Wednesday 26 June: Scrapping the Lords would condemn the country to worse legislation

Posted on by Geoff Graham

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557 thoughts on “Wednesday 26 June: Scrapping the Lords would condemn the country to worse legislation”

  1. Good morrow, Gentlefolk, today’s (recycled) story

    PLAY THE GAME
    A retiree was given a set of golf clubs by his co-workers. Thinking he'd try the game, he asked the local pro for lessons, explaining that he knew nothing whatever of the game. The pro showed him the stance and swing, then said, "Just hit the ball toward the flag on the first green."

    The novice teed up and smacked the ball straight down the fairway and onto the green, where it stopped inches from the hole. "Now what?" the fellow asked the speechless pro.
    "Uh… you're supposed to hit the ball into the cup." the pro finally said, after he was able to speak again.

    "Oh great! NOW you tell me!" said the beginner in a disgusted tone.

  4. Nice Eagle to start the day

    Wordle 1,103 2/6

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  5. Good morning, chums, and thanks once again to Geoff for today's site. Today will be another scorcher in my neck of the woods. Enjoy the day.

    Wordle 1,103 5/6

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  6. Irony Alert..

    Sir Michael Eavis boasts that Glastonbury festival now provide more than 8,000 metres of Super Fortress Fence around the perimeter of the site, together with the same 8km of interior mesh fence making the site secure significantly reducing crime levels compared to previous years, and making this event safe for all women and girls; creating a fun and inclusive environment, free from sexual violence and harassment. ‍

    Hang on a minute..

    Glastonbury is celebrating migration and a case for open borders, explaining why the freedom to move—coupled with the freedom and possibility to remain—is a necessary good, and why a world not divided into exclusive nation states with militarised borders would be more egalitarian, would promote and cultivate diversity, and would help form a world where sustainability and justice take precedence over extraction and exploitation.

    Cakeism at its best..

  8. Reform candidate praises Putin in city hit by Novichok. 26 June 2024.

    A Reform candidate standing in the constituency that was hit by Novichok poisonings has praised Vladimir Putin and rejected comparisons between the Russian dictator and Hitler.

    Julian Malins KC is standing for Nigel Farage’s party in Salisbury, where Sergei Skripal, the former Russian double agent, and his daughter were targeted in a nerve agent attack in 2018.

    The Government said it was “highly likely” Russia was behind the poisonings and 23 of Putin’s diplomats were subsequently expelled.

    One assumes that being close to the action and a KC that Mr Malins has seen through this ludicrous story.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2024/06/25/reform-candidate-for-novichok-seat-putin-is-no-hitler/

    1. Farage luvs Putin theme.. is their thin gruel of an argument and are sticking to it. It's all they've got.

    2. Farage luvs Putin theme.. is their thin gruel of an argument and are sticking to it. It's all they've got.

    3. I disagree. On the other hand, the authorities sealed Mr Skripal's pets inside his house, where they either starved or died of thirst.

      1. Since they were visiting constantly one wonders why? Just one of many anomalies in this fabrication.

    4. The Government said it was “highly likely” Russia was behind the poisonings

      Well they would say that, wouldn't they?

  10. 388930+ up ticks,

    Morning Each,

    Wednesday 26 June: Scrapping the Lords would condemn the country to worse legislation

    Then surely we must remove our combined heads from our combined arses and construct a parallel house of peoples representatives.

    The other option is, we continue as we are going until FULL
    subversiveness is achieved.

      1. Yes indeed! We had to watch the match last night as we were at someone’s house who wanted to watch it. Observed Southgate earnestly chewing gum and busily making notes. My husband said “he’s writing out his shopping list” which made me laugh. He probably was! If there was a prize for laziness and passing back to the goalie they’d have nailed it.

  12. Good morning everyone.
    Allison Pearson gives the Conservatives both barrels today.

    1. Prof. Neema Parvini (a curious mix of Welsh and Persian) aka the Academic Agent is one of my go-to commentators along with his side-kick Mr Dee. I'm a particular fan of 'Cigar Stream' and 'Unpopular Opinions'.

      Nottlerish? He's a palaeo-conservative who would bring back absolute monarchy! His theories on populism and the power dynamic are all more than plausible. He and his guests (the American 'Radical Liberation', father of 8, is another) are all a great source of analysis and opinion for those of who are conservative dissidents with anti-Marxist subversive tendencies. Look out too for 'Apostolic Majesty' whose history knowledge is off the scale. His explanation of the Serbia conflict going right back to the 12th Century was superb.

      Highly recommended.

  14. Russia is accused of hacking Ukrainian TV to flash violent images of war on children’s channels

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/21108334390120a96466412c3a39c45beea41bf38e11bb8f69b972cfaf36c9e3.jpg
    The International Telecommunications Union (ITU) is reviewing a series of complaints this week from Ukraine and European countries about satellite interference that have affected navigation services and television shows, the body confirmed.

    The interference has jammed GPS signals and could endanger air traffic control, the European Union said in a statement to the ITU earlier this month. In some cases, children’s television channels were hit, it said, and violent images of the war in Ukraine were spliced into regular programming.

    The darker panels around the Middle East are caused by Israel to interfere with Hezboollah or Iranian missile navigation systems. One imagines that Russia is taking similar precautions.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/world-news/2024/06/25/ukraine-accuses-russia-children-tv-hack-violent-war-images/

  15. Good morning all.
    Another bright and sunny start with a tad over 12°C on the Yard Thermometer.
    Lovely walk to & from Matlock Bath last night and a pleasant accoustic session in the Old Bank.

    Coming past Ember Farm, it was still a summer evening twilight at 23:00 and so quiet! Not a breath of wind.

  16. Good morning all,

    Limited sleep , so hot last night .

    19c now , Moh had a good golf game in Salisbury yesterday , and is now playing his usual Wednesday game today .

    1. Morning, Maggie.
      One of the osprey chicks is now walking on its feet, rather than its 'elbows'.
      Another has had a go, but slumped back again.

      1. Last year the nest was attacked by magpies , crows , a squirrel and even a rat .

        This year the male has brought in probably about 8 fish a day, the mother has been amazing , patient and sharing the fish equally amongst her youngsters.

        What incredible science is that in the formation of their feathers , the colours are so perfect , I really do believe there is a God of all things .

        2. She is a good mother.
          I am amazed that she sat for an extra week on that one egg. She must have sensed something.

        1. Hot is when you breathe in through your nose, and the airflow scorches the rim of your nostrils. Cold is when you breathe in through your nose, and you can feel ice forming on your nostril hair. That’s a range of about -18C to +34C – between those is comfortable.
          IMHO.

    3. I slept but it was feverish dream heavy sleep. At work I do purchasing of archive footage and a colleague looks after acquiring still images. I dreamt that the election went all wrong and the people voted for the photos! Easy to see how things that do concern me but aren’t actually related were getting all mixed up in my head?

      1. I had a bad night, too, Sue. You have described it exactly, although I didn't have the same dream. Throughout, though, I kept surfacing into wakefulness accompanied by cramp.

        1. My joints were playing up so I took some co-codamol. I went out like a light and didn't wake up until nearly 08.00!

    4. A touch over 13° when I got home last night at 11:30.
      A LOT warmer inside the house though, but I slept reasonably well after a cold bath to cool myself off after the walk.

    5. Our bedroom is North facing and is the coolest room in our home. Lucky or well planed.?

  17. These sinister 'pro-Palestinian' protests are a warning to us all

    If people care about innocent Palestinians, why are there not tens of thousands on the streets demanding Hamas accept the ceasefire?

    DANNY COHEN • 25 June 2024 • 3:51pm

    It is now over two weeks since the terrorists of Hamas were offered a ceasefire which would end the war in Gaza.

    According to US secretary of state Antony Blinken, the terms of the deal had been approved by Israel's war cabinet and the governments of Egypt and Qatar, who acted as mediators. Yet the proposal has not been accepted by Yahya Sinwar and his partners in terror.

    The leadership of Hamas do not care about the lives of ordinary Palestinians. For them, casualties of war are a price worth paying for their genocidal aims. Hamas wants to maintain its military capability at all costs so that it can attempt to kill more Jews in the future. An interview this month with Hamas representative in Lebanon Ahmad Abd Al-Hadi should leave no one in doubt of this. "We would do it again," he declared to the Annahar newspaper. In other words, if given the chance, Hamas would repeat the rape, kidnapping and slaughter of October 7.

    Murderous ambition is what we must expect of Hamas, but what of others? What of all the people in Western countries who have expressed such anger about the war in Gaza and who have placed huge pressure on Israel to end it? Why now is there no popular protest against Hamas to do the very same thing?

    If people cared so much about innocent Palestinians caught up in the fighting, why are there not tens of thousands on the streets of London every Saturday demanding that Hamas accept the ceasefire? As yet, I have seen no marches organised for this purpose, nor have I seen any university campus protests demanding that the terrorists agree terms to end the war.

    At book festivals, writers felt so strongly about links to Israel that organisers were forced to terminate their relationships with sponsors. I have not noticed any of these writers now putting pressure on Hamas to accept the ceasefire. This, it seems, is a less worthy use of their influence.

    The same is true of a multitude of celebrities on social media. I am confident that the majority of those who have attacked Israel online in recent months have said nothing about the terrorists of Hamas. I have not seen any popular hashtags calling for Hamas to agree to the ceasefire that would end the war. I have not seen the masses on TikTok mobilised against Sinwar and his backers in Iran.

    We should expect more of the same at the Glastonbury music festival. A number of artists will surely take the opportunity of their live televised performance on the BBC to condemn Israel and speak up for the rights of Palestinians. It is a terrible shame they do not realise that the best way to protect the civilians of Gaza is to pressure Hamas to stop the war and that the only way to "Free Palestine" is to end the tyranny and prejudice of its murderous government.

    The world feels upside down. Why is it that a democratic state that was the victim of the worst massacre in its history faces all the protest, all the opprobrium, all the demands to end the war, but the terrorist organisation which started it faces none?

    There is something so perverse about this that it should act as a warning to us all. It is not just that terrorists are avoiding responsibility for their crimes. What we are seeing is the growth of a movement, particularly among younger people, that seeks to de-legitimise the state of Israel. No other democratic country faces this kind of challenge to its right to exist. It is time for more people to speak up for Israel and understand that the threat it faces is not just at its borders but to the very right of Jewish people to have a homeland.

    Danny Cohen was the director of BBC Television from 2013 until 2015

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/25/these-sinister-pro-palestinian-protests-are-a-warning-to-us/

    1. As I've remarked before, Oct.7 was a trap and Israel has walked straight into it.
      Hamas INTENDED to provoke an Israeli response and already had it's propaganda aparat primed up and ready to to take advantage.
      To Hamas, the people of Gaza, ESPECIALLY the children are mere propaganda pawns.

      1. It's like night follows day.
        One day, Israel should try something else, just to keep us all guessing.

      2. But what other option did Israel have?

        And who believes that the USA, the EU, the UN, UK or NATO would have lifted a finger to wipe Hamas off the face of the earth?

        And Israel can not have a secure existence as long as Hamas exists.

        1. It would have been nice if, instead of supporting settler raids on farmers in the West Bank, the Israelis dedicated some of their troops to patrol the 20 mile border with Gaza. None of those committing that raid on 7th October last should have been allowed back over the fence with their booty. Every one picked up and processed under Israeli law.

          Then they wouldn't have needed to go into Gaza at all. The message to Hamas "make my day".

          1. I hadn't realised that the border with gaza wasn't heavily guarded/protected. I wonder why not?

    2. "The leadership of Hamas do not care about the lives of ordinary Palestinians."
      Well, fucking gosh.
      They deliberately use the lives of civilians in Gaza to embarrass the Israelis, who (predictably) retaliate with massive force when provoked by a terrorist incident – resulting in the death and maiming of Gazans by the hundred. It happens every time, and this time, following the October assault into Israel, has been a bumper one.
      It's like night following day.

        1. SACHETS?????
          The person who invented sauce sachets deserved to be FLOGGED!

          1. I like the upside-down squeezy bottles. You don't get a dried-on dribble stuck to the spout.

          2. Ah, hours of silly fun in our yoof.
            Our school banned the plastic lemons because they were used as water pistols.

      1. 🙂 Good point. I wonder if the new King Charles plates are dish washer proof?
        The rest probably not as they predate such considerations.

      1. They should have used a bigger table or in voted less guests.

        I might be able to see properly soon. 👀

    5. I have always assumed that the food at these occasions must be dreadful.

      1. After so many years of being told not to get involves, plus white-on-black automatically means whitey is guilty have led to excremental situations such as this. Whatever whitey does, they lose.
        Reaping what was sown. It's a known saying, and it comes true.

  20. Good morning all,

    Clear blue skies over McPhee Towers, wind East, 17℃ with a high of 27℃. Back in circulation after a very pleasant week on the Devon Riviera. It was nice to have a break from the madness for a while. But…

    In case no-one thinks Starmer and his shower of loons plan to make us poorer, here's an example which will be close to the hearts of most of us here:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ddc0bdbaba0037d8f7f96887485721c3bd70a2347df3855ef3eb9f522baa0ede.png
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    Thank goodness mine's a private pension and I can direct my fund management company as I see fit if I don't like its advice (hasn't happened yet).

