This is the News!

[IndigoPrime]

Of course Starmer's Labour isn't perfect, but it would be hard to imagine a worse UK government than the ones headed by Johnson and Truss, barring of course some kind of dictatorial coup.  Starmer may be quite a bit to the right of Corbyn, but as IP said, the current government is has very little whatsoever to offer beyond far-right populism.

It's quite something to still see my social media feeds furious at the notion of a Starmer government and claiming it's going to be some kind of far-right neoliberal hellscape. Yes, he's not exactly a star performer. Yes, his leadership team is weak/boneheaded on key topics like working with the EU and electoral reform. Yes, his party is doing well in part because of what it is not as much as what it is. And, yes, he's not Jeremy Corbyn.

But look at the polls. Right now, Labour is frequently north of 50%. That won't hold. But it looks like with things looking like they will get harder, not easier – and directly due to the fault of the Tories – Labour will in some form lead the next government. Polling shows that Labour's scores for 'government in waiting' are higher than at any point even beyond Cameron's Tories just before they won in 2010. That in itself is a big achievement and bodes reasonably well.

Objectively, we're a long way from US-style far-right and centre-right politics, from an economic standpoint. (And from a progressive/liberal standpoint, Labour's always been very mixed anyway, even under Corbyn.)

[JayzusB.Christ]

I wonder if that ever happened to King Cnut?

***king Cnut?

Aye - he's the fella who notoriously tried to turn back the tide and was disappointed. (There is another reading of the event where he's not actually expecting the tide to turn and is instead making a point about the limits of Kingship.)

Ah yeah, I know the fella - he's on that Valhalla series (on which I see many of my old fellow Vikings extras, who have apparently somehow survived the 100-odd years from the end of that series).

I was only trying to make a joke that combined the C-word with the F-word; inspired by Harry Hill's TV Burp which cheekily added a censorship beep to a documentary clip every time the king penguin was mentioned.  I was surprised that the teatime slot could get away with this kind of messing, till I remembered Kenny Everett's Cupid Stunt character.

[Funt Solo]

Oh - that's what the *** was doing! I can be so funking dense sometimes.

---

Meanwhile - Chinese embassy tries to eat protestor - film at 11!

[judgeurko]

Another disaster from LT on PMQs

[Hawkmumbler]

It's all starting to feel a bit Punch and Judy at this point ...

[IndigoPrime]

The fracking vote later is going to be a shitshow. The whips have decreed it's a confidence vote. So those who rebel would lose the whip. Some have put in letters against Truss, so those would then be null and void. But if they vote in favour, Labour has endless attack ads ready to run. This was such an easy trap to avoid, but, well, Tories.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I'm no expert on finance, but I can't help thinking that the clownshow of the last few weeks is tangible, demonstrable proof that trickle-down economics is a myth; at least in this corner of the world.

[Jim_Campbell]

Braverman gone from the Home Office. Grant Shapps, God help us, tipped to replace her.

[The Mind of Wolfie Smith]

braverman's resignation letter is basically attacking truss for not being xenophobic enough ...
honestly, tories, if the thick of it (which i adore) were to be aired for the first time now it would fail on account of its unrealistic calmness and sobriety compared with the real thing.

[JayzusB.Christ]

I thought Priti Patel was a cartoon villain, but Braverman literally did an evil laugh about her plane-to-Rwanda 'dream'.

[Richard]

PM allegedly fired the chief whip in the division lobby. Rees-Mogg and others accused of physically dragging a Tory MP into the voting lobby.

[The Legendary Shark]

And you wonder why I have no time for this system of yours.

[Funt Solo]

"Don't take the bait ... don't take the bait ..."

[The Legendary Shark]

"Don't take the bait ... don't take the bait ..."

Oh go-wan... go-wan, go-wan, go-wan, go-wan, go-wan... :-D

[JayzusB.Christ]

I remember spotting a YouTube video entitled something like '10 times Jacob Rees-Mogg owned the libs.'  Imagine looking at that Walter-the-Softy-lookalike, milksop streak of piss and holding him up as some kind of warrior for your cause.