Short thread making a very important point.
Former economist and civil servant. Former (age related) national cycling champion. Still a music fan. Sewn up member of the Zipper Club.
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Short thread making a very important point.
That’s the thing. I heard recordings of a couple of meetings that he had with teenagers before the election and he came across really well. Now he just sounds scared in case he says the wrong thing. Reeves is no better.
All a bit Mae West.
Probably going to refuse to work now.
Bloody snowflake doors.
Equally, people are mainly getting annoyed because he is not nimble, in that he hit the correct beats of 'I like the flag but some of this stuff is visibly being done to divide us', it's just he basically literally said exactly those words.
"Morgan this wasn't on the grid" "well it is now"
They can’t be as ignorant of “the pound in your pocket” as they were of “island of strangers”, not least Thomas-Symonds has recently published a biography of Wilson featuring an endorsement from Starmer.
It’s a touch Mae West, which doesn’t help 🤷♂️
….
….. reduced its effectiveness. The best discussion of the 1967 devaluation remains the chapter by Cairncross and Eichengreen www.abebooks.co.uk/978140391305...
Bad phrasing on my part. I meant the “pound in your pocket“ comment (which even as an A level student watching it at the time, thought “that’s not correct”) rather than the decision itself which was absolutely correct. Even then the delay in taking measures to reduce domestic demand until March….
The number one rule of politics should be don’t promise what you can’t, or won’t, deliver. Most growth remains unexplained by anything other than the catch all of “technical progress” and that, in turn, has always had unpredictable distributional consequences.
Would be all too typical to road test a slogan based on what was probably Wilson’s most famous “misstep” because the 1967 devaluation did actually reduce the value of the “pound in your pocket”. Indeed that was its purpose.
Nope, never. Just wouldn’t occur to me to do so. Don’t know why not.
Is she being serious?
"The thing that hath been, it is that which shall be; and that which is done is that which shall be done: and there is no new thing under the sun." Ecclesiastes 1:9
I’ve tried to listen to new music. Oddly the only new music I like sounds remarkably like all my favourites in old music. Three chords and the truth, as they say.
Which links to this piece. I’ve long thought that the ready availability of massive computing power has led people to forget the importance of accurate data. app.prospectmagazine.co.uk/story/70934/...
I’ve never felt the slightest desire to own a flag (national or otherwise) and I’m as centrist and boring as they come.
Well that’s the next tricky decision.
I was at a Christmas market and made the mistake of chatting to someone who was selling his (self published) books. It was all very sad because he was so enthusiastic and they looked absolutely dreadful.
Something is going to have to change. They’ve destroyed their administration with the tax pledges and the subsequent mishandling of WFA and welfare reform. Starmer has shown his lack of political experience.
Things were generally OK in the 1960s and early 1970s. I had some pretty unpleasant experiences during the middle of that decade. That said, I was at Burnden in October 1971 when the Wanderers beat Man City 3-0 and walked back into town with the City supporters lobby bricks across the road.
There’s a job in government comms awaiting you 👍
If you don’t house them in hotels or HMOs then there’s only one thing that you’re able to do. It couldn’t have been particularly hard to think this through. What did they do in opposition apart from fight the left? Obviously, don’t expect you answer that.
I fear not.
Surely it’s Yusuf/Cat Stevens “I love my flag as much as I love you/But you may fade, my flag will always come through” ? youtu.be/ET5drt_utUY?...
Those were the days 👍
I suspect that she might be a touch more robust in her response.
He’s going to triangulate himself into electoral defeat.
His premiership was a depressingly accurate reflection of modern British politics. All those pieces saying that he was really a serious politician underneath all the bluster were just ****.
Unless England are playing in which case he sits in front of a St George’s flag, obviously. I’m old enough to remember the 1966 World Cup when England supporters waved the Union flag. More innocent times.
The logical conclusion are detention camps, which Peter Hyman appeared to be suggesting in his new substack. TINA.
How could I forget that, but wasn’t he either pissed or taking the piss?
That’s what bike paths are for, isn’t it? Never see any cyclists using them so why not park there?
There’s a problem with closing asylum hotels on.ft.com/45JnqjU Councils move to close off key alternative to asylum hotels in England
Morning: No. 10 recognises it's operation was malfunctioning, and that it had ceded narrative control to Reform; childcare policy launches. By late afternoon: Assisted by racist BBC questioning, the PM proves incapable of articulating a positive multicultural patriotism. Very depressing.
