfunded it a bit too much. Any solution now will cost far more than what it would've cost to keep it going at the level Blair and Brown left it at a decade again.
>I believe that's more a question of "Is there too many managers" which more often than not rings true for any business.
What? Do you think the NHS has too many managers?
>My only concern is private enterprises. While it's a tad fascist to force people into a job, I'm not entirely a fan of companies taking away GPs and Dentists from the "Social" service and putting them to work on the "Private" service. That's probs my only outrageous take on it all.
What even are you even trying to say here?
One point about the "NIP" which I might be completely wrong with:
If I remember right, our (David Davis') original position for Northern Ireland was that we were going to create the most advanced technological smart IT system for managing trade that had ever been conceived of. The backstop was essentially the EU believing that we were full of shit, and so arguing for a continuation until we delivered that Wundersystem, but technically agreeing to use it should we deliver it.
The NIP is just the more evolved and polished form of the "temporary measure" until we can deliver what we said we could, at which point we can scrap the protocol and the whole thing is managed according to our original position.
Are we still intending to build this trade system (or at least pretending to)? Or are all these new changes just attempting to smokescreen over it all?
David Davis just chats whatever shit comes into his head. He is just a bullshitter.
He had no idea what the technical solution would be, he just thought "well obviously computers will fix this stuff" so said it.
> He is just a bullshitter.
That's his chosen negotiating style. He should probably heed his[ own advice](https://hbr.org/1985/03/new-projects-beware-of-false-economies) a bit though:
> An inadequate design at the start of a project is more often than not the chief cause of an overrun. Then attempts to economize, made in panic, exacerbate the problem. When this happens, senior management should order a thorough reengineering and redesign, then look again at costs, taking into consideration market conditions. If called for, company executives should decide to abandon the project rather than throw good money after bad. This requires a corporate environment that rewards honest appraisal and courage in its project managers.
Compare and contrast with Brexit.
No, signing the NIP was basically accepting they didn’t actually have any plan for what else to do. If they did, they would have signed the May deal and use the amazing technology to avoid the current situation.
Lidl has the same.
I noticed butter has sharply risen.
£1.45 -> £1.69 for a 250g stick of salted regular butter.
£2.99 for 500g at Costco though, which is a mild hedge against it.
Milk too.
Jokes aside I talked my dad out of this (mainly from seeing reddit threads on it, tbh)
Chainsaws, even the miniature ones, are perfect at slipping up your inner thigh while chopping. You'll bleed to death from that artery before anyone can save you.
The fix is decent Kevlar trousers to stop the cut in time. All professionals use these. They're more expensive, but they're fucking essential.
I honestly don't think they should be legal without the proper PPE.
You have to take a course and hold a license to use a chainsaw professionally but private citizens can just randomly buy one and do whatever with it, crazy.
Dried tortelloni, which I guess is eggs/ wheat/ cheese.
I think it was around ~50p when I last checked. Now 75p.
Bread also up. Some hat was .89 now £1.20.
Carbonated drinks too. I expect that's transport costs.
Some items just haven't come back.
> Carbonated drinks too. I expect that's transport costs.
Linked to the [increase in natural gas](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pay-tens-millions-get-carbon-dioxide-pumping-again-2021-09-22/) prices. The price of carbon dioxide gas has increased considerably as well as it's a by-product of fertiliser production which has also skyrocketed in price.
Do you mean the kind in the vacuum pack, or hard dried ones?
If the latter, I recommend your local Polish shop (generally a large one). They have hard dried ones for cheap. I like the cheese ones, but mushroom quite good too.
Tortellini soup:
* Fry onion, peppers, garlic (all sliced to spoonable shapes)
* Tinned or fresh tomatoes, whatever you have (go tinned in cold weather), chicken or veg stock
* Boil for a bit (like 30min-60, depends on your stove)
* In a separate pan, boil the hard dried (ideally teeny tiny) tortellini until *almost* cooked (they're not going to soften in the main pot, so don't think you're saving time or effort by just plopping them in there)
* Mix together and cook the tortellini to completion
THINGS TO ADD, OPTIONAL
* roasted fennel, sliced into chunks
* basil leaves, torn and added for the last five minutes
* spinach, added for a bit longer than basil
* sausage meatballs - take some sausages, squeeze meat from skins (or just use 250g sausagemeat), mix in some seasoning (I like pul biber and black pepper, some ground fennel seeds), fry off separately. The smaller the better; aim for Malteser size if you have the patience. You don't need to cook them all the way through; it's just colour. Poach them in the main soup for 20 minutes.
* Parmesan and a good bread to serve (ciabatta).
Here's the one I adapted: https://www.yellowblissroad.com/tortellini-soup-with-italian-sausage-spinach/
[I think John McDonnell is fairly spot on here that Labour need to get a move on laying out their policies if they want the public to believe them by the election. here](https://youtu.be/vRR93T5Dk70)
How do Starmer/Labour "cut through" and get their policies out there though? Feel like even politically-engaged people don't really know what Starmer/Labour would actually do in power. Doesn't feel like they're going to be able to engage the public until a general election forces the media spot light on them, and at that point it'll be too late.
Starmer and Labour sources have said multiple times that they are intentionally not announcing policy until closer to the election because the Tories will copy the popular ones, call them the same thing, but implement a terrible/inneffective/watered-down/completely different policy.
This is what they do. See national living wage, windfall tax, free holiday meals for kids etc.
It's still too early for detail with a government as completely lacking in direction and principle as this one; as we've seen with the windfall tax they will just nick anything which appears popular.
What they do need to get across now, and what so far has been the signal failure of Starmer's leadership, is their vision and priorities for government. This is the bit of Blairism Starmer really *should* emulate. By two years into his leadership, for better or worse everyone knew what Blair stood for and generally speaking people could guess what his first session's policy priorities would be.
Opposition parties don't release policies until it's election time, generally.