    However, the biggie which might be coming down the track which doesn't get a mention in this piece is that the Reeves woman intends to make pension funds subject to IHT on the passing of their owners. All those of us who are hoping to leave a nice tax-free inheritance in a pension wrapper for our offspring, as we can at present, could well be in for a seriously nasty shock. This would be one which would HAVE to be reversed once Liebour get ejected again, as they will be.

    1. It won't be the first stealth tax snuck in on the sly when the public is being distracted by breaking news. There's a great deal of money to be made up because of the pledge not to raise Income Tax, Corporation Tax, VAT or NI, and yet maintain public services and indeed greatly increase compliance and monitoring with social justice regulations.

      Meanwhile the global market demands that executive payouts keep up with the Americans.

      1. I’ve said it before but I’ll take advantage of this thread to say it again.
        Never mentioned is how complicated IHT is, how long the process. But most importantly it is essential to allow people to settle estates without the intervention of envious legal experts who, bedazzled by their clients’ wealth, are unable to avoid the temptation to dishonestly appropriate part of the inheritance

        1. Part? They'd have it all, leaving the beneficiaries with a token, and no doubt lobbied hard to make it so.

    2. Recently discovered Inheritance Tax (~40%) is due if not either willed to a descendant, or to someone you're not married to (classed for IHT purposes as a stranger even if co-habiting. Worth checking legal advice if in this situation.

    3. So the key thing is to try to keep living for at least the next 5 years but probably longer because it’s extraordinary how long it takes a government to reverse any legislation.let alone legislation that brings in money to the exchequer.

  21. Good morning all,

    Clear blue skies over McPhee Towers, wind East, 17℃ with a high of 27℃. Back in circulation after a very pleasant week on the Devon Riviera. It was nice to have a break from the madness for a while. But…

    In case no-one thinks Starmer and his shower of loons plan to make us poorer, here's an example which will be close to the hearts of most of us here:
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/ddc0bdbaba0037d8f7f96887485721c3bd70a2347df3855ef3eb9f522baa0ede.png
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    Thank goodness mine's a private pension and I can direct my fund management company as I see fit if I don't like its advice (hasn't happened yet).

    However, the biggie which might be coming down the track which doesn't get a mention in this piece is that the Reeves woman intends to make pension funds subject to IHT on the passing of their owners. All those of us who are hoping to leave a nice tax-free inheritance in a pension wrapper for our offspring, as we can at present, could well be in for a seriously nasty shock. This would be one which would HAVE to be reversed once Liebour get ejected again, as they will be.

  22. Morning all 🙂😊
    Lovely sunny start again. First job to water the green house plants. Max temp in there yesterday 50 C
    I'm not sure if getting rid of the Lords would be a good idea if we end up with a labour government. Ask lord kinockio, he wanted to see it gone as did other labour members at the time, but not long after they were drawn in by the 300 quid a day for signing in, expenses and free lunches.
    And they still did eff all about anything important.

      1. I agree, but would also abolish all party affiliation in the Lords, and allow appointments by Royal Commission only with no input from the Commons or its elected representatives or parties associated with them.

        If the King wishes to appoint popular peers by nomination and election, that's up to him, but there should be no connection between this and the election of MPs in the Commons.

      1. Weird, thanks. At least, not normal, kind of dull and discharged. Occasional periods of even-less-nimble, mentally.
        Hope it goes over, I hate it.

  25. I know there are some here who don't like listening to long podcasts but this is one you really should listen to even if it is over two hours long. Andrew Bridgen reveals all and thereby lets us know just what a charade, and how filthy and corrupt, our whole political system is. Anybody who lives close to N W Leicestershire should get there and lend a hand to secure his re-election. Reform should NOT be standing against him …. but they are.

    The description of the interview as a bombshell is no exaggeration.

    https://www.youtube.com/wat…

    2. posted that a couple of days ago.. it contains 6 wows with anecdotes and examples.

      1/ Sunak doesn't want to win election because he's been informed by MOD we're going to war.. and he doesn't want to be a war time PM.
      2/ HS2 is a racket for land grab & the estate agents.
      3/ the New Elites are sociopathic psychos.. don't dare cross them about the vaxx. They know they are untouchable.
      4/ Big Pharma have to pay MPs & TV doctors for marketing to push "safe & secure" to avoid liability claims.
      5/ MSN are paid up goons, go against the narrative and life becomes impossible for journalists. No car insurance. No legal representation.
      6/ Every institution has been corrupted.

      Summary: Buckle up. Andrew Bridgen is a dead man walking.

      1. Car insurance denial is a great way to nobble you. Andrew Bridgen MP with 12 years no claims and clean licence..
        Go-Compare computer says No Available Quotes. Local Police seize your car at every road stop.

      2. Car insurance denial is a great way to nobble you. Andrew Bridgen MP with 12 years no claims and clean licence..
        Go-Compare computer says No Available Quotes. Local Police seize your car at every road stop.

    3. posted that a couple of days ago.. it contains 6 wows with anecdotes and examples.

      1/ Sunak doesn't want to win election because he's been informed by MOD we're going to war.. and he doesn't want to be a war time PM.
      2/ HS2 is a racket for land grab & the estate agents.
      3/ the New Elites are sociopathic psychos.. don't dare cross them about the vaxx. They know they are untouchable.
      4/ Big Pharma have to pay MPs & TV doctors for marketing to push "safe & secure" to avoid liability claims.
      5/ MSN are paid up goons, go against the narrative and life becomes impossible for journalists. No car insurance. No legal representation.
      6/ Every institution has been corrupted.

      Summary: Buckle up. Andrew Bridgen is a dead man walking.

    4. Is there an equivalent person to Bridgen on vaccine gene therapy damage who can keep bringing to everyone's attention that carbon dioxide is both necessary and beneficial to the atmosphere and Net Zero is a scam to impoverish us while enriching the vested interests.

      The Science is Settled Scumbags need to be constantly challenged.

      1. They're all in 'Climate The Movie: The Cold Truth'. Take your pick. Or go to Tom Nelson's substack and YT channel which is a treasure trove of climate and energy truth.

        https://www.youtube.com/wat…

        https://substack.com/@tomn

        https://www.youtube.com/@to…

        One of my favourites is Dr Jerome Corsi on why oil is abiotic, not organic, not fossil and why we will never run out of it to all intents and purposes. An interesting thing is the Fischer-Topsch process which makes oil from coal. It's how the Nazis powered their blitzkreig – aided by the Rockefeller's Standard Oil.

        https://www.youtube.com/wat…

  26. I know there are some here who don't like listening to long podcasts but this is one you really should listen to even if it is over two hours long. Andrew Bridgen reveals all and thereby lets us know just what a charade, and how filthy and corrupt, our whole political system is. Anybody who lives close to N W Leicestershire should get there and lend a hand to secure his re-election. Reform should NOT be standing against him …. but they are.

    The description of the interview as a bombshell is no exaggeration.

    https://www.youtube.com/wat…

  27. I know there are some here who don't like listening to long podcasts but this is one you really should listen to even if it is over two hours long. Andrew Bridgen reveals all and thereby lets us know just what a charade, and how filthy and corrupt, our whole political system is. Anybody who lives close to N W Leicestershire should get there and lend a hand to secure his re-election. Reform should NOT be standing against him …. but they are.

    The description of the interview as a bombshell is no exaggeration.

    https://www.youtube.com/wat…

  28. Julian Assange walks free after pleading guilty to US espionage charge in Saipan court. 26 June 2024.

    Immediately after the three-hour hearing, the US government withdrew its extradition request from the UK, dropped all remaining charges pending in the US, and banned Assange from returning to the US without permission. He headed straight to the airport and was due to arrive on Australian soil at 7.30pm (1030AM GMT).

    I doubt that he will want to visit the US. It has after all sought to lock him away for the rest of his life on trumped up charges.

    https://www.theguardian.com/media/article/2024/jun/26/julian-assange-saipan-court-hearing-plea-deal-wikileaks-australia-us-kevin-rudd

    1. Speaking as an Assange supporter, I hope he returns to journalism. And gets himself a good lawyer.

    2. I am no great admirer of Prince Andrew who has been found guilty in the Court of Public Opinion. His lawyers advised him most strongly NOT to put himself in front of a US court as he would receive no justice.

      Remember that the reason he paid off the young prostitute, whom he claimed never to have met, was to save the Queen embarrassment in her Diamond Jubilee Year.

      The use of Warfare against Trump shows that a court which is incapable of being objective and impartial should never be trusted.

      (The truth teller, Mark Steyn, reviled and loathed by the PTB and Ofcom, also thinks that no justice can be found in American courts.)

  29. Well you know, the way I see things is that we are now all very fearful of the potential wipe out of the Tories and will have to grit our teeth knowing we will be dominated by a Socialist dominated government and all the evils that that could bring .

    Black lives matter , a Mohammadan wail from the Muezzin , and a weak minded Starmer who takes the knee .

    Trotsky believed his country could achieve socialism only if the working classes around the world rose up as one to overthrow the ruling classes – the doctrine of "international socialism".

    Sir Keir Starmer, like Sir Tony Blair before him, has done his best to detoxify the Labour brand and convince voters there is nothing to fear in voting for him.

    But where Sir Tony was a lifelong centrist, Sir Keir started his political life on the extreme left, and questions remain over the extent to which he has abandoned his Trotskyist beliefs.

    When he was in his mid-20s, in the year he became a barrister, he wrote an article in a socialist fringe magazine musing on whether the police should have any role in civil society.

    At a similar age he is reported to have said he did not believe in imprisonment “for anything, ever”. A Labour spokesman said there was “no proof” that Sir Keir said this, while stopping short of denying outright that he ever said it.

    Just seven years ago he praised Jeremy Corbyn’s astonishingly Left-wing election manifesto as a “foundational document” for Labour, and when he was running for leadership in 2020 he promised to close immigration detention centres, having previously said there was a “racist” undercurrent to all immigration law.

    1. Morning Belle. He's obviously a dyed in the wool Marxist. Most of them are of course, though they have all learned to dissimulate.

      1. What he said then:
        In an article for the magazine Socialist Alternatives in 1987, when Sir Keir was 24, he wrote about the battles between the police and print workers on the picket lines at Rupert Murdoch’s printing plant at Wapping, east London, accusing the police of “paramilitary” methods.

        “Whilst, of course, police violence and provocation should be condemned at every opportunity, it is necessary to go further and recognise that policing of any sort that is unaccountable stands directly in the path of any progress towards social emancipation, whether it be of workers made redundant in the pursuit of yet further profit or whether it be of ethnic groups coming to terms with racist oppression.

        “This leads to the question of the role the police should play, if any, in civil society. Who are they protecting and from what? Who controls them and for whose benefit?”

        — Keir Starmer, Socialist Alternatives magazine, 1987

        In his late 20s, Sir Keir had such liberal beliefs on law and order that one friend, quoted by Lord Ashcroft in his biography Red Knight, recalled him saying he did not believe in imprisonment “for anything, ever”.

        Personal taxation
        What he says now:
        Labour will not increase income tax, National Insurance or VAT (except on private school fees).

        The party’s website also says it will “close the loopholes which allow some “non-dom” mega rich people who live in the UK to avoid paying tax.

        “Labour will tax fairly…we will introduce a new fiscal lock, guaranteeing in law that any government making significant tax and spending changes will be subject to an independent forecast from the Office for Budget Responsibility.”

        He has dismissed Tory claims that Labour will put up taxes by £2,000 per family as “garbage”.

        What he said then:
        When he campaigned for the Labour leadership in 2020 one of his pledges was to: “Increase income tax for the top 5 per cent of earners.”

        He described this policy as nothing less than “economic justice”. According to the Office of National Statistics, the top 5 per cent in 2024 earn £87,012 per year.

        In 2022, Sir Keir vowed to bring in a new tax band for those earning more than £150,000. Under the current system, tax is charged at 40 per cent on earnings above £50,270 and 45 per cent on earnings above £125,140.

        Gordon Brown introduced a 50 per cent tax rate on earnings of more than £150,000, which came into effect weeks before the 2010 general election before being scrapped by Lord Cameron.

        The economy
        What he says now:
        In July last year, Sir Keir wrote in The Observer: “Frankly, the Left has to start caring a lot more about growth, about creating wealth, attracting inward investment and kick-starting a spirit of enterprise. It is the only show in town for those who dream of a brighter future.”

        Speaking to Tony Blair in 2023, Sir Keir said that “we need three things: growth, growth, growth”.

        What he said then:
        At his 2020 leadership campaign launch, Sir Keir said: “The idea that economic growth alone will solve society’s ills and make us all prosper is wrong and outdated.”

        He argued that Labour should “rebuild our economic model in place of the failed free market one”.

        In the July 1986 edition of Socialist Alternatives, Sir Keir criticised then Labour leader Neil Kinnock’s economic policy because it “presumably safeguards the freedom of capital in Britain whilst showing little regard for the freedom of the workforce and community to extend their political control”.

        The magazine, which he helped to produce, argued the working week should be cut to 32 hours.