Please make it stop. Sorry but I can’t bear to type out the Alt text of this. It’s just too painful.
The problem being that in most urban environments a bike can actually travel faster than a car so you end up either going up the inside or the outside. Given the choice I always go for the latter but either carries risks. One thing I never do is allow myself to be on the inside at traffic lights.
Talk of Britain needing to call in the IMF is absurd. The right-wing political and media class appears to have convinced itself that the country is on the brink of economic and societal collapse. Some even seem determined to bring it about. My latest on what lies behind rising gilt yields
JFC. That cyclist did not go up the inside of the lorry: the lorry should not have stopped alongside the cyclists at the lights. In that situation I would make sure that I was in front of the lorry at the lights, even if I had to go over the stop line.
It really doesn’t matter what the HC says, it’s piss poor and inconsiderate driving. No one would overtake a car and then turn immediately left. They do it to cyclists because they don’t see them as a threat. Used to happen all the time to me when I was commuting.
This is not a cyclist attempting to pass a vehicle on the inside, but a classic example of a vehicle not paying attention to a cyclist when turning left. The delivery driver wouldn’t have attempted to overtake a car and then turn immediately left.
That said, having a positive and simple message and the ability to communicate it would be an improvement on the current position. Show don’t tell was always a limited strategy, although playing to Starmer’s strengths. 2/2
Therein lies the challenge. The standard response is that being in government gives you the substantial advantage of being able to set and shape the narrative, although that has been more difficult by Trump’s largely successful attempt to export this agenda to Europe 1/2
Indeed and therein lies the problem.
FWIW I think she’s more than a touch optimistic on that point.
Several political appointments at the top of the BBC.
From here www.theguardian.com/business/202...
The economics is simple, the politics much less so. Landownership in England - and the political power that derives from it - remains less than transparent.
There's no doubt in my mind that the major news outlets - including the BBC - are amplifying anti government voices. There again the government seems to be amplifying anti.governent voices by allowing Farage to set the agenda.
This is a really interesting interview, particularly on the importance of governments explaining what they are are trying to do, and taking voters with them.
Keir Starmer just managed a "further and faster", a "hard yards" AND a "delivery, delivery, delivery" in two sentences now on the BBC. Also, we are now in the "second phase" of his government (the total number of phases is very much TBC).
Does anyone like the government? Not being entirely flippant here since they seemed to have pissed off many of their natural supporters chasing the votes of people who hate them.
It’s an interesting point because Wilson hadn’t delivered much by 1966 when we won a landslide, but had delivered more by 1970, when he lost. Similarly Major won against the odds in 1992, arguably presenting a new political agenda, but lost in 1997 when he’d delivered rather a lot .
There's a lot that looks sensible in the No 10 reshuffle but I can't help thinking that Starmer getting rid of aides because of dleivery issues is a bit like blaming the Ocado man because you forgot to order the chicken
If I were trying to win elections and arguments, I simply would be doing everything I could to move UK political conversation away from a website run by an avowed enemy who believes and writes this stuff about me:
Those of us paying attention are in the real bubble
But were they in the right order? Boom, boom as Basil Brush used to say 😉
It’s worse than not leaving. Have you looked at what’s posted in Starmer’s name?
By far the worst novel I have ever read is Ancient Evenings by Norman Mailer. There are, apparently, people who think it a masterpiece.
Easy enough if you read by genre 😉 Not too many stretching crime/spy books or books on history. The nearest I’ve got to stretching recently is Blood Meridian which I quite enjoyed until I realised that I was just treating it a very violent novel about the West 🤷♂️
Now this is controversial.
Life’s too short to read “challenging” books. I’ve gone back to reading what I enjoy.
It’s the political equivalent of the “one simple trick” meme in clickbait journalism. Probably has the same origins in the rise of the 24/7 news cycle and the need for simple messages. I really don’t remember political debates being this simplistic pre 2010 or actually for most of the Coalition.
One of the first things they emphasise at cardiac rehabilitation is the importance of good diet and weight control. Obviously drugs can help with that but at additional cost to the NHS www.theguardian.com/society/2025...