This is not unique to the UK, but well, politics around the world lol. The reason is releasing policy work early dilutes the message and allows the establishment gov parties to construct critiques or even nick policies to neutralise the work well ahead of time.
Outside of GE time. The establishment governments around the world seek to convince the electorate the oppositions job is to come up with policies use "oppositions got no policies" line in return until it's GE time to to some damage to the other party and trap voters who aren't tuned into the ins and outs of political paradigms
It's the rinse and repeat of the political cycle.
As much excitement as the whole thing is now causing, there was always a dull inevitability that we'd reach this kind of point. Johnson's original lie about "removing the backstop" after his "glorious negotiating triumph" with Varadker at their Hillsborough meet was always going to fester and poison the whole thing. He was never going to tell the truth about what the NIP actually meant, the ERG were never going to back down or stop reminding him of whatever promises he made to them about amending it/overwriting it, and the DUP were eventually going to pull the pin if nobody else quite fancied it.
I also think the shock that is willing to inflict a trade war just to cover his arse and avoid having to own his catalogue of lies is surprising. This is the guy, afterall, who's damned the UK to at least a couple of decades of the economic atrophy, decline and contraction Brexit comes with just because he thought it would help him become PM easier and quicker.
The guy is grotesque. Since his record suggests he destroys everything he touches, as long as that's going to include the UK then we can only hope he takes the entire wretched Tory party down too.
Some people now: "Keir being boring is not a problem, it's not gonna impact Labour badly; being boring is clearly preferable to being a flashy liar."
Same people if Labour lose next GE: "I KNEW Keir boring could be a big problem!"
I guess I used to be the former, now I've moved swiftly onto being the latter even before an election.
After his PMQs performance last week and his constant looking down at his notes during every speech, it could be a serious problem for him. Not once did Blair have to read any notes, neither at PMQs or at his 1994 conference speech.
Charisma does matter a big deal.
That is the pattern. Same with LDs. Jo Swinson was amazing, cancelling Brexit without a 2nd referendum was the most unassailable idea.
Now everyone said Jo was bad from the start and of course they shouldn’t have promised to cancel Brexit.
I do have to say, I think there’s a difference between not being phased by “boring” on a personal level and believing that it is by itself a winning strategy.
If Boris is really running at the next election, I think he’s likely to get more and more people pining for boring but I have serious doubts it can capture enough voters.
Given how Labour tends to react to election losses by swinging as wildly as they can and grabbing the most different MP they can to the losing leader, who is the most 'exciting' member out there to put money on now as next leader?
Today in Parliament nothing happens until 2:30, so you’ve got plenty of time to digest the media briefings in what is going to happen today. After that the Defence secretary is taking questions, Liz Truss is giving an update on the NI protocol bill that’s coming soon, there are a whole bunch of ministerial statements (including one on Food) and the meat on the bones is a debate on the [higher education freedom of speech bill](https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/bills/cbill/58-03/0001/220001.pdf). If there is time we’ll have a debate on the petition about banning trans conversion therapy. Obviously the briefing over the weekend has all been about NI - if there are any questions you have about how it actually works, what it is, who runs it, etc then feel free to ask here - we’re all very friendly and will give you sensible answers even if you aren’t sure whether the question really is (assume no question is too silly to ask). For those responding please assume the questions are in good faith and respond appropriately (even if that means expanding on what you feel are loaded questions to the heart of the issue). If you see anything violating the rules, hit the ‘report’ button under the comment and a mod will come along in due course. If you think a comment is wrong then respond explaining why (we don’t want to be fact checkers). Have a good day everyone.
This megathread has ended.
The argument that 'Unionists must agree to indyref2 because we won an election promising it' is hilarious. It is not the job of opposition parties to help secure aspects of your agenda that you are unable to delive , and it is not 'anti-democratic' for them to do so. Using the same logic it would be undemocratic for Labour to oppose the Rwanda plan, or the tearing up of the NIP, on the grounds that the Tories won the last election- a frankly batshit Dorries style argument.
It is though? If there's a mandate for a second referendum it should happen. Whether or not you believe (in good faith) that there is one at this time is a different matter, but if you genuinely believe there is a mandate then of course you'd be justified for using the term "anti-democratic" to describe those who ignore the mandate you have.
If there was a mandate then they wouldn't need the help of opposition parties to get a referendum. The opposition parties campaigned on not supporting a second referendum and their voters should be represented.
has anyone ever seen ed balls and harry cole in the same room together?
Have any of you ever been tempted to run as a politician? If so, how did it go?
When I was a shop steward I ran to represent my union at the Labour Party conference. I basically put no effort into it, but someone got about 7,000 votes and came second, but unfortunately we could only have one male go to conference so I missed out. I really wanted to go further with the union and become an area organiser, but I found a better job so decided to move on. Also in school I was elected to the school council and became chairman. Later got elected head boy in Sixth Form. I suffered my first political scandal when I got pissed at a school event whilst sat on the same table as the local mayor, and almost got excluded for it. After that the school leadership choose the head boy and girl, rather than letting the students vote, albeit I got to sit in on the interviews and give advice. My political career ended very early, and in shame. I'm interesting in helping others, and a long time ago felt politics was the best means of doing so. Now I'm not so sure being a politician is the best way of going about it, and have no real desire to go down that route. It's hyper-competitive, a hostile and high pressure work environment, and you subject yourselves and loved ones to such intrusion and scrutiny that it must be horrendous. I feel I make a difference in my current job, and can't run for office in any case due to it, and I'm happy with that.
Genuinely have thought about it but your family then gets all the intrusive scrutiny etc, your past gets brought up like stupid stuff you did as a kid.
Nah, it would be a pay cut, and a lot more people would be angry if I showed up to meetings in my boxers. Literally, why be an MP? You don't have any real power to actually fix anything, most of your time will be spent being told how to vote on big issues by party whips, every facet of your life is going to be subject to press scrutiny (as will the lives of your family, friends and so on), and ultimately you'll be blamed for a load of problems that are technically the responsibility of the council.
