FlyTheNest

Willow904

Strangely enough, when I went shopping last week, there were still some frozen Richmond sausages left. They were the last ones to go after every other kind, including the little cocktail ones and pigs in blankets. I normally buy Walls or Sainsburys own brand myself, which are ok and handy to have in...

Willow904

So if the media fails to report the Dover lorry queues and the effects of Brexit, what do the public make of the massive gaps on supermarket shelves? Do they blame Sainsburys/Tescos? How do Sainsburys/Tescos feel about that? And will I ever be able to buy Walls frozen sausages again? They've been mi...

Willow904

The NI rise was supposed to pay for social care, wasn't it? You may be right that disowning it might not be as popular as backbench Tories think. Paying more tax to fund health and social care is often quite popular with the public. I wonder if they're worried that if they defend the tax to pay for ...

Willow904

Is it just me or are Tory MPs actually trying to get away with pretending they're on the public's side and upset about the NI hike they all voted for? It's like Jeremy Hunt wistfully lamenting what a terrible state the NHS was in when he was Health Secretary - like it had absolutely nothing to do wi...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2022/jan/27/universal-credit-claimants-face-tough-sanctions-in-uk-job-crackdown Universal credit claimants face tough sanctions in UK job crackdown Jobseekers will have just four weeks to find employment in their preferred sector under the government’s Way to Work...

Willow904

GetYou wrote: ↑Wed 26 Jan, 2022 12:41 pm Could be a nice cheap billboard for Labour, picture of Starmer and Johnson, would you rather be led by a lawyer, or a liar?

There were a lot of references to Starmer being a lawyer from Johnson today, so I assume the Tory calculation is that the general public actually prefer the latter.

Willow904

Starmer seemed keen to extract a promise from Johnson that he would make the full Sue Gray report available to MPs, which he appeared to get. I assume there's a strategy behind this.

Willow904

Boris Johnson at his rambling, blustering worst. His distraction attempts included references to the cost of living crisis and Russia, neither of which reflect well on current government, given the lack of action on fuel prices and unhelpful national insurance hike plus the US concerns about Russian...

Willow904

It's what Boris Johnson has not been doing that's the real problem, rather than what he has. Not doing the following is almost certainly what he has been supported into power to not do: https://www.theguardian.com/law/2022/jan/25/pressure-grows-on-uk-to-beef-up-measures-to-tackle-economic Pressure g...

Willow904

Well, up to a point. Even if 50% is too high, 10% going to degree level education was far too low and meant many deserving people missed out. Many deserving people still miss out on top jobs, though, the difference is that these days they miss out after three years of study and pushing thirty grand...

Willow904

We used to send 10% of the population to university because 10% of jobs required a degree. Now we send 50% of the population to university but still only 10% of jobs require a degree. I don't really know how universities fix that, really. Lots of jobs that don't really need a degree only take people...

Willow904

It seems Raab is just as useless at defending Johnson as he is at everything else

Willow904

https://www.thelondoneconomic.com/news/four-day-working-week-pilot-launched-in-the-uk-308577/ Four-day working week pilot launched in the UK The trial follows the 100:80:100 model: 100 per cent of the pay for 80 per cent of the time, in exchange for 100 per cent productivity. I think this is a great...

Willow904

Not the most important point, but they're not going to get very far with the younger demographic using the word "dishy". Young people don't know what it means. If rhyming's important, "fit git" might work, though ;) In other news, after somehow dodging it when my daughter had it ...

Willow904

Starmer didn't simply call for Johnson to resign. He listed the way in which it appears Johnson has broken the ministerial code and observed that breaking the ministerial code is a resigning matter. A subtle difference I kmow, but I think the way he set it out is quite effective. From the G liveblog...

Willow904

That's precisely what they're saying Willow, that the jury were a bunch of 'woke' lefty Bristolians who were egged on by a celebrity 'marxist' historian. "lefty Bristolians"!!! :rofl: Or a jury of their peers, as some might say. Suggesting a jury is biased because its members come from th...