        Business
        What he says now:
        In an interview with The Times last weekend Sir Keir said: “I think it’s a good thing that people are aspirational. When I say our number one mission is economic growth, you could say our number one mission is wealth creation.

        Rachel Reeves said on an election visit to Rolls Royce: “The Labour Party is today the natural party of British business.”

        On business taxation, Labour will impose a tax on oil and gas companies and will keep corporation tax at 25 per cent.

        What he said then:
        In an article for Socialist Alternatives, Sir Keir claimed that collective bargaining was not Left-wing enough because it gave too much power to employers.

        “A new pluralism must be evolved, ‘pluralism’ that encompasses negotiating and counterposing the interests of the producers with the interests of the consumers/users, the community, women and minority groups, the unemployed, the environment etc. This of course is a fundamentally anti-capitalist ‘pluralism’.

        “In this, the trade unions have a function as autonomous and independent articulators of the workers’ interests in the socially useful economy: no longer negotiating with capital but bargaining the terms of production in and for the community.”

        — Keir Starmer, Socialist Alternatives magazine, 1980s

        Nationalisation
        What he says now:
        In July 2022, Rachel Reeves, the shadow chancellor, told the BBC’s Today programme that nationalising public services “just doesn’t stack up against our fiscal rules”, pointing out that such commitments in the 2019 election campaign “secured our worst results since 1935”.

        On the same day, Sir Keir said: “I take a pragmatic approach rather than an ideological one, I agree with what Rachel Reeves said this morning.”

        Last week, he fleshed out his plans for Great British Energy, revealing it would be an investment vehicle rather than an energy provider.

        Labour has promised to renationalise nearly all passenger rail services within the next parliament.

        What he said then:
        When he ran for the Labour leadership, Sir Keir said “public services should be in public hands, not making profits for shareholders”, specifically mentioning “rail, mail, energy and water”. This was widely perceived as a commitment to nationalise those industries, a key plank of Jeremy Corbyn’s manifesto in 2017.

        When he was interviewed for pupillage as a barrister at Doughty Street Chambers, Sir Keir is said to have repeated French anarchist Pierre-Joseph Proudhon’s adage that “all property is theft”.

        Immigration and free movement
        What he says now:
        Labour’s website says it supports a points-based immigration system for legal migrants and will speed up the return of illegal migrants to safe countries.

        It also says a Labour government will “prioritise strong border security and deliver a properly managed and controlled asylum system which returns people who have no right to be here”.

        Sir Keir says he will ditch the Rwanda scheme but has refused to rule out offshore processing or sending asylum seekers abroad to have their claims processed.

        What he said then:
        In a 1988 edition of the magazine Socialist Lawyer, Sir Keir, who was 26 at the time and had been called to the Bar, said there is a “racist undercurrent which permeates all immigration law”.

        Then, when he was running for the Labour leadership in 2020, he wrote to the Labour Campaign for Free Movement, saying he was “proud to have served as Jeremy [Corbyn’s] shadow immigration minister”, and boasting he had taken the last Labour government to court for cutting benefits for asylum seekers.

        Complaining that the immigration system aims to “deter, not support” migrants coming to Britain illegally, he said he would close immigration detention centres, allow asylum seekers to work, liberalise family reunion rules, and give some foreigners the vote.

        Ireland
        What he says now:
        A referendum on Irish unification is “not even on the horizon”, Sir Keir said before last October’s Labour Party conference.

        He has previously said he would campaign for Northern Ireland to remain part of the UK if such a referendum were ever to be held.

        What he said then:
        In 1987, he became a member of the editorial committee of a magazine called Socialist Lawyer. It is the official journal of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers. The Haldane Society had a clear policy at that time of supporting a united Ireland, saying: “We call for British withdrawal.”

        A Labour Party spokesman said Sir Keir “never personally wrote in support of a united Ireland”.

        After the Winchester Three – who had been convicted of plotting to kill Tom King, the Cabinet minister, in an IRA plot – had their convictions overturned on a technicality, Sir Keir wrote an article headlined “King Size Blunder” in which he highlighted the Haldane Society’s role in getting the convictions overturned.

        Worker’s rights
        What he says now:
        According to the party’s website: “Labour is pro-worker and pro-business, and we will work in partnership with trade unions and business to deliver our New Deal.

        “Rather than division and decline, Labour will offer people the hope that comes from a long-term plan, working with employers and workers to get Britain moving forward. From now until the General Election, we’ll show how our plans will be turned into a reality benefiting those who contribute to our economy.

        “We will invite businesses, trade unions, and civil society to input on how we can best put our plans into practice.”

        What he said then:
        In his leadership campaign launch, Sir Keir was clear that: “We walk with the trade unions.”

        In Socialist Alternatives in the 1980s, Sir Keir called for an enlargement of the unions, saying that in the 1984 miners’ strike:

        The massive support network of, among others, Women Against Pit Closures, Gays and Lesbians Support the Miners, Blacks and Asians Support the Miners, signified this extension…

        “The first Women’s demonstrations at Wapping drew not only supporters from Women Against Pit Closures, but also other women in dispute (for example the Cambridge Health Authority Strikers). These are important examples of how trade unions can begin building horizontally within and beyond the union, thus extending the challenge from simple workplace control to control over industry and community…

        “The challenge of control can only be met if unions are radically enlarged to encompass the political elements of control throughout society.”

        — Keir Starmer, Socialist Alternatives magazine, 1980s

    3. I don't really agree with conventional Conservative portrayal of Starmer as a socialist, or even on the Left. To me he is an authoritarian rightwinger, who is only masquerading as a leftwinger as a means to an end. He was eager enough to stab Corbyn in the back once he was no longer any use to the plan. In truth, I don't know what Starmer's political principles are, if he has any.

      It seems though that all he touches become zombified, and Starmer's own facial characteristics resembling a rabbit in a headlight bear an uncanny resemblance to Liz Truss's whenever she was exposed to scrutiny.

      If this were a fair and competent electoral system, no leader would become PM by default because the alternative party had disgraced themselves and nobody else was realistically in contention, leaving the public with a Hobson's Choice. Yet we are stuck with what we have got.

      Let's not play Starmer's game and back up his assertion that he stands for the Left. No, he doesn't. If you are inclined to the Left, best to vote Lib Dem or Green. and Muslims can vote for Galloway.

      The main priority for me this time is damage limitation. Even Rishi Sunak is better than Starmer, but I fear the Conservative Party has run out of feet to shoot at. Since none of the others are likely to form a Government, it doesn't really matter too much what their policies are. Best to create a Bombay mix of parties holding the balance of power. It may create a state of anarchy for a while, similar to that in 2019, but better that than a man with less popular appeal than even Corbyn claiming absolute power and an eagerness to shut off all dissent.

      Above all, a lot of Tories are going to have to hold their noses for the good of the country, and a wipeout needs to be avoided, regardless what Farage says. If there are any decent Tories on offer, for goodness sake vote for them!

      1. Lib Dems, Greens and Muslims, and what they stand for, pretty much sum up a lot of what is wrong with the UK

        1. A bunch of eccentrics are fine so long as they don’t take over the village single-handed.

  30. Trying to match Nigel Farage's "we are patriots" message, Labour's Angela Rayner and Ed Miliband released a video of themselves in front of a TV with England playing in the Euros. But, you could tell it was carefully set up, without a final ingredient to give it authenticity: the TV was on PAUSE.

    PS The most important quality a politician can fake?…. undoubtedly, SINCERITY (Mark Twa in)

    1. Do We Still Really Have a Democracy?

      You have to wonder how anyone could ask such a question. The answer is obviously no. The political elites of the West and the UK in particular have abandoned it since it got in the way of their Globalist policies. The EU is a typical example. It was specifically constructed to deny the people a voice in their own future.

    2. Do We Still Really Have a Democracy?

      You have to wonder how anyone could ask such a question. The answer is obviously no. The political elites of the West and the UK in particular have abandoned it since it got in the way of their Globalist policies. The EU is a typical example. It was specifically constructed to deny the people a voice in their own future.

  32. Reform puts British people first – how is that a wasted vote?
    It’s time to send a message to the Tories that their disregard for the British people is unacceptable
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    I am glad to see that in her excellent article in today's DT Allison Pearson mentions the repayment of student loans which in countries more civilised than the UK are interest free or, at maximum, no more than the current bank rate.

    I posted this BTL under the article:

    Student loans should be repaid but they should be be interest free And the repayment of the principal should be a direct charge against income tax once a student starts his or her professional life. In addition employers should be allowed to help students repay their loans and their help should be a charge against business taxes.

    Surely the sooner our young people can get themselves out of crippling unrepayable debt the better?

    Why, I hear you cry, should students have their student loans repaid without paying interest?

    When the BoE base rate was under 1% students were paying over 6% on their student loans. It would have been more equitable to have said that any repayment over the bank's base rate was a repayment of capital and deducted from the outstanding loan.

    1. Agreed. They've stuffed our young and they now want conscription. As if we should trust the uni-party.

    2. How do we fund education then? I agree, student loans are just egregious. They're not really a loan but a tax on education. A tax that you pay for success. Many simply never repay these 'loans'.

      The UK needs a small, highly educated workforce which has a high skill level. It also needs a service industry to provide for that workforce. Successive governments have pushed 30 million + into the workforce when there are not the high skilled or service jobs available. Where they might have been one of the incomers has taken it – as is sensible in a competitive market.

      However, with this massive influx jobs became insecure. High taxes drove business overseas. Wages were suppressed because there were so many people to choose from. The state, rather than do the sensible thing and cut taxes, increased them then gave some workers some of their own money back.

      Now we've a situation akin to the third world where there's no point working because welfare covers it (for them it's the West digging the trenches, for us it's plain welfare). There is no longer the incentive to work, to achieve those high skill jobs because they're not paying what they should. The less able see no point in bettering themselves as they are better off simply not working.

      Big fat state, by forcing massive immigration on us, by keeping taxes high and destroyed the reason to work and thus the economy. It's wrecked higher education, employment, reduced our skill level and productivity all for political machination. Now, because of it's own gormless DIE policies won't undo the mess it has made.

      Case in point – the council ha made getting around Soton damned hard work in a car for 'green' reasons. Footfall thus drops. Shops close. What's the council's response to this? Higher business rates. It is a cycle downward that never bothers to consider the consequences because, to big fat state there are none.

      The Left have sacrificed a generation for egotistical, political spite. Worse, they won't admit it and start to reverse the damage they have.

    1. objective truth
      @jobee64
      @Keir_Starmer
      how about Christian communities feel safe secure and respected? You’re treating Muslims as if they are a race , it’s an Islamic regime that hates our country and culture you are converting GB into a Muslim state, and once you helped them they will turn on you….
      8:18 AM · Jun 26, 2024
      ·
      201
      Views

    2. Labour heartlands are poor, welfare dependent areas – as poor people earn less, are usually less intelligent and thus the politics of envy Labour spew out appeals to them. Muslim also congregates in cities and as 70% of them are welfare dependent these are also Labour's voters.

      After all, this is why Blair opened the floodgates in the first place: he wanted a reliable, persistent voting block.

    1. The radio is urging us to be careful and make sure we stay hydrated in the "heat wave" – although the sort of temperatures we are expecting are actually in the range that used to be "a nice early summer's day"

      1. I agree but i am on a lot of new meds and i am having breathing difficulties. Plus my heart rate and blood pressure are all over the place.

        1. If you've a bath run cold water. have cold showers otherwise. Have a towel with ice cubes in it and put it on your head. You'll look daft but your head gets hot and cooling it, and your brain will do a lot to keep you going.

          Drink a lot of water – a lot more than you think is rational and keep bottles in the fridge full of the stuff.

          I know you know this, but once you get too hot your brain goes a bit funny.

          At the moment Mongo is panting because he's too hot. A fan doesn't help so he has a cooling blanket to sit on, outside, in the shade. The Warqueen has been lectured on looking out for Oscar as he won't leave her side but he's in the shade as well. Both have buckets of water which I'll check regularly (as it'll evaporate). I'll just melt.

          5. Drink gin or vodka. They are both colourless and you won't give a sh*t what colour your p*ss is.

      1. As a faithful married man I was rather put off by her affair with a senior Conservative MP to advance her political career when she was already married!

        Also she was part of the repulsive Cameron's policy of parachuting his selected candidates into constituencies which wanted to choose their own representatives.

        Having said that her policies were more right-minded that those of Hunt and Sunak.

        1. I can't comment on her extra marital larks, but they're all trying to climb the greasy pole. All of them are desperate to get one over on another.

          The continual one comment posters whinging about her budget – when nothing was implemented – stand as a testament to the hatred of the state for rational policies. She was, quite simply, done in and used as a scapegoat for tax cutting, sensible policies ever since.

          1. Absolutely. She was only PM for 49 days for heavens sake. Her downfall was engineered with help from the BoE.

          2. The BoE could not believe its luck. It could blame its criminal incompetence on Truss and Kwarteng.

        2. I do think it is wise to ignore the sexual peccadillos of others, Rastus. I am very, very bored with hearing about them and having "Pride" in them rammed down the old throat.

  36. Good morning, all. Sunny.

    Early jelly session with two largish pots of loganberry completed. Work in the garden to follow: taking care re the the heat.