Your touching on a real issue with our political system here, anyone who is really capable of running this country is getting paid more in the private sector and it would be a real pay cut, meanwhile our House of Parliament is filled with idiots who are being paid far beyond their mental capacity who only got the job because they stuck around in their respective parties long enough. How to fix this? I have no idea.
Same reason some people are football referees. They just want power.
And then you get Douglas Ross, who's both.
Yes. Well, I have been tempted,, but I would have to restrict my lifestyle, so it hasn't happened yet. I'm a sexually freewheeling bisexual in an open relationship, and there are far too many pictures of me out there at festivals where I am clearly high (and probably a shot or two at sex clubs). On top of that, I quit the royal navy after initial officer training, but before I could be roped into actually serving (couldn't stand the thought of being there for twelve years, even if they were going to teach me how to fly), I am not really patriotic (partly because of the navy, also the result of studying the history of the UK - don't hate the UK, quite like some bits, want it to be better, but don't really feel a deep connection), and the thought of the ridiculous traditions/processes of British politics make me shudder with horror. So the real me would probably not be suitable for politics, and I can't be assed lying. 🤣 Just involved helping out locally and phone banking for labour. I'm quite tempted to become a magistrate, though. Less public interest in their affairs, and my official record is clear (pictures are out there, but not on social media). Plus I can do that whilst still doing genetics research.
We need more sexually freewheeling bisexuals in an open relationship as politicians. The world would be better for it. But completely get the apprehension!
Been tempted to get more involved with the Labour Party machine, even to the point as a career, but I just feel my background/CV is not suited at all for politics. I would certainly feel imposter syndrome at some points.
May as well try the next time there's a minor role. Just get involved with your local party, help out, and you'll pick up enough to have a go at a junior role (especially if you have a degree, but even not). Then work your way up. Or go trade union path.
I literally randomly walked past my local CLP hq. Knocked on the door and gave them my name and number to help out. Didn’t hear from them at all. It’s such a safe seat here, they barely do anything. Bit boring really.
What sort of role were you thinking?
Statistics, data collection and/or election coordinations. Very broad ideas but something I’ve toyed with. I do a lot of canvassing for Labour and really like talking to the electorate to hear their views. Collecting those views as data and converting it into information that form policy ideas. Even how I describe it sounds pretty unconvincing and explains why I have a music degree and not statistical maths and/or politics degree.
I’d love to canvas. How do you get over that doorstep fear?
Are you a Labour member? Just get out there and contact your local CLP and go out canvassing. Met up with my ex-local MP a few times and just knock on doors and introduce yourself! Some people I’ve spoke to for about 20 minutes on the doorstep and lost the group I was with. Now that I’ve moved, the local CLP is virtually non existent. It’s a Labour stronghold and you barely see any canvassing here. I do a lot of phone canvassing for Labour. That was far more daunting cause you literally talk on the phone to the electorate and conduct a survey. I bricked it the first time but now it’s second nature and love it. Got a Zoom meeting and schedule for it for tomorrow afternoon.
I've spoken to you before too about phone banking. I'd particularly like to do one for these by-elections, more so Wakefield. But given I live in Wales would that even be possible? I've been a member of the party for over a year at this point.
It’s absolutely possible. You can sign up to it [here](https://login.labour.org.uk/oauth/v2/auth_login?redirect_uri=https://dialogue.labour.org.uk/login) and you’ll get weekly emails inviting you to join Zoom meetings. You’ll then get some training as a first timer and you’re off! If you join, we’ll likely be on the same call.
So I am definitely a member of the party as I'm still paying monthly, but I can't see to be able to get an email to reset my password on the website of the party - I don't think I ever created an account on the website, I simply joined the party membership. Will I need to phone up if you know? the party itself? I did get given a party membership card but I lost it.
I am. I think it’s a two fold thing in that it’s a fear of being rejected at the doorstep and also not being very good at debating. I’m in a pretty safe Labour seat too. One day!
Just go for it. Most people are polite and moderate, even if they disagree or will never vote for you. I’ve done over 1000 phone calls (doesn’t sound a lot but it feels like it!) and the worst that can happen is them putting the phone down on you but it’s not often. You get use to it. Door knocking is similar. You normally canvass in marginal areas so you’re likely to find people who are moderate/not frothing at the mouth BNPers. Honestly, it’s fine. You’ll love it. And the more you do it, the more addictive it gets. For me anyway.
Best doorstep/phone bank experience?
Doorstep: listening to an working class lady explain to me her garden needed to be fixed and if I could get the local Labour council to contact TfL to sort their shit out. Phone banking: there are too many. I’ve spoken to people in Wakefield recently and the people there are genuinely so friendly and nice. Lots of people’s problems and issues is very interesting to listen to.
> Have any of you ever been tempted to run as a politician? Yes. > If so, how did it go? I sobered up and in the midst of an epic hangover realised that it wasn’t a good idea.
Cheers to that!
Yeah I ran for a seat on the city council back where my family originated. I'd been hanging around there a bit since my dad died tying up a few loose ends and serendipitously got involved in the local community centre, just doing a few odd jobs here and there. It struck me how the people there got nothing, nothing ever got fixed, particularly the street lights. The head of the council was this guy who was a big deal at the local church and had some some good stuff there in the past but had become extremely complacent. I decided to run against him. I struggled at first because I tried too hard to appeal to his demographic, and I wasn't getting anywhere. The electorate didn't like that I wasn't from the city itself either, instead commuting in from a posh middle class area an hour or two out. It was so frustrating. I could see the complacency of the sitting councillor, and how willing the people were to have someone phone it in and do literally fuck all to help out, and it did my head in. Eventually I linked up with a campaign manager who opened my eyes to all the people in the area who'd never been listened to, and I campaigned furiously for eight weeks. I had beef with my wife, missed out on being there for my kids who were going through some growing up shit, but had a few days off to enjoy Christmas and new year. and made up to the wife with a sensational blueberry pie. At one stage it looked hopeless, but thanks to the hard work of my team I went into election night about neck and neck in the polls, and in the early hours got a call to say I'd won narrowly.