Some sensible proposals here (£) on.ft.com/3JyKURJ Britain needs a wealth tax on property
always good to check the edit history on Twitter as they can sometimes be revealing What Douglas Carswell has written today is awful bad in its final form, but his original tweet was worse He's not correcting a typo "From Epping to the sea, let's make England immigrant free" just showed his hand
![Douglas Carswell @DouglasCarswell From Epping to the sea, let's make England Abdul free 5h [Quote tweet @GBPolitics] NEW: Epping locals vow to stop paying council tax after the High Court ruled that asylum seekers can stay in a hotel [@DailyMail] Last edited 1:27 PM · Aug 31, 2025 60.9K Views](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreiaumorv4doqx6ozqqxlsrvs4rne3cuqiyetljv3cdwozck6vszoxq@jpeg "Click to view full size")
![Douglas Carswell @DouglasCarswell From Epping to the sea, let's make England immigrant free [Quote tweet] @GBPolitics *NEW: Epping locals vow to stop paying council tax after the High Court ruled that asylum seekers can stay in a hotel [@DailyMail] 1:25 PM Aug 31, 2025 509 Views There's a new version of this post. See the latest post](https://cdn.bsky.app/img/feed_thumbnail/plain/did:plc:2kf2qj56o2vq7jfaq4x4ogp6/bafkreihz7cel6hmysoidvh5whqaenwplsnan2nabdaega3dc6rmdzunree@jpeg "Click to view full size")
Here’s the full piece. Lots of good stuff in there. Pity they sacrificed the Green New Deal on the alter of reassuring “the markets” (actually avoiding giving the Tory media any attack lines) open.substack.com/pub/peterhym...
Two extracts from the new substack by Peter Hyman which is actually pretty good. I heard Starmer speak in opposition and he came across as a decent man. He appears to have lost any ability to engage with people now he’s PM and has Hyman looked at the No10 feed on X?
To riff on Steve Earle, did I miss being taught how to hate in Sunday school? Tice and Oakeshott are a disgrace.
Got it 👍
It's all down to genes and my father's side of the family were prone to cardiovascular problems, which I've inherited. But bread and dripping didn't help.
You really should think of subscribing to @manchestermill.bsky.social if you don’t already. An editor’s note from Joshi about the creep of AI-generated journalism manchestermill.co.uk/the-fake-jou...
It’s a great film. Certainly captures the mood of someone travelling to confront the darkness in their soul. Not something I ever rewatch on a regular basis (unlike the first two Godfather films which are dark enough in their own way).
My Dad used to love his bread and dripping when I was young. There were also UCP cafes and tripe shops back then. He died of a stroke.
👍
Throw in a couple of trotters and a bit of cow heel and you had a perfectly balanced diet. Who needs fruit and vegetables?
Such beautiful black trousers. Many people are saying the blackest ever seen.
Bit lively for a Sunday morning 🤔
Now why don’t I find that surprising?
I think that you're probably right. I've been resisting the offer to take up a subscription in order to find out.
I miss having bread and dripping for tea. Made extinct by all this healthy eating malarkey. My grandparents were quite happy dying at 50. Saved money as well.
Bear rather than beat. God, I hate autocorrect.
🎯👇
M&S sourdough is 👌 Actually buy it in preference to the stuff from our local bakery.
Can't beat going to the cinema these days. Too many people looking at/talking on their phones prevents me falling asleep 🤷
I hang on his every word.
Somebody had already done it but thanks. I was too irritated to do so.
Oddly enough, I don't recall that ever being the Telegraph view. Can't think why not.
Those sections were truly grim.
I saw it when it was first released. Quite the experience.
It was a mad time. I remember taking my very young daughter to a birthday party on the day of the funeral. Half the kids hadn't bothered to turn up for reasons that I still don't understand today.
You and your logic. There was I thinking that foreigners only came to the U.K. to sit around all day sponging off the welfare state.
It’s the great unspoken success of the UK that kids with a migrant background outperform native-born kids at school, despite a widespread perception that somehow they are a problem for schools
Coppola appeared to have taken the principles of method acting over into his role of director and at times seemed to be unraveling along with some members of the cast. Be warned though that several animals were clearly - and very unpleasantly - harmed in the making of the documentary.
If you haven’t watched the documentary about the making of Apocalypse Now, which is on Channel 4 for the next week, you really should. The footage of Coppola talking to a clearly stoned Denis Hopper is pure gold and Brando’s arrogance in pocketing €3mn and doing no preparation is breathtaking…
Not increased by AI generated videos of migrants outside schools and playgrounds and in one case stealing swans (wonder where that idea came from?)