    Another example of the useless Tory government's wasteful response to CV-19? It appears that plenty of cash was available to dampen a large number of walls.

    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/f2feb9e9b734a3c8ba68cecb963af0cb9d4b08a656337c7f8e0ac7a8740401a8.png

    £1.4bn in personal protective equipment (PPE) has been destroyed or written off in what is apparently the most wasteful Government deal of the pandemic. BBC News has more.

    Figures obtained by the BBC reveal that at least 1.57 billion items of PPE provided by the NHS supplier, Full Support Healthcare, will never be used, despite being manufactured to the proper standard.

    The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), which was responsible for purchasing and delivering Covid PPE, said it was unable to provide a statement due to the pre-election period.


    Daily Sceptics – Waste

    1. "said it was unable to provide a statement due to the pre-election period." Oh, how very convenient! I wonder if the timing of the news of this appalling waste is significant??

      1. They've been burning PPE for many years now. They over bought, can't use it -as it has a shelf life – and now have to get rid of it. This isn't really new. Not commenting on it is par for the course. What could they say? We screwed up, we panicked, now we're burning your money. The more things change, the more they stay the same.

        More a shame is that they won't burn it in Drax because it's toxic.

        1. "We made loads of money personally out of government contracts for PPE that we knew we would never need" is more like it.

          1. My first thought too. Moving money from the public to the private purse for its own sake. No need for a useful, functioning product. As with HS2.

    2. I think the PPE should be made available for those who wish to protect themselves against the new strain of mpox instead of being destroyed.

      https://www.theguardian.com/global-development/article/2024/jun/26/democratic-republic-congo-drc-virulent-strain-mpox-monkeypox-virus-killing-children-miscarriages

      The PPE may have little use in stopping this new mutant variation of the virus but at least it should put a dampener on people having sex and act as a kind of placebo.

      1. They have been very careful to inform us that the new, improved monkey pox can be transmitted without sxual intercourse. Just so we don't get the wrong impression next time someone's dog gets it.

        1. WRT mpox, as it is now called (to avoid offending monkeys), I think people should feel a bit sheepish about exchanging bodily fluids as the CMO would put it – or was he pulling the wool?

          2. Hair, hair.
            I get your point about commenting on shear nonsense. 🙈🐑

    3. "The Department for Health and Social Care (DHSC), which was responsible for purchasing and delivering Covid PPE, said it was unable to provide a statement due to the pre-election period."

      The MoD put out a statement about Russia and NATO countries at the weekend….

  37. Scrapping the Lords would condemn the country to worse legislation.
    (Today's leading DT letter)

    BTL (Wrattstrangler Unwrapped)

    The House of Lords is far too large – the number should be reduced to 200 – just under a third of the MPs in the elected House of Commons which is also far too large!

    There should be a minimum of 50 hereditary peers in the House of Lords and no former MPs who will have allegiance to a specific political party should be appointed.

    After all the HoL is meant to scrutinise legislation impartially and objectively and recent events have shown that the current gang, which is packed with political placemen, is completely incapable of doing so.

  38. Good moaning:
    Wordle 1,103 4/6

    ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
    🟨⬜🟩🟨⬜
    ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟨
    🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    1. Me too.
      Wordle 1,103 4/6

      ⬜🟨🟩🟩⬜
      ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
      ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  39. A clear target is capital gains tax (CGT). CGT brings in £15.2bn a year for the Treasury and is charged on profits from the sale of assets, which includes shares, businesses and property that is not a primary home.

    15.2bn… at current spending is 6 days tax and borrowing – at 2.5bn a day. And it will stop the sale of property, shares and businesses, stalling growth. This is now stupid. It's arguing over stealing pennies while burning tenners.

    State spending must be cut. Government will keep scrabbling to take more and more from workers and earners but it's just destroying everything. The political class are finished, the failed, big state, high tax, Left wing farce is done. We're just seeing the thrashing death throes of a failed regime brought down by it's own corruption, fraud and incompetence.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/business/2024/06/24/conspiracy-silence-labour-secret-plan-wealth-tax-raid/

  40. Radio 4: More or Less, 30 minutes dedicated to the coming election,. Several times claimed to be truly impartial and inclusive. Not a single mention of Farage or Reform. – Truly impartial my aunt!

    1. It's getting very annoying on the TV channels as well. The big deal lying main parties are very much over promoted. Hardly a mention of REFORM.
      For a lot of people this could be seen as a nudge to vote for them.

    2. It can be said that if you need advice about vaccinations you go to an expert. Inevitably that expert will be working for the industry.

      1. I asked my doctor. She gave me advice, omitting to mention that the surgery got payments for every vaxx given.
        Gosh, I was naive in those days…no more.

        1. Literally paid per shot. It gets more complicated doesn't it though when an institution receives outside funding and pays its employees from that funding. There was a time when my employer funded my post from a joint venture agreement with another organisation but that didn't in any way change my employment status. However when the Gates Foundation pay Imperial College and actually state that the grant is to cover the work of one Prof Feguson, it seems reasonable to state that he has an obligation to the Gates Foundation and his work is tainted by that relationship?

        2. I didn't ask anybody for advice; I relied on my O Level biology about the immune system.

      2. Many, many years ago, for reasons I won’t go into, I was involved in looking at international standards for condoms. It turned out that there were 2 major quality assurance testing methods – the one favoured by the French manufacturers and the one favoured by the British manufacturers. There was no independent source of information but, as both sets of manufacturers had invested heavily in the equipment for the method they used, they were never going to agree to it not becoming the international standard. I learned very quickly that the only people with enough technical understanding of rubber to have a view worth having were people who worked for – the rubber industry. There was no flourishing independent academic sector in rubber ductility and tensile strength!
        But where vaccines are concerned it is a bit different as there are prestigious academic departments full of immunologists and microbiologists who have not worked for Big Pharma although – for reasons I’ve set out above – they often do get sucked in to relying on them for research grants and conference expenses.

        1. "There was no flourishing independent academic sector in rubber ductility and tensile strength!" – the tyre manufacturers know a lot about rubber, it's properties and so on.

          1. That conjures up an interesting image 😉
            But I’d speculate that they would have difficulty giving an authoritative professional view on the roll vs the burst test for latex condoms.

    3. This ought to be highlighted in the MSM's headlines in bold letters – but it won't be, will it?

    4. My only query here is that having received just over 6 thousand quid over 2 or 3 years, is she really doing it for the money?

      1. Her academic appointments appear to be her primary source of income but she can't claim to be impartial.

        1. How about all the GPs who were getting paid £12.50 per jab? Most GPs not even questioning the whole procedure…at least our practice contacted me a few times and when I spoke to someone (those were the days) and said I was NOT going to take any jabs, they had the sense to say that they would take me off the list to contact for the vax. And I wasn't disturbed again.

          1. But they will, meanwhile, have recorded you as non-compliant and refusing advised treatment. The bastards.

      2. I wondered about that too, and whether there's more that is not public. Jobs, research grants etc. What's that French saying about un oeuf et un boeuf again…

      3. But surely the amount is irrelevant. It’s like the joke where he asks a her if she’d sleep with him for £xxx. Thinks for a mo then says yes. He lowers the price a little and asks again. Yes. Then he mentions a really low figure, same question. She says, who do you think I am. He says, we’ve already established that, we’re now haggling over price.

    5. These sorts of payments have to be viewed in the context of what has happened to the NHS and academic medicine over the past 25-30 years ie they have been taken over by those who think they are business people but know the price of everything and value of absolutely nothing except their own personal prestige and bank balance.
      Academic institutions and the NHS institutions associated with them often use research as a money grabbing racket with enormous overheads charged to any research grant unless it comes from a charity. As charities that can fund big studies are few and far between and the universities expect staff to get grants from industry or lose their post, this is killing medical research in the UK. When you find that a company is doing research in the US rather than the UK because the former is cheaper you know there is a problem. While sucking the system dry to keep fat cats at the top in post (plus the usual DEI grifters) and to fund their business class travel, institutions are often very difficult about funding those who do the research to attend conferences to present their work and learn from others. If attendance is priced into a grant they will stick more overheads on (70% is common) so a company that funds a research project may baulk at that.There is therefore a common practice of companies directly funding the individual to – say – present a paper at a prestigious conference abroad. Obviously, this does create the perception of conflicts of interest (and some of the conflicts of interest are genuine) but it is often the only way a British academic can continue to participate in the exchange of ideas that is crucial to promoting advancement of science.

    6. She accepted money from the vax purveyors (as did others, see my post above) despite evidence that was published before some of her pronouncements.

  43. Someone in Europe won more than 180 million pounds on the lottery last night !
    Any one we know ?
    I won 3.20.

    3. When you find out who it is, let me know their address so that I can send a begging letter.

    1. Not sure whether the "nipple pasties" would come as a desert or a palate cleanser.

        1. Perhaps we shd settle on an amuse bouche…. May be able to discuss at Phizz party in Aug,

    2. She’s very beautiful. But obviously thinks we should all be able to admire her. I think it’s a shame that some women like to reveal all. Is nothing sacred any more. Maybe I’m just jealous!

      1. She does what she does and you do what you do. No need for jealousy unless you wanted to do the Champaign glass strip act yourself.

        I could probably source one for August if you want………waiting. :@)

      1. Even William Shakespeare's squeeze had a problem with halitosis as he tells us in Sonnet 130

        My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
        Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
        If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
        If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
        I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
        But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
        And in some perfumes is there more delight
        Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
        I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
        That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
        I grant I never saw a goddess go;
        My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
        And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
        As any she belied with false compare.

      2. Even William Shakespeare's squeeze had a problem with halitosis as he tells us in Sonnet 130

        My mistress' eyes are nothing like the sun;
        Coral is far more red than her lips' red;
        If snow be white, why then her breasts are dun;
        If hairs be wires, black wires grow on her head.
        I have seen roses damasked, red and white,
        But no such roses see I in her cheeks;
        And in some perfumes is there more delight
        Than in the breath that from my mistress reeks.
        I love to hear her speak, yet well I know
        That music hath a far more pleasing sound;
        I grant I never saw a goddess go;
        My mistress, when she walks, treads on the ground.
        And yet, by heaven, I think my love as rare
        As any she belied with false compare.

    2. And I didn't realise they had photography back in the day ……….😏
      And why he built the Palace so close to the A 309 we will never know. 🤔

    3. Line up the women involved with the Bumptious Bonker Boris.

      The best thing he ever did for any of them was to leave!

      How long will the current one be able to Carrie On?

      1. I’m surprised they’re still together. But then, she probably has her ear to the ground in all the areas that matter, if he doesn’t.

  46. Julian Assange (live) after 14 years has finally set foot on Australia soil.
    He's just alighted the aircraft in Canberra.
    The very best of luck to him and his family.

  47. How to Tell the Sex of a Fly

    A woman walked into the kitchen to find her husband standing around with a fly swatter
    "What are you doing?" she asked.
    "Hunting Flies" he responded.
    "Oh, killing any?" she asked.
    "Yep, 3 males, 2 Females," he replied.
    Intrigued, she asked. "How can you tell them apart?"
    He responded, "3 were on a beer can, 2 were on the phone."

    I'll buzz off then…….

  48. Global boiling? Phew, what a con-trick. 26 June 2024.

    NEVER mind ‘gaslighting’, which entered the lexicon via the 1938 Patrick Hamilton play Gas Light in which a man tries to convince his wife she is going insane by causing the lights to dim, all the while denying that it is getting darker. No, we are being ‘sunlighted’ – by our government. Through its obedient quango the Met Office it feeds deliberately biased information to those equally obedient mouthpieces, the weather reporters of the mainstream media.

    While few of us in the UK had yet mothballed our winter coats or turned off the central heating for the rest of the year, the Met Office assured us that we had just experienced the hottest May on record in the UK since 2008. This did not reflect the reality to which those of us with eyes to see can attest.

    I was still using the central heating in early June and I haven’t gone out without my waterproof until last week. I don’t have any doubts that the weather news is manipulated to support the Government narrative. It probably comes under the Nudge Unit umbrella. This is the problem with abandoning the truth in the cause of some greater good, eventually you cannot find it anywhere.

    https://www.conservativewoman.co.uk/global-boiling-phew-what-a-con-trick/

    1. If people seriously believe that women have willies and Covid gene therapy is safe and effective then yes – they can be made to believe anything.

      The biggest give away on global warming is when the PTB and MSM expect us to believe that : The Science is settled.

      How can the science ever be settled? If it were true we would have had no advances in scientific knowledge since the invention of the wheel.

    2. In early April, misled by a couple warm days, I washed and reproofed my old, rather warm waterproof jacket and put it away while digging out the much lighter summer waterproof. It took very few days before the old jacket was back in use and it only returned to storage this week!

    3. God it was hot yesterday. It was the second time this year I removed my heavy jacket whilst in the bar.

    4. The huge complication over public perception of global warming in Britain comes because variations whether we are north or south of the Jet Stream are far bigger than those of a 2 degree rise in global average temperature. We spent most of this spring north of the Jet Stream, leading to cold, wet conditions. This week the Jet Stream was swung north, and now we are getting tropical heat. The weather in the UK is highly capricious.