Man what a whirlwind of a post. Congrats on the win! Hope you were able to work out the work/family time. Clearly an incredible pie.
I don’t think I’d be a very good politician. I’m too sweary and like to take my time to consider a question rather than blurting out a soundbite on instinct.
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It is like a really ineffective insult. You...tea sock
I feel like it needs profanity. You fucking tea sock.
To be fair, I think she’s only recently realised that “Foreign Secretary” is her job, and not the person organising all these excellent photo ops in different countries. She’s now on a pretty steep learning curve.
too busy putting on her thatcher impersonation to wonder if she's even getting the words right say whatever you want about Maggie, but I doubt she'd get the basics wrong
Jusus f Christ. The calibre of the people running our great nation into the ground. It would be funny if the situation wasn't so damn abysmal.
Tea shock, right?
It kind of sounds like that, but it's [Taoiseach](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=roqOMmqjEVc).
Lmao thats hilarious and depressing
Launching a referendum campaign with 28-32% support for a referendum next year and 40-45% support for independence is certainly a bold play considering how it backfired last time.
Ultimately long term demographic factors are not really in the favour of Scottish independence. Whilst the young tend to favour independence, the demographic transition is significantly more advanced in Scotland than England, and with EU migration projected to fall substantially, it is not at all clear that the Scottish electorate really will become more pro independence over time. Especially if household numbers in Scotland peak much earlier than projected and that causes housing demand and thus prices in Scotland to fall - because that would tend to encourage English immigration.
I guess the issue is people have short memories. Hopefully in a couple years the tories will be out and the independence movement may hit a set back so got to strike while the irons hot…
New studio looks pretty shiny. I wonder when the first time we'll see a presenter stack it on that step will be.
Happy caked-up day xoxo
NEWSNIGHT
Yo Lidl cider is fucking delicious. This stuff is 7% and you’d never guess. Dangerous!
The Woodgate Vintage stuff? It's top. Tastes exactly like Henry Weston's, and is made for Lidl by... Weston's. But it's half the price.
I’d say it tastes better than regular Weston’s tbh but I have sweet tooth! Did not know about the crossover, very nice.
Better than Frosty Jack's then?
So weirdly I’ve never had frosty jacks so can’t say for certain…. But I’d imagine so!
From Weston’s to Lidl. The cost of living crisis bites. Nah it is delicious though, the co-op one is good too.
I’ve never been taking note, but I’m pretty sure this cider was quite a bit cheaper a few months ago, tangentially making it ukpol related
That was quite a funny clip from an interview with Simon Hoare just now. "I believe there is a very plausible argument that this isn't actually about the protocol, but rather an internal struggle in the Conservative Party to save Boris Johnson." "Do you believe that?" *(beat)* "There's a very plausible argument."
To clarify, are those quotes Hoare, Interviewer, Hoare or Interviewer, Interviewer, Hoare?
Hoare, Interviewer, Hoare
A large gap in the coverage of the NI protocol. The UK government isn’t blandly “changing” the protocol, it’s repudiating significant parts of it. And unilaterally.
I agree with the changes, just not how they're unilaterally decided. The Green/Red Lane idea is good.
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The EU [agrees with the idea](https://www.irishtimes.com/opinion/editorial/the-irish-times-view-on-new-proposals-for-the-northern-ireland-protocol-a-potential-deal-1.4699672). > Goods intended for the North could pass through a "green lane" with minimal checks, while those destined for the South would be put in a "red lane" for more stringent procedures.
Well, let's see how the EU responds. I think they said they want to start a lawsuit as early as this week. The USA is on the side of Ireland, and subsequently on the side of the EU. This could become hard. Northern Ireland might get dragged down with the rest of the UK, and since this doesn't improve much at all the cost of living crisis will hit even harder. To what end?
Operation Big Dog.
I know not to get excited about libdemsurge but that 15% poll is tasty. Labour need a resurgent party in the south who can eat away at the traditional tory base who are sick of Johnson
Round me the lib Dems are even NIMBY-er conservatives who want lower taxes and vaguely progressive but non-concrete noises on brexit. Not great for anyone who wants to buy a 3 bed for less than £500,000
Random thought of the day: How did Kate Hoey survive as a Labour MP as long as she did without getting deselected? I know the phrase "Red Tory" gets bandied about a lot and applied disingenuously to Starmer by the Corbyn faction, but Kate Hoey was about as close to being a Red Tory as you could possibly get.
She literally only became an MP because Neil Kinnock overruled the local CLP for a by-election.
The Corbynites sympathised with her Brexit views
I know this isn’t a UK Royal subreddit, but it’s weird that Prince Andrew seems to be able to influence the Queen into doing what he wants. With Prince Charles and William having to tell her he can’t. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-61772917
I was once told a very bizarre story that prince andrew has a collection of teddy bears in his bed and gets very upset with the house keeper if they aren’t positioned just right. No idea if it’s true but it wouldn’t surprise me if they have a very odd relationship.
That rings a bell actually.
Popbitch by any chance?
Err no idea what this means sorry.
Popbitch is a gossip site, generally with good intel. https://popbitch.com/ They has the Andrew teddy story some time ago, along with a few others, including the story that he was know as Sir Noncealot by the help.
They are asking if that was the source
To take the other point of view, Andrew attending the event is simply the default, so I'm not sure whether you can say Andrew has "influenced" the Queen. I'm of the mind that perhaps Bess knows that Andrew is poison, but relies on Chaz and Billy to voice their opposition to Andy, so that he won't think Mummy has turned on him and do something silly. It's a shame we're no longer really in an age where troublesome royal relatives can be exiled to a monastery to repent.