Willow904

Incidentally, if the opinion of 12 ordinary people picked at random doesn't constitute "the will of the people" I'm not sure what does. Unless the complaint from the right is that "the people" can be easily and maliciously led astray by outside, biased sources - such as activist ...

Willow904

Re the Colston Four, I've been reading the Secret Barrister's book I got for Christmas and he does a potted history of trials in this country and strangely enough juries have always been a bit bolshie and would, on occasion, find people innocent or guilty of a lesser charge, not because they thought...

Willow904

...its not until 3PM today for some reason.

That did confuse me. I suspect I'll have lost interest by then.....

Willow904

@frog222

That's an interesting tit-for-tat going on the US which you linked yesterday. I wonder if it'll have the desired effect.

Willow904

I've been watching quite a bit of Kdrama on Netflix lately and something that particularly stands out is that they frequently reference the corrupt relationships between politicians, businessmen and the media. Themes such as gentrification, bribery and corruption come up again and again, often as a ...

Willow904

Happy New Year everyone. The London fireworks tv show was kind of naff, I thought. I never realised before that all the people actually there enjoying it in person was what made watching it on tv from home fun. Without the crowds it was very underwhelming. Same everywhere I guess and fair enough, of...

Willow904

Happy Christmas everyone from the damp, windswept Mendips.

I got a copy of the book by The Secret Barrister to cheer me up/depress me, not sure which!

: Xmas Tree.jpg (54.96 KiB) Viewed 6781 times

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2021/dec/22/omicron-covid-restrictions-young-people https://mobile.twitter.com/OwenJones84/status/1473693367175364619?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet Compared with some of the things he comes out with this latest article from Owen Jones...

Willow904

Owen Jones "controversy"?

Willow904

In a way, it could turn out to be a blessing as people who were comfortable when the economy was stable pre-Brexit could well of gone on voting Tory forever, to the detriment of those struggling with housing insecurity, lack of social care and food poverty etc, but now formerly complacent Tory voter...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2021/dec/22/food-shortages-hitting-britons-more-than-many-in-eu-poll-finds You'd think that no one who voted for Brexit voted for food shortages but then again you see all the smug people on social media explaining there's still enough food, just not the particul...

Willow904

This bit from the Times article about the govt's by-election defeat quoted in the G liveblog today caught my eye: That, of course, was not the only reason the Lib Dems romped home. Each seat has its own idiosyncrasies, particularly in rural England, and slow ambulance response times, poor transport ...

Willow904

https://mobile.twitter.com/lewis_goodall/status/1470354999540690953 "Offering" boosters. Not actually giving them though. There don't appear to be any appointments before January. Could this backfire on Johnson? He definitely said everyone could get a booster before the end of the year and...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/dec/13/no-more-home-covid-tests-available-says-nhs-england?CMP=twt_gu&utm_source=Twitter&utm_medium#Echobox=1639394140 No more home Covid tests available, says NHS England Given how quickly Omicron is spreading, how realistic (and, indeed, expensive) is...

Willow904

Well there was a schedule for boosters and slots to match until recently when they suddenly decided you could have a booster after 5 mths, 4 mths, 3 mths..... Then tonight Boris is "everyone get a booster, on your marks, get set, go" and now when you log on to the booking site there's like...

Willow904

Such a shame Max couldn't just win it from pole in an uncontroversial manner. On a track where overtaking is hard, he gave it away to Hamilton off the line and then trailed around for the rest of the race a distant second. Yes, safety cars can cause winners and losers in an unfair manner but it wasn...

Willow904

Who has had their booster thus far, getting mine on Wednesday. My husband had the letter through so went on the website to book but there were very few slots available and nothing local and nothing at the large vaccination sites where we went for all the others, just pharmacies and community centre...