      What really worries me is the mass migrations of people in a world where there are twice as many people than they were in the mid-1970s. A lot of them are coming here for a better life, but where are we going to build the cities to accommodate, and who is paying for all this building work? I cannot believe that climate change is not making some places uninhabitable – if India's monsoon fails, then we are really down the pan! Few tears are lost here if a few thousand Muslims cook themselves at the Hajj, but then what would happen if a lot of hot Muslims decide that there are better places to be than Mecca?

        1. The slammers would probably insist on transporting their black stone to the middle of Stonehenge.

    5. My living room thermometer says the indoor temperature is 26C but the man on the telly says it's actually the hottest ever, so I put a thermometer under my tongue and sure enough, it's really 36C! 😊😊😐

  49. Two letters on separate subjects yet linked.
    __________________________________________

    SIR – I am bewildered by conservative-minded voters who are going to support Reform UK (Letters, June 25) in order to punish the Conservatives for their alleged failures.

    This thinking is completely illogical. It fails to recognise the massive challenges that any government would have faced in dealing with the Covid pandemic for more than two years, resulting in the expense of billions of pounds and huge societal disruption. Then came the further economic shock of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, and the consequent large increases in energy costs and inflation.

    How will allowing a Left-wing Labour Party to sweep to victory help bring about the social, economic and international conditions that conservative-leaning citizens wish to see? It seems that the personal, emotional need to punish the Conservative Party has overwhelmed any consideration of what is in the country's best interests.

    Harry Knowles
    Ulverston, Cumbria
    _________________________________________

    SIR – A major cause of the NHS's problems was Tony Blair's disastrous GP contract of 2004, which removed evening, weekend and bank holiday cover in primary care. Overnight we lost the one feature of the NHS that was truly admired and envied abroad.

    This led to A&E queues, as did Labour's policy – adopted later by the Conservatives – of building new hospitals with fewer beds than those they replaced, which meant patients ended up in corridors and ambulances were stuck in car parks.

    Remember, too, that Labour wished to lock down harder during the pandemic, and continue government payouts for longer.

    Dr Robert Pearson
    Barnard Castle, Co Durham
    __________________________________________

    The link is Labour's desire to control. Dr Pearson refers to 'sooner, harder, longer', which revealed everything anyone needed to know about its instincts. Mr Knowles, however, implicitly supports lockdown, as did 80% of the population and even more of the political establishment. Yet he asks the question: "Dare we risk Labour?"

    1. Re Harry Knowles – the Tories multiple failures are not "alleged"; they happened! I also don't believe the suggestion that energy costs and inflation are due to the Russians – much more to do with the net zero lunacy.

      1. It was the subsidies doled out by the government to green energy and transferred to our gas and electric bills that made energy expensive.
        Loss of production of North Sea gas and oil made fuel expensive.
        Nothing to do with Russia.

        1. Cutting off Russian supplies didn't help, but we were horrible exposed due to our reliance on gas and the Left wing state's refusal to frack and build nuclear, coal and gas plants.

          Government made us dependent and unprotected from spikes.

          1. Let's hope that someone can spike the politicians…

            It reminds me of when I was a young(ish) practitioner. We were in a meeting which had been called for all the fee-earners, guested by an HR person who was telling us how to get the best out of our secretaries. This person was saying, quite rightly, don't leave correspondence on the file loose, put it on a spike. I happened to share a particularly useless and lazy secretary with a colleague and I muttered to my colleague (who was sitting next to me) "I'd like to put S [our secretary] on a spike". Unfortunately my colleague got the giggles, and that set me off; and we missed the rest of the illustrious HR person's lecture because we were trying to stop our shoulders from shaking.

        2. Not forgetting the VAT (at 5%) that they could have removed but didn't and which is ADDED to the fuel tax when you fill up your car.

    2. “The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command.” Mr Knowles believes Big Brother's every utterance and yet he considers himself to be a calm intelligent man facing the emotional self-absorbed masses. The Bible forbids me calling him "Thou Fool" but a foolish man he certainly is.

          1. “But
            I say unto you, that whosoever is angry with his brother without a
            cause shall be in danger of the judgment; and whosoever shall say to his
            brother, ‘Raca,’ shall be in danger of the council; but whosoever shall
            say, ‘Thou fool,’ shall be in danger of hell fire.”

          2. Oh I see!

            “Matthew 5:22 is the only passage in the Bible where the term raca is used. Raca comes from the Aramaic term reqa. It was a derogatory expression meaning “empty-headed,” insinuating a person’s stupidity or inferiority. It was an offensive name used to show utter contempt for another person.”

          3. Thank you. It has always intrigued me, as i have many, many times been in danger of hellfire re my brother (who I do love dearly, BUT!) but have never thought to call him Raca

    3. Mr Knowles, the Tories have had countless opportunities to do what needs to be done and it has refused to in favour of the continuation of the norm. It hass refused to make a stand and repeal the trans madness legislation. It refuses to repeal the gimmigration laws. It has hiked every tax going and reduced allowances for others and pretends to say it is a low tax party.

      It has ensured inflation by making fuel and housing expensive and then, cunningly removing those from the calculations. It keeps borrowing, taxing and wasting and then claims it has saved everything when it was responsible for the problem but not the solution.

      They are liars, cheats, incompetent, lazy, arrogant bunch of back stabbing onanists.

    1. As Andrew says, it's all a game where keeping people ill, poor and unable to influence what matters to them makes them much easier to control. Obviously, when you are calling all the shots it is much easier for politicians to place lucrative bets.

  51. A vampire bat arrives back in the cave with his face, mouth and teeth covered in blood. All the other bats get excited and ask where he got it all from. Follow me he says & off they flew, over the hills, over the river and into the dark forest. See that tree over there . . yes, yes they reply – well I effin didn't.

  52. SIR – John Sheridan Smith, in his argument for a unicameral Parliament, points out that, although members of the Lords can and do amend proposed legislation, these amendments are referred back to the Commons for acceptance or otherwise before enactment.

    We in Scotland have a unicameral parliament that, time and again, has passed defective legislation. In some cases it has been scrapped as unworkable.

    This despite what is described as a "strong committee system", which in reality is lacking.

    There may be a case for replacing the Lords – but think very carefully about what with, and do not rely on just the Commons.

    Mike Salter
    Banchory, Aberdeenshire
    __________________________________________

    There is a strong case for simply closing the Wee Pretendy Parliament and the Welsh siop siarad. How apt that one of the greatest works of Welsh literature (there is some, apparently) is Y Gwynt…

      1. Just the earls, marquises and dukes. That’s about 250 and quite sufficient.

        1. The heredities take the long-term view while the lif-peers are only interested in bolstering the next parliament.

    1. 84 is not a bad innings, although it doesn't test the boundary of human longevity.

    1. To accomodate all these dying chickens you'd need a centre as big as Coop Live:

    1. I have to ask whether a conveyor belt would have been cheaper or, better still, to have rehomed her in a property without a front slope.

      1. And she was a Labour aide with another house which she lets out, and rents from the cooncil! Hmmmm!

        1. There is something so very, very wrong with that arrangement, isn’t there?

          1. Agreed, Lass, even if it is originally Middle-English.

            My favourite American sentence is, "I haven't gotten acclimated to being burglarized."

          2. As Henry Higgins sang (in “Why can’t the English learn how to speak”), regarding proper English: “in America they haven’t spoken it for YEARS”…

    3. Wheelchair lifts are expensive and this was probably assembled from existing stock but whether it was built for a woman in Blackpool or a child in Dumbarton, a slalom course like that would be tricky to navigate.

    4. Actually this is the prototype for skateboarders who intend to compete for the future Olympic handrail grinding events.
      If you intend to take up grinding safely then starting with some simple manoevers is essential.

      For starters you could try doing a 50-50 grind like this:

      https://youtu.be/vwJv9t4Y9Sw?si=mFhh7L7bJKYrwC6t

      1. My sense of balance is, I hope, adequate, when considering ethical, literary or political matters but my sense of balance in matters dictated by Newton's law of universal gravitation is, to be honest, very shoddy.

    5. In their defence, it looks about a foot rise for each section, with 10 sections, making the pavement to door disparity 10 feet? Perhaps 8?

      Let's call it at least 2 and a bit metres. Without knowing the length of the garden that's quite a hill to climb. OK, this is absurd but what else could have been done? A motorised lift is the obvious but that's an all weather escalator type jobbie which some scrote would vandalise.

      1. We have 11 steps up to our front door, so not so easy for the poor woman. Looks like seven steps in the photo.

      2. We have 11 steps up to our front door, so not so easy for the poor woman. Looks like seven steps in the photo.

  57. I salute the nurses who took a stand against this women-have-penises nonsense

    They have showed how we have to fight, case by case, activist by activist – by playing the Left at their own persecution game

    ALLISON PEARSON • 26 June 2024 • 7:00am

    Three cheers for Bethany Hutchison, Lisa Lockey, Annice Grundy, Tracey Hooper and Joanne Bradbury. Their names are unknown as yet, but these brave nurses could easily become as significant in the annals of feminist history as the Ford Dagenham women and the Suffragettes. Supported by the Christian Legal Centre, the five nurses who work at Darlington Memorial Hospital, which comes under the control of County Durham and Darlington NHS Foundation Trust, have filed a legal action against the Trust claiming sexual harassment and indirect discrimination after having to share a changing room with a male colleague who identifies as a woman.

    The male operating department practitioner, who, it is said, openly admits he does not take female hormones and is trying to get his girlfriend pregnant, nevertheless insists that he is called "Rose". The nurses claim that Rose has walked around the female dressing area wearing only tight boxer underpants while allegedly staring and initiating conversations while female nurses are getting changed.

    To the average person, Rose's alleged behaviour sounds creepy.

    One nurse, who experienced sexual abuse as a child, spoke of her horror when she was approached in the changing room, which she assumed was a women-only space, by Rose in a scrub top and boxer shorts with holes in. International nurses, from cultures that forbid them being unclothed around men other than their husbands, have suffered panic attacks before trying to fulfil their duties in the day surgery.

    Some 26 nurses wrote to County Durham and Darlington Trust to raise their concerns about this deeply unsettling and potentially unsafe situation. Guess what? It turns out it was all the womens' fault! Of course it was.

    Human Resources managers replied saying that they support "Rose" and – listen to this, dear reader – the nurses need to "get educated", "broaden your mindset" and "compromise" in order to be more "inclusive". What kind of compromise you are supposed to reach around a sexually-active biological bloke who is around you when you get your kit off in your workplace may only be clear to those in the advanced stages of gender derangement.

    The Trust's policies apparently permit any member of staff to "identify" as the opposite gender and to access single-sex changing rooms, toilets or showers. Simply because "Rose" says he's a woman, he can use the female changing rooms regardless of the feelings of, you know, actual women. (Presumably, he can also give a bed bath to a patient who has requested a female nurse to carry out that intimate task?) Adding insult to injury, the man calling himself Rose has reportedly offered to educate the distressed nurses on the matter. I believe there is a technical term for such a creature: arrogant p—-.

    Nurses reported that they felt "threatened" and "intimidated" during HR meetings at the hospital, fearing for their jobs if they spoke out. Lacking JK Rowling's protective cushion of wealth, eight (three remaining anonymous) summoned up the courage anyway.

    "We want women to be aware that there are transgender policies, particularly in the NHS, that are putting us at risk," said Bethany Hutchison, a spokesperson for the group. "This should not be something women even need to think about. However, the extreme transgender ideology that is putting us at risk is so ingrained and has gone so far that we and other women have no choice but to speak out. Other nurses are terrified of sticking their heads above the parapet. We are speaking out for us and for those who are too afraid to. This cannot be right, and we want a change in policy, not only at our hospital but across the NHS and wider society. I am a Christian, but these policies are and will impact every woman from every background." Well said, Bethany.

    How, you may well ask, has the apparently harmless requirement to be "inclusive" ended up causing so much dread and fear to those nurses? Well, what you have to understand is the NHS is effectively a socialist state operating within our country, albeit one given £180 billion of taxpayers' money a year to employ diversity managers, purchase Pride lanyards and occasionally carry out an operation if they absolutely have to.

    The instinct of activists, who run the health system (very badly, but that's another story), is to identify persecuted minority groups that need to be protected at the expense of bigger "privileged" groups, even to the point of irrationality. Just under 100,000 people in England and Wales identify as a trans man or trans woman, according to the most recent census, compared to a population of around 30 million women and girls. Labour has apparently concluded that it's better for the party's prospects to pander to aggressive members of the trans superminority than to consider the safety and wellbeing of millions of women and children.

    This is "progressive" groupthink – the dog whistle of the Left. It goes something like this:

    Labour: We're the party of equality that respects women's spaces, sport, single-sex hospital wards, domestic violence shelters, changing rooms, workplace and school safeguarding.

    Everyone else: Great, go on then, what's a woman?

    Labour: Er, it's complicated, it depends on the context. What matters is trans rights and people feeling safe.

    Everyone else: What about the rights of women and girls?

    Labour: Well, yeah, obviously. Most women have vaginas, but some have penises because they were born men and are now women – not too sure of the details tbh! – but, don't worry, we'll make it much easier for men to become women so everyone's happy and safe.

    Everyone else: Women aren't safe.

    Labour: Don't start with your toxic culture war!