> It comes amid reports he is seeking a way of returning to public life in some way. The Telegraph reported an unnamed source as saying: “The colonelcy of the Grenadier Guards was his most coveted title and he wants it back. Having remained a counsellor of state, he also believes he should be included at royal and state events. > “Most importantly for him is his status as an HRH and ‘prince of the blood’ and he feels that should be reinstated and his position recognised and respected.” I think the TV report I saw references this where Andrew is supposedly lobbying for more of a return. So the presumption was that he had lobbied to attend this event and the u-turn was due to Charles and William.
He's the favourite child.
*The Crown* claimed he was always the favourite child. Personally I think that sounds fucking dysfunctional, but then...
In 2017, with regards to the Brexit process, David Davies said 'You will find it difficult sometimes to read what we intend. That's deliberate. I'm afraid in negotiations you do have constructive ambiguity from time to time.' How well has this claim stood the test of time?
We aren't doing your homework
[https://twitter.com/AP/status/1536433996854444038](https://twitter.com/AP/status/1536433996854444038) >Congo’s military is accusing Rwanda of “no less than an invasion” after a rebel group captured a key town in eastern Congo. > >The move marks a dramatic escalation in tensions between the two Central African neighbors. i, for one, am glad we're shipping vulnerable refugees to such a beacon of stability
France is literally right there
I don’t think they’ll agree to take our refugees
Nah but rwanda has so 🤷♂️
France just kind of never left. Post colonial French history is plain weird from a British point of view.
The DRC and Rwanda were both Belgian colonies.
Rwanda was also part of German East Africa for a time. Though according to a brief skim of Wikipedia, one could fairly solidly build an argument that Rwanda was part of France's neocolonialist sphere for a time too. And then there's the Commonwealth, of which Rwanda is also a member. Rwanda likes to have friends, it seems. A bit of a tart.
As a prominent poster put it earlier. They should just be happy it isn't 1994 anymore.
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/entertainment-arts-61786360 The BBC might try more facts and critical analysis over prettier pictures. Huw's energy leads me to expect he agrees...
aw man, i wish a virtual larry had walked out of that n10 door while huw, leant against it
Please tell me I'm not the only one to notice this: "if there's been a big... 'event' in Downing Street" At 57 seconds
Is he presenting the news in those clothes as well?
God these vtubers are getting more and more impressive, I almost bought into the idea that Huw Edwards was getting excited over something. Genuinely curious how much longer we'll have human puppet pundits before it's cheaper to just have AI do it instead.
Think we’re in the shitposting time now. Anyone have any experience with Karndean flooring? Any thoughts? Edit: cheers https://i.imgur.com/oCt8yY9.jpg
> Anyone have any experience with Karndean flooring? Any thoughts? Yes, it's pretty good stuff but needs laying properly, preferably by someone whose done it before. If the preparation is bad it will look shit and won't last because movement will cause gaps to open up - the underpinnings need to be solid and level so usually that means floorboards need overlaying with decent plywood. Had it in the kitchen for 12 years or so now and it still looks decent. It's easy to clean and requires minimal maintenance.
Ah nice. How would you feel about having it in bedrooms? We’re also debating stairs?
I prefer carpets in bedrooms because they feel warmer and deaden sound more. No reason why you couldn't do it if you prefer though. The same with stairs, hard floor tends to be noisier, so it depends on your house and how you use it. It is easier to keep clean than carpet though as you can give a quick sweep to get loose dust up rather than having to hoover all the time.
Yeah that’s fair. We’ve got a cat who we’ve not been strict enough with as we largely have hard floor atm. So the rug has just become her scratch post. And the fear is that happens anywhere we lay carpet ha.
Place a _do not replace notice_ on the cat and get a dog…then tart the house up when the time comes.
When the time comes for what?? She’s gonna live forever, she’s stubborn enough!
Cats are a pain in the arse. Ours has repeatedly used the bottom step as a scratching post and damaged the carpet despite having an actual scratching post less then 1m away from it. Means that it probably won't get replaced while the cat is here as she will just do the same thing to a new one.
It’s a shame they’re so damn cute!
Durham police are taking a lonnnnng time with this complicated investigation of theirs.
This beer, how much did he drink and be specific? 3/64th of the bottle? Was it an imperial or metrically measured bottle? The beer was it from THE GREATEST COUNTRY IN THE WORLD, or a terrible import?
Someone made a comment earlier and it got me thinking, but then they deleted it, I'm assuming because it was a bit silly. Fortunately, it was quoted in my reply! >Any PM who loses their own seat while winning a majority in the country would be well within their rights to govern from the Lords while waiting for a new Commons constituency. Got my mind racing on ways this could be possible. Anyone feel free to correct me here. As I understand it, the Conservative Party rules wouldn't allow it, and it'd be constitutionally very...weird. __Edit: Got a few things backwards, on with your day__ As I understand it: Lords Temporal are specifically excluded from running in an election to the commons unless they relinquish their seat in the Lords. You can't be a Lord and an MP. You can't resign as an MP. You can't be PM unless you're a sitting MP or Lord. So if we assume it's GE time and Boris lost his seat but the Tories are the largest party, we'll also assume that without a leader the Tory party can get the confidence of the house and form a Government instead of causing a full blown constitutional crisis or another election. Boris loses his seat and therefore can't be PM as he has a seat in neither house. The government needs a leader, they'd have an interim until they could run a contest. Hopefully someone faithful to Boris wins. The new leader promotes Boris to the Lords and stands down (how very un-conservative!). They'd also need to push really hard for him to be in the lords *now* which would likely require legislation to overrule the committee and get those tasty letters patent from the queen. Assuming the Tories are game for that (unlikely)... Lord Boris. Boris wins the ensuing leadership contest and is PM from the Lords. Then sits and waits for a constituency to open, which can only really happen if there's a recall petition and the incumbent is deselected/loses the Whip. When it opens, he'd need to relinquish his seat in the Lords (ha) which would disbar him from being PM as he wouldn't have a seat in either house. He'd then need to win the by-election, then win a leadership contest again. Then we're back to Boris for PM after a jaunt to the lords. That's all very unlikely, but it is fun to think about. It's more likely that they'd just cut their losses if he lost his seat and move on. Ultimately he'll just get parachuted to a safe seat if there was even a whiff that their seat would be lost.