Willow904

Willow904

I did say a "little" unfair. I agree it was a wrong policy to pursue, but my concern is Labour are being judged on the Coalition and Tory government's execution of that policy, when those who actually implemented it should be the ones held accountable.

Willow904

Well well, when I was 'migrated' from Incapacity benefit to ESA in 2011, I failed the Work Capability Assessment (made more difficult by Yvette Cooper), then had to spend a year appealing the decision only to have it reversed in 5 minutes by a tribunal, I always blamed Iain Duncan Smith. Smith you ...

Willow904

@frog222
I'm sorry to hear your daughter's MS was made worse by covid and the vaccine. Neurological illnesses can be so unpredictable, it's hard to know what will cause a relapse, making choices around vaccinating or shielding quite difficult for some people to know what to do for the best.

Willow904

They ditched bubbles and actively encouraged the resumption of all school assemblies and dropped mask use before vaccinations even started. Why? Herd immunity. What other explanation could there be? Herd immunity instead of vaccines might have made some kind of cynical sense but having already comm...

Willow904

Had to switch off Radio4 as some teachers’ union person whispered her case politely instead of telling them forthrightly that pretending a very few minutes in corridors was more infectious than hours in closed classrooms was utter fucking bollocks. It might have had some relevance when they had cla...

Willow904

It might be something to do with the Scots and Welsh having decent examples in government to follow, while the English have been encouraged by a flabby feckless man child to be thoughtless arseholes. There's also peer pressure, I've had (gentle) arguments with a couple of friends who stopped wearin...

Willow904

From the G liveblog: Starmer says working people are being asked to pay twice. They pay national insurance when they work, and when they retire they will have to sell their homes, because they will not be protected. He says it is a classic Covent Garden pick-pocketing operation. The PM entertains th...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2021/nov/21/icu-is-full-of-the-unvaccinated-my-patience-with-them-is-wearing-thin Translating this to the choice not to take the vaccine, however, I find my patience wearing thin. I think this is for a number of reasons. Even if you are not worried about your own r...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/society/2021/nov/18/rollout-third-covid-jabs-england-condemned-shambolic Rollout of third Covid jabs in England condemned as ‘shambolic’ The budget for publicising and communicating important government policies was one of the earliest victims of austerity and we continue...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... h-promises

The HS2 climbdown will hit the ‘red wall’ Tories: this is about far more than trains

I'm not sure the Tories learnt the right lesson from what happened to the Libdems over tuition fees.

Willow904

So much for still being PM in 2060. Even 2022 is starting to look a bit doubtful.

Willow904

Brexit is good for the Tories, though, and shit for Labour. It's not surprising they don't want to talk about it. Corruption, on the other hand, is bad for the Tories and plays to Starmer's strengths. Also, I feel climate change is up for grabs at the moment, Labour need to position themselves so th...

Willow904

Re Brexit I think it also has to be remembered that there is a huge difference between rejoining compared to not leaving in the first place. Which is why those behind Brexit were so desperate to get it over the line, regardless of the damage it would do to the country, and worry about the details la...

Willow904

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/nov/12/no-10-faces-legal-challenge-to-pms-support-for-priti-patel-on-bullying-claims No 10 faces legal challenge to PM’s support for Priti Patel on bullying claims This is interesting. Does the ministerial code have any legal standing at all or is it just wi...

Willow904

According to the G live blog Boris Johnson won't be able to make the sleaze debate because he's on a slow train from the NE. I particularly liked this bit: When journalists pointed out that last week Johnson took a private jet so that he could return from the Cop26 conference in Glasgow for a privat...

Willow904

Chaos Theory of government ? They want us to be so dizzy we don't know which way is up ! Imagine how annoyed Leadsom and the other 249 who voted for it are though, having hung themselves out to dry for nothing. I'm pretty sure this isn't the outcome No 10 was looking for. Two things leap out as to ...

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