    Everyone else: But if men identifying as women are allowed in women's spaces it isn't safe.

    Labour: Transphobe!

    Keir Starmer will have been exposed to that monstrous intellectual dishonesty when he was a leading member of Jeremy Corbyn's shadow cabinet and privately remains committed to it, I reckon. Hence his disgraceful, rude behaviour towards Rosie Duffield, one of the only Labour MPs prepared to state that a woman cannot have a penis. A concept Sir Keir has struggled with. In September 2021, he rebuked Duffield for saying that only a woman had a cervix. When he was asked if the former MP for Canterbury was transphobic for taking that view, Starmer replied, "It is something that shouldn't be said. It's not right." He subsequently refused to confirm whether a woman can have a penis, eventually volunteering in 2023 that "for 99.9 per cent of women it is completely biological… and, of course, they haven't got a penis." It was only last week, when Tony Blair said "a woman has a vagina and a man has a penis", that Starmer finally capitulated to biological reality; perhaps because the assertion had been made by an Alpha male he fears, not by a mere woman without a willy?

    I suppose little in the way of consistency can be expected from a man who once absentmindedly claimed he had two sons (the Starmers have a girl and a boy), but it is a sign of the power the trans cult exerts that his party have revealed these vote-losing ideas so close to the election. The trans lobby is already crowing unpleasantly. "With increased confidence of winning, the language coming from Labour has improved," tweeted one sanctimonious trans councillor. Or Labour's language has deteriorated worryingly if, that is, you happen to be a working-class woman or girl, the main victims of these middle-class metropolitan notions.

    Labour, whatever their obfuscations, is going to weaken the new guidance that gender ideology should not be taught in our schools (more fool Gillian Keegan and the cowardly Conservatives for not putting it into law while they had the chance. Too busy being "nice" and trying to impress their enemies). More vulnerable youngsters are going to be able to dictate their pronouns, more teachers like the excellent Kevin Lister will be sacked for refusing to address a student by a name/pronoun her parents don't know about. More teenagers who are allowed to socially transition in the classroom will, as the seminal Cass review warned, follow the path to binding their breasts and taking cross-sex hormones because a bunch of Lefty loons think child mutilation is a branch of social justice.

    Labour will ban conversion therapy so psychiatrists won't be allowed to give a gender-questioning kid the holistic therapy which might make them think twice. (A senior therapist tells me that, of the scores of children with those feelings that he counselled for a year, only one went on to transition.) Our new socialist state will take over the parental role, criminalising parents who dare to discuss gender identity with their own child. Chilling, isn't it?

    Labour will also make it much easier for a man to claim he's a woman. Very shortly in the UK, it will be more hassle to get an abortion than a Gender Recognition Certificate which gives a male, with or without a penis, Access All Areas to women's spaces. Labour says it wants to remove the "indignities" experienced by transitioners. Hey, what about the indignities suffered by female nurses having to undress in a changing room with a bloke called Rose?

    Responding to the County Durham and Darlington case, Shadow Health Secretary Wes Streeting tweeted: "I support the nurses and I'm horrified they've had to resort to legal action. We've got to find a better way through this and I'd be happy to meet with them."

    Wes, a former member of Labour Against Transphobia, doesn't get it, does he? Bethany, Lisa, Annice, Tracey and Joanne don't want "a better way through this". What they want is for the rules and boundaries that have applied in every civilised society – based on biological reality and female experience – to be upheld by the NHS. There is no case for men being allowed into private female spaces. Period. No man walking around in his underwear should be allowed to call himself "Rose", claim he's a woman and be backed by his employer. Period. Trans-women do not have periods. Period. Frankly, anything else is a madman's charter.

    Like the hapless Joe Biden, Keir Starmer will be swept along on the deluded progressive tide to buy off the shrill far-Left of his party. That much we can foresee. The good news is he will increasingly appal decent people, especially the working class, once so important to Labour, now a socially-conservative, commonsense, only-men-have-penises embarrassment.

    I salute those courageous nurses – soon to be the Famous Five – who are taking a stand for every female against the great gender nonsense of our age. "We will pursue this matter for as long as it takes to ensure women's spaces are protected," they say. With their claim of "victimisation" and "sexual discrimination" they are playing the Left at their own persecution game. Brilliant, girls! This is how we win. This is how we are going to have to fight. Case by case, activist by activist, Rose by Rose. Women aren't safe with Labour because men aren't women.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/columnists/2024/06/26/nurses-trans-darlington-hospital-nhs-keir-starmer/

    The idea that Blair might be considered an alpha male is bad enough. That Max might fear him is truly frightening.

    I fear that not many voters will consider this subject important enough. They should. It's about our very existence. The 'trans' [sic] movement is defying and perverting science.

    1. Sorry William. I couldn't make myself read beyond the seventh paragraph.

    2. <i> Great, go on then, what's a woman?</i>

      A woman needs a penis like a man needs a strapon.

      (With apologies to fish who enjoy riding bicycles)

    3. But it is a constant fight and the state keeps pushing it's own stupid ideology

      It isn't being stopped, permanently.

    4. I wonder if some trans-women will start to ring sick off work with "period pains" (which I know can be really bad and I also know have been used to swing the lead) – and what an employer would be allowed to do in those circumstances.

          2. I wonder, IMO they'll just trans back. Or ague that as a woman can have a pension penis s/he can also have prostate problems. As well as period pains, of course.

      2. I wouldn't mind betting some have already done so. It 'verifies' their being 'women.'

    5. I nipped into my local Tesco's this morning (I soon nipped out again because they didn't have what I wanted). Before I realised they were lacking, I nearly walked out anyway. There was a big placard supporting queers the LGBT community. I thought, 'what about the majority of normal people who don't want to "celebrate" perversity?'

  58. It’s legitimate to ask whether BMA bigots can be trusted with our health
    Many Jews are already worried about the reactions they might face from medical staff when using the NHS
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/26/ilegitimate-to-ask-can-bma-bigots-be-trusted/

    I have just posted this BTL comment. I wonder how long it will stay up?

    That Jewish people should feel compelled to conceal their religion brings shame to our country which is based of Judaeo Christian ethics ad laws.

    Islamic ethics and Sharia Law do not align with traditional British laws and norms and yet Muslims demand the sort of tolerance they are not prepared to show others.

    1. Of course muslims demand. If you don't demand you don't get, if you demand and don't get you kill. Very simple belief, really.

    2. Some bright entrepreneur will start a foreskin hire service or maybe Snap-on-Tools will extend their range

        2. As with the Jews, they are all ethnic Semites.

          And they all hate each other with an inbred hatred.

      2. I have invented the Puberty tool a magnet on a telescopic arm —- it’s for dropped nuts!

    4. Good evening Rastus,
      That's an interesting point, which I hadn't considered before. If I were Jewish, I think I'd me most reluctant to be treated by a slammer. Such a significant proportion of medics are indeed slammers, and I, as a woman, have certainly been poorly and dismissively treated by a couple of dubious male doctors over the years. In one case, the 'diagnosis' and recommended treatment was quite horrific and inappropriate. Fortunately, I was able to get a second opinion, and that doctor was quite appalled at what the first quack had said. I simply don't trust them.
      "Islamic ethics and Sharia Law do not align with traditional British laws and norms…." They don't align with the laws and norms of any civilised country.
      Moslums are the most intolerant creatures.

    5. I get pissed off that they pull rank on burials. We can all wait 3 weeks but they get one within 3 days or some such. Appalling. We should have equality of treatment, not a two-tier system.

      1. It also means that there is major pressure not to have a post mortem in circumstances where the rest of us would be subjected to one.

  59. David Tennant’s attack on Kemi exposes the Left’s sinister hypocrisy
    In slamming Badenoch, the actor couldn’t conceive legions of women have a legitimate reason for fearing the erosion of women’s rights.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    BTL

    I admire David Tennant as a good actor- indeed he has appeared in many very well scripted dramas.
    However when he enters the world of politics and uses his own scripts he shows that however good an actor he is, in real life, he is a contemptible man.

  60. David Tennant’s attack on Kemi exposes the Left’s sinister hypocrisy
    In slamming Badenoch, the actor couldn’t conceive legions of women have a legitimate reason for fearing the erosion of women’s rights.
    https://www.telegraph.co.uk…

    BTL

    I admire David Tennant as a good actor- indeed he has appeared in many very well scripted dramas.
    However when he enters the world of politics and uses his own scripts he shows that however good an actor he is, in real life, he is a contemptible man.

    1. As they all do. I feel the same about Brian Cox and his mindless support for the SNP. Don't get me started on Emma Thompson.

      1. Some of these "celebrities" only need to open their mouths on political issues to show how vacuous they are. The old adage that it is better to keep quiet and be thought a fool than to open your mouth and prove that you are, is very apposite to these people.

          1. Mine too, sadly. I frequently open my mouth and remove all doubt. Not intentionally of course.

          3. Aw, thank you! Could I ask a favour. Could you email me Phil’s address so that I can work out how to get to his summer party do?

      2. I like Thompson as an actor. Often playing upper middle class parts. But then when i listen to her speak outside acting i realise she wasn't actually acting at all.

    2. It's already been taken down!

      Another BTLiner commented on the video clip of Tennant:

      It looks in this clip that Tennant is wearing theatrical make-up in order to make him look darker skinned and therefore more acceptable!

      I wonder how long this will stay up?

      (As a man with disappointing results from Viagra exclaimed after taking a new batch of the pills.)

          4. Doctor Who! 10th and 14th incarnations. Lefty, virtue signalling, misogynistic and racist luvvie.

    3. It's already been taken down!

      Another BTLiner commented on the video clip of Tennant:

      It looks in this clip that Tennant is wearing theatrical make-up in order to make him look darker skinned and therefore more acceptable!

      I wonder how long this will stay up?

      (As a man with disappointing results from Viagra exclaimed after taking a new batch of the pills.)

    4. On the GB News Headliners repeat this morning, I’m sure they mentioned he has a “trans” (aka mentally ill) child. Mind you, what child wouldn’t be with those parents?

      2. It's worth a fiver a month to subscribe to Spiked to have access to articles like this. I declare I have no financial interest in this publication. Honest!!

    6. He was doing what actors do: playing to the audience. What that shows is his weakness in refusing to have principles of his own and pandering to an abusive, Left wing audience.

    8. Actors, do we have to repeat until we are blue in the face should have the basic good manners to never, ever, express their own opinions in public. It is a well known fact that very few of them knows anything of consequence.

        1. Perhaps that is, indeed, what they are doing when these vacuous statements spew forth

    9. I always thought he was like H Grant, both thinking rather more of their respective acting abilities than the one trick ponies they are. Perhaps I'm not a very good critic but both not my cups of tea.

  61. I am having a bad day so excuse my tone. Oscar has heatstroke and is sitting in the bath which went from cool to tepid. Bloody woman didn't keep an eye on him and complained when he pawed at her, leading to his vomiting, eye rolling and eventually falling over unable to get up. Carrying a big, hot dog upstairs and running a bloody bath for it, then putting it in while it is sliding around is blipping difficult.

    Wretched woman!!! Poncing there drinking bloomin' cocktails.

    Mongo is still on his cooling blanket with cold water nearby. He's very, very hot. Both are suffering despite my best efforts of a fan, ice bucket and blankets – which he tries to crawl out of. His paws are very hot. He has been forbidden to come to pick Junior up and when I said 'stay' and went to get the keys he followed me, leading to a severe telling off and a dog determined to come with and gnawing on door handles then I realise Ozzie was in the bath and no one would watch him so sent her Majesty to get Junior who then asked 'which school is he at again?'.

    Thus she grabbed keys, a shawl thing around her waist and set off barely dressed.

    I despair.

    On the upside, Oscar's no longer being sick and has drunk most of the bath water, so gave him a bucket which he stuck his head in. They both had a shearing a week or so back, thankfully, but still, it must be like wearing a fur coat all day.

    1. Oh dear………hope the dogs and Junior will be ok. At least your house isn't cold at the moment……..

      1. This is true – although it is also far, far too hot. I can't help but think with building regs changing to this passive house lark that the idea shouldn't be warm air heating. That could be reversed to cold air cooling – air needs to keep moving around, so why not if properly sealing the house use the air itself?

        Oscar is happier in the cool and dark bathroom. Mongo is sat by the door waiting to pounce.

        We're in enough trouble with the PTA without her turning up half dressed. Knowing her she'll come home with the wrong boy.

    2. Wibbling

      Heatstroke in dogs is a medical emergency that requires immediate critical care. If you suspect your dog has heatstroke, you should:
      1. Cool your dog
      Take your dog to a cool, well-ventilated area and wet them with cool water. You can also try these methods:
      Evaporation: Pour cool water over your dog and combine it with air movement from a fan, breeze, or air conditioning. This method is good for older dogs or dogs with health problems.

      Cold water immersion: This method is effective for young, healthy dogs. However, you should never fully submerge your dog in cold water.
      Cold, wet towels: Apply cold, wet towels or sheets directly to your dog's skin, especially their abdominal area, groin, head, and neck.