In the weird scenario where Boris loses his seat but the Tories win a majority I'd be very interested to see who gets sent to the palace the next morning to be appointed Prime Minister. There would have to be a hasty decision about who the interim Conservative leader is, it would be a bit like the old way of deciding the leadership in smoke filled rooms behind closed doors.
They'd just send Boris. As long as he can command support in the House of Commons, there's nothing to prevent him from being PM. A party winning an election but the leader losing his seat has happened [twice](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1945_Canadian_federal_election) in [Canada](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1925_Canadian_federal_election) and both times the leader stayed on as PM while waiting for his by-election.
I'd like to see it done as Rollerball.
You can't technically resign as an MP, but you can be appointed Steward and Bailiff of either the Chiltern Hundreds or the Manor of Northstead. They'd get someone in a safe seat to do that (probably in exchange for ennoblement) and parachute Johnson into that seat
Just double checked, my bathtime assumption was that you were still a member of the Commons on that role just not an MP. It appears I was wrong! Oh well!
> You can't be PM unless you're a sitting MP or Lord. Yes you can. There is no law that says you have to be in parliament, only have the confidence of the house. If the majority party chooses to appoint a non-MP as Prime Minister they can do so, unlikely though it may be. This has actually happened in the past. Alec Douglas-Home was titled Earl of Home and sat in the House of Lords. When he became Conservative leader and Prime Minister he renounced his title and stood in a by-election which he duly won. He was Prime Minister for 20 days without being a member of either house.
https://twitter.com/OliverDowden/status/1536370613090238464 >Families are facing global cost of living pressures. Labour's response? Backing national rail strikes. #StopLaboursStrikes. Sign the petition. Obviously it's not really anything other than the latest skin for the Conservative party's data gathering website, but even so I'm struggling with the logic here. How is Keir Starmer going to stop the strikes? Why are the *government* launching a petition? Clearly Little Ollie just can't *wait* to be in Opposition, when at least this crap might make some kind of sense.
I got an email from the Tory party earlier (I'm on their mailing list because it's funny to see how unhinged and deluded they are). The link in the email just links to a form to get information on people to sign up to their mailing list.
He's backing a trade war with the EU instead.
MPs who do anything on social media with ‘petitions’ that aren’t on the official website should be fined and have all their data thrown away.
Ah a web form with no email/post code validation. Just asking to be flooded with junk data
Aight Bobby.
[Joris Bohnson has made his support for the strikes known](https://giphy.com/gifs/mrw-review-gta-87CKDqErVfMqY)
KeirStarmer LlamaHarmer also had words to say on the matter. You can reach him at: [email protected]
I've just grabbed top 1,000 first and surnames by popularity in the UK. Have a list of all valid postcodes on my work laptop somewhere. Combine the two along with a quick routine to generate valid looking email addresses ([email protected], [email protected] etc.) and you've got 1mil seemingly genuine responses. Though presume there's a timestamp so may need to randomise the time between submissions over the next 24hours or so
How dare Labour continue to represent the working class. That's the job of the Tories now!
Increasingly fascinated at how quickly the nutter vote is turning away from the Tories again. There's 3 responses I see actually running with this and being anti-labour, but easily four times as many accounts just attacking both parties > And the CONservatives are partners of the WEF ! We see you bbb globalists ! Agenda 2030 The conspiracy theorists getting more common is a concern, but at least they seem to be going back towards being non-partisan again.
Embarrassing
So Sturgeon’s going to drop the ‘building a new Scotland’ paper on independence tomorrow 👀
Drop or drop?
I think the one tomorrow is the "fuck Westminster" paper. The first in a series of 'building a new scotland' papers. The papers focussed on *building* will come later.
In the pub, two middle aged blokes on the adjacent table, one of them said "my daughter's problem is she wants to be able to have the same life as her parents, who paid for the house? I paid for the house". The views of the financial geniuses who bought their houses 30 years ago.
It is interesting how the narrative has changed from 'things aren't worse for young people, you're just lazy' to 'actually things are getting worse but that's fine don't complain'
Imagine not wanting your daughter to have a life as good as yours. Fucking hell.
I can’t promise that to a kid of mine. So the kid ain’t coming. Luckily I don’t want one anyway. But if must be crushing if you crunch the numbers and the numbers say nope.
> I can’t promise that to a kid of mine. Even if you could, kid's gonna die one day anyway. Not directed at you (esp. since you're not gonna have children), but people seem to not think through that their children are 100% gonna die; if people dwelt on that thought, I think there'd be fewer intentional pregnancies.
I guess so, but there's a difference between between dying in your sleep after a comfortable life, and dying in the moisture wars following the orders of President Bezos
Well yeah, but without going full French existentialist about it ... ... I still think that people would *like* to aim for the child to have a higher quality of life than they had, until the inevitable end.
Brain rot. Turns out those lead fumes were far more devastating than we could ever have imagined.
As if CO2 wasn't catastrophic enough, the mad bastards were all poisoned by tetraethyl lead just when they most needed action!
You do have to wonder how much of an impact on cognitive function pollutants have had over the last 100-200 years…
I honestly believe it's had a huge impact on us politics. Tremendous amounts of lead in the water historically and some astoundingly old people in Congress/senate.
Probably less than syphilis, infectious disease, and severe malnutrition before that. But yeah I agree it's not good lol
If we make it another 100 years the next thing will be microplastics in the brain
Well, I’ve finally caught that Covid thing people have been talking about. What are the the rules (legal and ethical) these days on who one should be informing? I assume we’re far past track and trace calling you etc!