      2. Take your dog to the vet
      While you're waiting to get to the vet, you can try putting your dog in front of your car's air conditioning. Once you arrive, your vet may treat your dog with:
      Active cooling
      IV fluids
      Oxygen
      Electrolytes and glucose
      Blood products
      Antibiotics and medications to protect the gut
      Pain medications
      Anti-seizure medications

    3. Sounds awful – terrible – in spades. I'm so sorry and hope that the dogs are beginning to cool down (and the child arrived home safely). Even our sleek little terrier does not enjoy this apocalyptic heat (sarc on the apocalyptic, btw, as it happens every year). To stimulate your SOH I would recommend the recent posting on here re: Is this a Jellyfish Day? And also Sir J's posting some weeks ago on how to worm a cat.

      KBO. We also have one of our equines – a "Traditional" (ie very hairy and sweaty) – who needs cooling in this sultry heat. Hosepipe seems to do the trick. Up to a point.

    4. Poor old Oscar! That's not fun. I hope there's no permanent damage. Can you rig a garden shower for them?

    5. Oh dear, what dreadful news! I hope he makes a good recovery. You can put ice cubes in his water to help cool him down. It was 28 degrees C at 09.30 this morning when I took Kadi out. We had to stick to the shadows. You could also try freezing his water in his bowl so he has a big ice lolly to lick.

    6. I've only just read this post, wibbling. I do hope you're back to situation normal. Your day has been rather distressing.

      Tomorrow is supposed to be cooler, if that's any consolation.

  62. During the cold war who looked after the security of the heads of state?
    Margaret Thatcher……….MI5
    Ronald Reagan……….CIA
    President of France………De Gaule keeper

  63. During the cold war who looked after the security of the heads of state?
    Margaret Thatcher……….MI5
    Ronald Reagan……….CIA
    President of France………De Gaule keeper

  66. Police station closures linked to rise in murders and fall in house prices
    Analysis of one million crimes also reveal there has been a 3.7pc drop in clear-up rates for offences
    Shutting police stations causes a rise in murders and a decline in house prices, a study has suggested.

    The research, by the Institute of Fiscal Studies (IFS), found the closures led to a “sudden and persistent” 11 per cent rise in murders and assaults in the areas around them.

    The analysis of one million crimes revealed that there was also a 3.7 per cent drop in the clear-up rates for offences because officers were slower in getting to crime scenes after the stations shut down.

    Residents were less likely to report petty crimes such as shoplifting or bike thefts if there was no police station nearby because they felt officers would not do anything. The research suggested the fall in reporting offences could be as much as 17 per cent.

    https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2024/06/26/police-station-closures-rising-crime-falling-house-prices/
    TD

    Trevor Dickens
    1 HR AGO
    Well what a surprise, another disastrous TORY GOVERNMENT idea that resulted in the closure of 800 Police stations, together with the early retirement of 27,000 police officers of a ruddy sight better quality than their replacements today.
    Taken together with the absolute annihilation of our wonderful Military personnel, ships, aeroplanes, tanks and just about everything the United Kingdom and her people, need to safeguard our Defence and Security.

      1. No police on the beat, no crimes other than hate crimes followed up, serial criminals getting off with community service – what could possibly go wrong?

    3. Meanwhile the local constabulary is telling people not to shoot gulls – why not? They're vermin. Perhaps they think they should be run over with a patrol car instead.

    4. Just one reason I will not vote Conservative in a futile attempt to keep out Labour.

  67. I've seen many articles pretending to be balanced from the headline, but biased beyond belief in the substance, but this one takes a prize.
    Headline

    Joe Biden and Donald Trump have a common enemy: staying coherent

    First three paragraphs

    In my head, this is how I think Joe Biden should approach tomorrow’s presidential debate in Atlanta. He should act as though Donald Trump is a big crybaby and goad him into over-reacting. Biden should taunt his opponent by saying, “You are a stone-cold loser who keeps whining about being beaten at the last election, pretends everybody is ganging up against you even though a jury found you guilty of crimes, sucks up to enemies of America like Vladimir Putin and Kim Jong-un, and whipped up a vicious mob to storm the Capitol.

    “Thanks to you, women and girls are being forced to risk their lives giving birth, including victims of rape and incest. You are a proven liar and conman who has been found guilty of fraud. Your friends, like Tucker Carlson, say privately they ‘hate you passionately’. You lost in 2020 and will lose again in November because you are a criminal who is demonstrably unfit to be President of the United States.”

    In my heart, I fear Biden might not rise to the occasion. As things stand, it is surprising enough that Trump has a 50-50 chance of winning the election and possibly better than even odds when the polls in swing states are taken into consideration. Most Democrats are in an agony of apprehension about the debate. The 81-year-old president has yet to persuade voters he has sufficient vigour to soldier on in the job for another four years. Add this to the anti-incumbent mood sweeping the West in the aftermath of Covid-19, with high inflation (now curbed) and high interest rates (still up there) — and Biden has the fight of his life on his hands.

    https://www.standard.co.uk/comment/donald-trump-joe-biden-president-election-debate-b1166899.html

    I wonder who she could possibly prefer? /sarc

    1. Poor Anne. The only royal, after HM Queen Elisabeth & Prince Phillip, I have much time for.
      God bedring!

    2. She got kicked in the head, it seems. Always wear a hard hat, even when leading from the ground!

          1. Drummed into me too, of late. But I never used to do it at all and only do now to set an example for others. Not decrying it, mind.

      2. The Princess Royal's mother rarely – if ever – wore a riding hat.

        The late HM QEII invariably wore a headscarf when on horseback – unless she was on parade!

        1. Yes, I'm aware of that. I am just thankful that HM never fell off and landed on her head.

        2. The more she is absent, the more one misses her and feels admiration for her.
          They sure broke the mold when she was born. Toughest lady ever. Respect!

    1. The Chinese have one every morning after blekkfast. That's why there are so many of them!)

      1. Is that why the wife asks hubby:

        "Have you remembered to take your Sudden fill with corn frakes?

    2. Well done! Par four for me.

      Wordle 1,103 4/6

      🟨🟨⬜🟨⬜
      ⬜⬜🟨🟨🟨
      ⬜⬜🟩🟩🟩
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    3. Blimey, par for me.

      Wordle 1,103 4/6

      🟨⬜⬜⬜🟨
      ⬜🟨🟨⬜⬜
      🟨🟨⬜⬜🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

    4. Just awesome, Rene. Pisspoor bogey for me!

      Wordle 1,103 5/6

      ⬜🟨⬜🟨⬜
      ⬜⬜⬜⬜⬜
      ⬜⬜🟨⬜⬜
      ⬜🟨⬜🟩🟨
      🟩🟩🟩🟩🟩

  71. Afternoon, all. I'm early because I'm off to a murder mystery later. The cooker has been delivered. All that needs to be done now is for the plumber to complete the connection. Then I will literally be cooking with gas 🙂 The destruction of the Lords as a useful check and balance was, like so much other destruction, a result of Blair's meddling. ALL the things he introduced should be consigned to the outer darkness.

    1. And if only those bastards we elected to do just this had done it we would not be facing the dire situation we now face.

    2. Okay. Gay. Okay Grindr. Why would he think giving over peoples contacts was Okay?
      Even the slimey Vaz had more nous.
      Pathetic, Naive and Wanting spring to mind. Not someone suitable to represent people.

  73. 'I'll protect what's mine at all costs': Mother (who has black belt in Taekwondo) seen launching herself through the air to tackle thief to the ground after he stole her motorbike in extraordinary CCTV.. I felt alone, everyone was standing watching..

    Absol-fcuking-lutely. Local brickie at the scene remarked.. "Last time I got involved.. ten days later the Police turned up and arrested me and the little runt sued me for loss of earnings."

    'A police car was passing by and they didn't stop because they were on another call, but returned later and apologised.

    Dontcha just love Leftie police.. there to observe and arbitrate between the oppressed and the evil victim.

    1. That brickie deserves a medal. Welcome to Starmer’s world. He and his legal kind created this upside-down Clownworld. Like the thieves and thugs in Solzhenitsyn's gulag, the ideology considered people like Solzhenitsyn the enemy and not the thugs. We see the same claims around the criminality around the 2020 BLM rioting and looting.

  74. https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/65e46a4590a336326efbdba2a43922c091c1626e0701679036f5e502fc5b27af.png

    This man is the new head of NATO.

    He is a globalist and WEF puppet who wants to destroy agriculture in Europe and he became loathed in the Netherlands – you should hear what my Dutch relations by marriage think of him.

    I am sure that the fact that he is is so very deeply despised was probably the main point in his favour to be appointed Chief of NATO as the PTB never miss the opportunity of saying UP YOURS to the general public.

        1. No the eyes and general shape of his hideous face, looking just as he is, a vile gangster responsible for an uncountable number of deaths, mainly of innocents.

      1. Stoltenberg was a POS. Even as Labour leader here in Norway, he couldn't even wipe his arse without help.

    3. Rutting is when deer lock horns, isn’t it? I don’t suppose he’ll choose his opponents wisely.

          1. Males fighting and posing in front of females, for domination and, well, nooky? Have you not been in the ringside seat for that?

        2. We had a colleague who taught French and Spanish in the school where Caroline and I both used to teach. He was desperate to find lerve and spent his time looking for opportunities even using dating sites which, in those days, were rather infra dig. We nick-named him The Rutter but one of his colleagues in the Spanish Department called him El Ruteiro, the not so cunning linguist.

          2. I had a woman PA (Physical Arts) …teacher at my comp. She insisted i attend even though i didn't have my little white shorts. She provided me with a pair many sizes too large. I ripped the strings from my apron…Economics being the same day. And tied them up. Rather than congratulate me on my ingenuity she told me off. Not that the school paid for my kit.

            It is on record…….When she was cycling home on the busy A32 to Gosport she was run over by a bus.

            I was shocked of course but as then and now i didn't feel much of anything. These two events didn't happen on the same day BTW.

            I'm going to Hell aren't I………..

          5. "Physical Arts" Phizzee? never heard of it! Did you go to school abroad? Or somewhere very niche?

          6. Fareham Comp. Hampshire. Even i thought at 11 years old it was pretentious. They had the boys doing rugby and football and the girls doing yoga and ribbon dance.

    4. Presumably his reward for running the Netherlands into the ground, like the good little puppet that he was.

      1. Quite. Look forwards to a whole array of Britain-destroying politicians taking senior positions in these supranational unaccountables. We see them and they know, but just laugh in our faces. We now need to frighten the pants off them.

    7. Given the look of his jaws he seems to chomp a lot. That won't be anything vegan. Unless he eats vegans. Wouldn't surprise me.

    9. It's very unusual for many Britons to be able to name the Dutch PM. Except this one and for all the wrong reasons.

    1. "Cherie Blair has highlighted 'absurd' figures showing that one third of all female criminal convictions in the UK are for not paying the TV licence fee."

      "Not paying the licence fee" is not a crime. I haven't paid since 2005 and I have never been breaking the law.
      Plus personalising it by using possessive pronouns: "..Their licence fees"

  76. Just been reviewing the Facebook pix and videos from Mother's car home. Lovely! What's frustrating, though, is that Mother is mildly demented, and so doesn't get to join in – so, rarely seen on Facebook. That makes me sad… one would hope that, at the end of life, one might be included…

    1. Would you, as next of kin, need to give permission for her photo to appear? I can't remember if we needed to do that with MiL. (They didn't have a FB page when my Mum was there.)

  77. We have been discussing next week’s vote with Son, who is eligible to vote for the forst time. I said he should vote for Reform and he turned pale and started muttering about “far right” and “taking is out of something”. He’s clearly been “got” by MSM. Anyway his father and I put our point of view across but as things stand, he seems reluctant to vote for anyone.

    2. I suspect our son would be the same.
      I know the other son in Canada has been heavily influenced by his very Turdeau-worshipping wife and her family.

    3. Erm… Wouldn't said son have been brought up in your politics? Lols.
      My Dad looked at the Sun every day. He didn't even understand it was small c conservative.
      Besides that he couldn't read.

      1. Our son's haven't taken on our politics. They probably regard us as uncaring and unenlightened.

          8. Yeah yeah. Everyone thinks two seconds faster than me but is all thumbs typing ! :@)

          10. I'd rather be a Bentley than a Jeep,
            Yes I would, If I only could, I surely would.

        2. I prefer our two lads think it through for themselves… then come with the same opinions as us!

          1. We hardly ever mention politics at ours.
            The grandchildren are too lovely to take our eyes off.

          2. Now I'm almost sick with jealousy!
            Saw a wonderful sight today – what can only be described as a pushchair charabanc of tiny children being pushed along the pavement by kindergarten assistants, on their way to the park.
            You couldn't get more cute… sigh

          4. 'Pushchair charabanc' – very apt.
            The other day, there was one of those on the way to the park in a nearby little town. I imagine it would require quite a bit of stamina to pull a wagon full of toddlers along, but then the staff were all young, barely out of school.

      2. To be fair, he was at a state boarding school from 11-18 and was only home at weekends and holidays and spent most of that either playing football or in his room.

    4. Just to inject an elephant of hope: Grandson, who will not be quite old enough to vote this time but is in a cohort of friends some of whom are – these sensible, thoughtful and informed lads just cannot wait to vote reform. They see it, and they have seen it for themselves.