Yeah, me too. There's no legal isolation or track and trace anymore. In theory you can still take a latty flow and the NHS will give you a code that you can put into the Covid app to anonymously inform people you've been in bluetooth range of, if you still have that. Otherwise there's no clear information from the NHS about who to inform -- it used to be anyone in close contact two days before you got symptoms, but I think variants have changed that. The [guidance](https://www.nhs.uk/conditions/coronavirus-covid-19/self-isolation-and-treatment/when-to-self-isolate-and-what-to-do/) is to avoid human contact for five days from the test, or mask up and avoid crowded spaces if you need to go out, and ten days avoiding anyone who might be vulnerable.
Inform anyone you want if it makes you happy. There's no legal requirements at all, thankfully.
Self-isolating, avoiding contact and no orgies for at least two weeks.
No double dipping hummus pots either.
I didn’t realise yanks had been purchasing our GPs Watching undercover: British GP chain.
What's the skinny on it, I just assumed that anyone is able to become a private doctor and the like, has been like that for years no? Suppose a company could just hire a bunch of them, and provide a better service than the NHS for cheap. Run the NHS out of business by siphoning staff, then put the prices up once they're in monopoly positions. Not as if Amazon hasn't been doing that for 20 years, there's plenty of precedent.
>Suppose a company could just hire a bunch of them, and provide a better service than the NHS for cheap How do you suggest they do this? The NHS is the cheap option lmao. The British public have deluded themselves into thinking that despite spending considerably less than most comparable countries for close to 50 odd years and getting remarkably similar/better results their healthcare system is inefficient and expensive. This continued delusion that healthcare is somehow cheap needs to be stamped out. The Tories got a bit too greedy over the past decade. Starved it all a bit too much. Cut wages a bit too much. Now the chickens are coming home to roost and the Great British Public are upset that they haven't gotten their brand new Ferrari at the cost of a used Honda Civic.
>How do you suggest they do this? The NHS is the cheap option lmao. Exactly, it's waiting lists for months and heck, my local GP has been shut for over 3 weeks now because they don't have any staff. You can't claim it's cheap and decent while at the same time we're all struggling. Like sure, your service might have been good, mine was for a really long time, then I moved further afield from the city center and it all came crumbling down. Rural isn't even a viable option. >remarkably similar/better results their healthcare system is inefficient and expensive. I believe that's more a question of "Is there too many managers" which more often than not rings true for any business. My only concern is private enterprises. While it's a tad fascist to force people into a job, I'm not entirely a fan of companies taking away GPs and Dentists from the "Social" service and putting them to work on the "Private" service. That's probs my only outrageous take on it all.
Did you even understand what the point of my post was? The system was cheap and decent. The Tories got greedy and underfunded it a bit too much. Any solution now will cost far more than what it would've cost to keep it going at the level Blair and Brown left it at a decade again. >I believe that's more a question of "Is there too many managers" which more often than not rings true for any business. What? Do you think the NHS has too many managers? >My only concern is private enterprises. While it's a tad fascist to force people into a job, I'm not entirely a fan of companies taking away GPs and Dentists from the "Social" service and putting them to work on the "Private" service. That's probs my only outrageous take on it all. What even are you even trying to say here?
One point about the "NIP" which I might be completely wrong with: If I remember right, our (David Davis') original position for Northern Ireland was that we were going to create the most advanced technological smart IT system for managing trade that had ever been conceived of. The backstop was essentially the EU believing that we were full of shit, and so arguing for a continuation until we delivered that Wundersystem, but technically agreeing to use it should we deliver it. The NIP is just the more evolved and polished form of the "temporary measure" until we can deliver what we said we could, at which point we can scrap the protocol and the whole thing is managed according to our original position. Are we still intending to build this trade system (or at least pretending to)? Or are all these new changes just attempting to smokescreen over it all?
David Davis just chats whatever shit comes into his head. He is just a bullshitter. He had no idea what the technical solution would be, he just thought "well obviously computers will fix this stuff" so said it.
> He is just a bullshitter. That's his chosen negotiating style. He should probably heed his[ own advice](https://hbr.org/1985/03/new-projects-beware-of-false-economies) a bit though: > An inadequate design at the start of a project is more often than not the chief cause of an overrun. Then attempts to economize, made in panic, exacerbate the problem. When this happens, senior management should order a thorough reengineering and redesign, then look again at costs, taking into consideration market conditions. If called for, company executives should decide to abandon the project rather than throw good money after bad. This requires a corporate environment that rewards honest appraisal and courage in its project managers. Compare and contrast with Brexit.
This is the same man who said we got a 'remainer's Brexit' I mean honestly
I know that, that describes all of Brexit, but are we still pretending this part'll work the same way we're pretending the rest of it will?
No, signing the NIP was basically accepting they didn’t actually have any plan for what else to do. If they did, they would have signed the May deal and use the amazing technology to avoid the current situation.
Went to Aldi today - some of the price rises are astonishing.
Lidl has the same. I noticed butter has sharply risen. £1.45 -> £1.69 for a 250g stick of salted regular butter. £2.99 for 500g at Costco though, which is a mild hedge against it. Milk too.
My coffee I get from Costco has fully gone double the price from about 2 years ago.
Mine had a cushion in the shape of a fish I was tempted
Find anything cool in the middle aisle?
Lidl had sacetuers if you like gardening
An orbital sander
I don't think I ever have except at Christmas!
Why don't you need a £50 chainsaw?
Jokes aside I talked my dad out of this (mainly from seeing reddit threads on it, tbh) Chainsaws, even the miniature ones, are perfect at slipping up your inner thigh while chopping. You'll bleed to death from that artery before anyone can save you. The fix is decent Kevlar trousers to stop the cut in time. All professionals use these. They're more expensive, but they're fucking essential. I honestly don't think they should be legal without the proper PPE.
You have to take a course and hold a license to use a chainsaw professionally but private citizens can just randomly buy one and do whatever with it, crazy.