    5. Last night our daughter turned up for dinner, with her partner, at 3 hours notice. A splendid al fresco meal that was totally marred, probably my fault, for talking about politics.
      It ended with her in tears and me distraught. She's more than 4 months pregnant and works as an NHS CBT practitioner and teacher. We were discussing the NHS, big mistake. Her partner is an ambulance driver about to do his medic's degree and so easy to talk to.

      1. Have you heard any more since your "episode" the other day? Did the ambulance man pass an opinion? I'm sorry you upset each other.. I fell out with my younger son over Brexit and it soured our relationship for years. Even now I keep off politics completely.

        1. So do I, Jules, particularly with elder daughter! Unfortunately my darling husband plodges in with both feet and I’m generally too far away to kick his shins, so I have to use the ‘stare’!

          1. My OH is apolitical and doesn't really have an opinion. If it doesn't fly or have fur or claws, he's not interested.

        2. Bloods taken Monday. The GP called Tuesday and said Derriford blood test folk said (boldly, in the GPs opinion) that it wasn’t a TIA. Now possibly Labyrinthitis or some inner ear problem He said stop taking the 300mg coated aspirin he’d prescribed ( I hadn’t taken them as I had a bleeding duodenal ulcer because of aspirin) and they’d be setting me up for a 24 hour cardio monitor (might take up to 2 months to arrange) and looking at the inner ear possibility ( which is what I’d mentioned to the nice lady bloodletter) who passed it on to the GP.
          Went to the pub for the first time in a week for a couple (3) pints of Guinness with two friends. A little wobbly but I blamed the heat.
          Thanks for asking, feeling almost better.

      2. Sympathy. But don't let them shut you up, molamola. So much needs saying, and so much that the next generation is unwilling to face up to

      3. Conversations these days with anyone can be difficult , what should we do ?

        Please stay calm .

        Have you had your blood test results yet?

      4. A word to the wise.
        Tell her that you're sorry it got out of hand and that you understand her viewpoint, even if you don't.
        It's easier for us oldies to eat humble pie than for the youngsters.
        Can't do much harm, might do some good.

  78. I think I already did, years ago. Problem is, those with dementia are kept under higher grade security than the others, so not in the video so often.
    It's very sad. Hope I croak before getting to that stage.

    1. Very sad that the dementia sufferers get excluded. Having dementia is no excuse for not having opportunities. The more activities the better.
      During lockdown, my husband helped the care home set up Skype to enable families to 'visit' their loved ones. It worked well for many residents.
      We tried to Skype with MiL but she didn't engage at all. Apparently, those with dementia often don't understand that it is a live chat, not just a tv programme. Very sad. But we did get a few photos in activities.

      1. I make a phone call, typically weekly on the same day (Thursday) as when I started, back in 1980 or so. Just for continuity.

      1. …and also in possession of a family-sized strawberry gateaux intended for other than personal use.

          3. “That’s excremental, my dear Watson”
            “Wow! How did you manage to work that one out Sherlock?”

    2. Strange that. Why didn't she bring out croissants and coffee. Must be a racist bitch.

      1. Mrs White.
        She sounded Australian.
        I would have dragged the tent in to the road it was one of those one piece jobs.

        1. And then you would have been arrested by our Police or even the council for littering.

          There is another side to this of course. A Christian as opposed to a political response would be to see if some help was available. Which their isn't.

          1. I think ‘we’re all done’ with the Christian response Phizz.
            Because we have been kind and thoughtful to others. We’ve been invaded by those who now want us gone.

    1. It was the fact that the whole school should be in mourning. Pay respect yes but this was like the Diana hysteria.
      I didn't know her. I didn't dislike her. Was i supposed to be distressed?

  81. Oooh well this is interesting. A group calling itself “Just answer the question”. Refer to the article on Spiked here:https://www.spiked-online.com/2024/06/26/who-will-defend-free-speech-in-this-election/

    There is a link in the article to the following website:https://justanswerthequestion.co.uk/

    And on that website is a link to a list of all constituencies and their answers to the questions: https://justanswerthequestion.co.uk/ask/

    So for example my constituency of Richmond Park returns the following summary and list:
    https://justanswerthequestion.co.uk/ask/richmond-park/

    Answers (symbols)
    (Tick) The Candidate replied YES: they agree with the statement
    (Cross) The Candidate replied NO: they do not agree with the statement
    (line)The candidate has been asked, either by us or you, but we've had no response, or they refused to answer
    (Blank)We haven't been able to contact the candidate yet

    I’ve just spent a happy five minutes emailing all the candidates what their answers are. Dead easy – the technology is really impressive!

  82. BBC1 debate…

    Max: "I was the DPP with the responsibility to take down criminal gangs…"

    Millions watching: "MISSED A FEW, DIDN'T YOU?!"

          1. I used to have a Flook toy when I was tiny. It was as big as me. I really did love it.

          2. My Grandma lived with us from when I was four, till six. She took the DM and I used to cut out the Flook cartoons.

    3. As the one shepherd said to the other shepherd; 'Let's get the flock out of here!!'……..

    1. If British people queuing on the UK housing lists rowed out to sea and returned would they be allowed to jump the queues?
      No?
      Thought not.

      1. From Coffee House the Spectator

        Europe’s war on tourists is no laughing matter
        Comments Share 26 June 2024, 6:00am
        ‘Enough! Let’s put a stop to tourism!’ So goes the slogan to be bellowed at a planned protest on 6 July in Barcelona. The city’s mayor has pledged to drive Airbnb out of the city within five years by revoking more than 10,000 licenses for short-term tourist rentals. The announcement follows anti-tourist protests in Mallorca, and the Canary Islands which, like France’s indiscriminately angry gilets-jaunes, has begun with a specific beef that will likely become raggedy and riot-prone as times goes by. This year also saw the introduction of a tourist tax in Venice (reports suggest it’s completely unenforced), and clampdowns in Amsterdam, including a reported ban on the building of new hotels. Welcome to Europe’s war on tourists.

        As we in Blighty have long since worked out: spite the tourists, spite yourself
        It’s true that the pricing out of locals by Airbnb buyers and developers does lessen the authentic charms of a place, for residents and tourists alike. Presumably, however, Airbnb has also been a gift for the many low-income people who happen to own old family properties in the heart of Lisbon or Palma or Palermo; it’s not as if the Mediterranean economies are so vibrant or uncorrupt that such home-occupiers are likely to come across a windfall that easily in any other way.

        Some of the anti-tourism rage, of course, is southern Europe tantrumming over the fact of its decline into a heritage attraction for Americans, Brits and Asians; tourism is over 10 per cent of Italy’s GDP, 12 per cent of Spain’s and a whopping 15 per cent of Portugal’s (compared to 9 per cent of the UK’s). But as we in Blighty have long since worked out: spite the tourists, spite yourself.

        Europe’s anti-tourist movement is no laughing matter. It is sinister in the usual way that ‘smash capitalism’ movements tend to be: adoring of red tape and against progress, wealth, social mobility, private property, people from other places, and, of course, the ability of people formerly too poor to travel to do so. In the case of Spain – which has the highest joblessness rate in OECD member states – one can’t help but wonder if rallying against tourism is just a way to pass the time of day with a feeling of moral virtue.

        Yet it is also hard not to feel just a tiny bit of glee at the Barcelona ban. Airbnb has become one of the worst companies on the virtual high street. The unaccountability of ‘hosts’, absurd ‘house rules’, exorbitant ‘cleaning’ and ‘service fees’, wildly inconvenient and specific check-in and check-out times, myriad nightmares with keys and lock boxes in the middle of the night with screaming children, plumbing issues, general rip-offery…Horror stories have become a hugely popular genre on X, formerly Twitter, and I confess to reading them with relish. After all, as a customer of Airbnb for a decade or more, I too have in recent years noticed a precipitous decline. Even so, the only outright bad experience I had was a snarky, somewhat aggressive German girl who let out her dark and dreary flat in Munich to me for a night (she accused me of breaking something which was broken on arrival); I had been led to book by her enthusiastic reviews. The whole thing was expensive and left a bad taste.

        Then there is the sheer amount of emotional and administrative labour that goes into staying in an Airbnb – the WhatsApps with people who often don’t speak English, the forced merriment and emoji-use or else risk getting a bad review, the ability of hosts to cancel days before check-in, the endless instructions over how to get into people’s flats in ancient city centres, which can be a lot when you’ve just got off a plane in the blistering heat and are bleary after a 4am start.

        And so, in a way, there is a kind of fittingness, or satisfaction, in the two going up in smoke together: Europe’s tourist industry and the ghastly Airbnb which had its day, then spoiled things.

        In reality, of course, the right answer would be to let Airbnb run itself aground rather than regulating it out of existence. But the latter is what Europe does best. So, no: I find it hard to feel sad if Barcelona’s mayor does follow through on his threat and ban Airbnb. But the city’s residents are mistaken if they think a war on tourists is going to solve their problems.

    2. Let's see the Scots and Welsh take their share. We in England are well in credit on that front already – the others have rather a lot of catching up to do…

        1. You don't realise what it's like here, swamped. Sturgeon was all for having more of them – but they came here and I for one am fed up with them nearly all being in England.

          Edit: If you don't want them, then we certainly don't want any more – there are a disproportionate amount in England as it is. If the Scots end up voting Labour in (as they have previously done with Labour) the Scots can have the consequent "fair share" – which is heck of a lot more than at the moment.

      2. Down in the land of sheep we have been a 'nation of sanctuary' for some time. Whether anyone wants to come here, is another matter… Bahhh.

        1. They seem to prefer coming here to Scotland or Wales…I can only imagine it might be the weather in Scotland, because it is such beautiful country. As for Wales (and Scotland), I think it is because they prefer to stick to places they have already taken over.

    3. I am incensed that these parasites will be given so many free new homes, no doubt with security of tenure for life as well. What about the tens/hundreds of thousands of lower paid British families who are on housing waiting lists in every borough up and down this country? I doubt liebour will make any such pledge to them.

      1. It's actually quite sad to remember – my family went there quite often (it wasn't far away from where we lived and we could park around the Square!) What have the b*stards done to our country!!!

        1. Same here. My Dad’s parents were both Londoners. His oldest siblings were born in Islington – back when it was inhabited by ordinary people. He grew up knowing all the streets in central London, and thought nothing of driving anywhere central , north, east and west when we went visiting his many old aunts, uncles and cousins. Also frequent visits to Windsor Castle, which was not far. He wouldn’t recognise London any more, and I doubt I would either.

          1. I don’t go there any more – it’s too depressing. I was born and brought up in London and it makes me so sad. And angry.

          2. I don't go there any more, either. It's a foreign city. I feel sad and I am not a Londoner.

          3. Completely understandable. Before their recent trip to England, our young grandchildren had been ‘researching’ which sights they wanted to see in London. MH and son took them up on the train – an adventure in itself for them – but I stayed home. I couldn’t face the crowds or journey (with limited access to ‘facilities’) and wouldn’t have felt safe even in central London, especially on the underground.
            I would love to visit some of the places in East London where ancestors lived (some streets are still standing and have old buildings), but wouldn’t venture there these days.
            Son & family live right in the heart of a major city in Canada, and I have often walked alone around the city, used the subway alone and also walked back at night on my own from their apartment to the hotel, and never once felt wary.
            A sad situation for our once great city.

          5. I was born in Islington, then parents moved out of my grandparents’ house when I was about 3/3binto a council flat in Highbury. Lived in Highbury/Canonbury (when the rich Socialists moved into the area) until I was 21 and got married. I hate to think what it looks like now.

          6. Along with the champagne socialists, I expect there are also a lot of assorted rich ragheads, white-pyjama-wearing males and 'letterbox' creatures.
            Several of my late Dad's aunts and uncles moved from their big old houses out to Norfolk in the early 1970s, attracted by cheap bungalows with gardens (and a weekly bus to the nearest town!). Within a few years, many missed the convenience, facilities and hustle & bustle of places like Stoke Newington, but could no longer afford to move back, such was the rate of house price increases back there.
            They probably weren't aware, but one branch of their paternal ancestors had originated in Norfolk, so they were sort of completing the circle.

    2. There's always one. Down amongst the replies:
      "When the tax system was not rigged/manipulated by the rich, people had some decency and respect. No capitalism or privatisation. The good times."

    4. The country England used to be:

      WE'VE THROWN IT ALL AWAY!

      (or rather we've let the PTB throw it all away for us)

      Don't it always seem to go
      That you don't know what you've got
      Till it's gone

      (Joni Mitchell)

      This Bob Dylan sad song is one of my favourites.

      https://www.youtube.com/wat…

    1. This Chas and Dave song has been posted by at least four Nottlers in the last couple of days.

      It is indeed a beautiful love song.

  91. Another day is done so, I wish you a goodnight and may God bless all you Gentlefolk. Bis morgen früh. If we are spared!

        1. Sorry, Conners, I think I was exhausted when I posted this on Wednesday evening.

  95. Off to bed now, chums. Good Night all, sleep well, and see you all tomorrow.

    1. Morning, Geoff and thank you for all the work and effort you have put in to keep us all going. Well done!

      You're really catching us out by getting earlier and earlier.

Comments are closed.