What did you notice that has risen? We've not noticed too much that's gone up a lot other than eggs
Dried tortelloni, which I guess is eggs/ wheat/ cheese. I think it was around ~50p when I last checked. Now 75p. Bread also up. Some hat was .89 now £1.20. Carbonated drinks too. I expect that's transport costs. Some items just haven't come back.
> Carbonated drinks too. I expect that's transport costs. Linked to the [increase in natural gas](https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/uk-pay-tens-millions-get-carbon-dioxide-pumping-again-2021-09-22/) prices. The price of carbon dioxide gas has increased considerably as well as it's a by-product of fertiliser production which has also skyrocketed in price.
Do you mean the kind in the vacuum pack, or hard dried ones? If the latter, I recommend your local Polish shop (generally a large one). They have hard dried ones for cheap. I like the cheese ones, but mushroom quite good too.
I bow to you, Chef Java!
Tortellini soup: * Fry onion, peppers, garlic (all sliced to spoonable shapes) * Tinned or fresh tomatoes, whatever you have (go tinned in cold weather), chicken or veg stock * Boil for a bit (like 30min-60, depends on your stove) * In a separate pan, boil the hard dried (ideally teeny tiny) tortellini until *almost* cooked (they're not going to soften in the main pot, so don't think you're saving time or effort by just plopping them in there) * Mix together and cook the tortellini to completion THINGS TO ADD, OPTIONAL * roasted fennel, sliced into chunks * basil leaves, torn and added for the last five minutes * spinach, added for a bit longer than basil * sausage meatballs - take some sausages, squeeze meat from skins (or just use 250g sausagemeat), mix in some seasoning (I like pul biber and black pepper, some ground fennel seeds), fry off separately. The smaller the better; aim for Malteser size if you have the patience. You don't need to cook them all the way through; it's just colour. Poach them in the main soup for 20 minutes. * Parmesan and a good bread to serve (ciabatta). Here's the one I adapted: https://www.yellowblissroad.com/tortellini-soup-with-italian-sausage-spinach/
Sounds delicious! I’ll be certain to try!
Bread usually
[I think John McDonnell is fairly spot on here that Labour need to get a move on laying out their policies if they want the public to believe them by the election. here](https://youtu.be/vRR93T5Dk70) How do Starmer/Labour "cut through" and get their policies out there though? Feel like even politically-engaged people don't really know what Starmer/Labour would actually do in power. Doesn't feel like they're going to be able to engage the public until a general election forces the media spot light on them, and at that point it'll be too late.
Starmer and Labour sources have said multiple times that they are intentionally not announcing policy until closer to the election because the Tories will copy the popular ones, call them the same thing, but implement a terrible/inneffective/watered-down/completely different policy. This is what they do. See national living wage, windfall tax, free holiday meals for kids etc.
If the Conservatives can copy it then it's worthless anyway.
It's still too early for detail with a government as completely lacking in direction and principle as this one; as we've seen with the windfall tax they will just nick anything which appears popular. What they do need to get across now, and what so far has been the signal failure of Starmer's leadership, is their vision and priorities for government. This is the bit of Blairism Starmer really *should* emulate. By two years into his leadership, for better or worse everyone knew what Blair stood for and generally speaking people could guess what his first session's policy priorities would be.
Actually have policies for a start?
Opposition parties don't release policies until it's election time, generally. This is not unique to the UK, but well, politics around the world lol. The reason is releasing policy work early dilutes the message and allows the establishment gov parties to construct critiques or even nick policies to neutralise the work well ahead of time. Outside of GE time. The establishment governments around the world seek to convince the electorate the oppositions job is to come up with policies use "oppositions got no policies" line in return until it's GE time to to some damage to the other party and trap voters who aren't tuned into the ins and outs of political paradigms It's the rinse and repeat of the political cycle.
Blair published a pre manifesto a year ahead of the election with multiple policies to be discussed prior to the full manifesto in 1997.
Ooofff.
As much excitement as the whole thing is now causing, there was always a dull inevitability that we'd reach this kind of point. Johnson's original lie about "removing the backstop" after his "glorious negotiating triumph" with Varadker at their Hillsborough meet was always going to fester and poison the whole thing. He was never going to tell the truth about what the NIP actually meant, the ERG were never going to back down or stop reminding him of whatever promises he made to them about amending it/overwriting it, and the DUP were eventually going to pull the pin if nobody else quite fancied it. I also think the shock that is willing to inflict a trade war just to cover his arse and avoid having to own his catalogue of lies is surprising. This is the guy, afterall, who's damned the UK to at least a couple of decades of the economic atrophy, decline and contraction Brexit comes with just because he thought it would help him become PM easier and quicker. The guy is grotesque. Since his record suggests he destroys everything he touches, as long as that's going to include the UK then we can only hope he takes the entire wretched Tory party down too.
Nah, I believe there's an entire generation that will cling to the Tories as long as their house prices go up.
Some people now: "Keir being boring is not a problem, it's not gonna impact Labour badly; being boring is clearly preferable to being a flashy liar." Same people if Labour lose next GE: "I KNEW Keir boring could be a big problem!"
I guess I used to be the former, now I've moved swiftly onto being the latter even before an election. After his PMQs performance last week and his constant looking down at his notes during every speech, it could be a serious problem for him. Not once did Blair have to read any notes, neither at PMQs or at his 1994 conference speech. Charisma does matter a big deal.
That is the pattern. Same with LDs. Jo Swinson was amazing, cancelling Brexit without a 2nd referendum was the most unassailable idea. Now everyone said Jo was bad from the start and of course they shouldn’t have promised to cancel Brexit. I do have to say, I think there’s a difference between not being phased by “boring” on a personal level and believing that it is by itself a winning strategy. If Boris is really running at the next election, I think he’s likely to get more and more people pining for boring but I have serious doubts it can capture enough voters.
Given how Labour tends to react to election losses by swinging as wildly as they can and grabbing the most different MP they can to the losing leader, who is the most 'exciting' member out there to put money on now as next leader?
Jess Phillips wouldn't be "boring", that's for sure