Stop voting for fucking Tories

[Slick]

French diplomacy has been weird lately. Spending a lot of time online and in person saying other governments are liars, abusing allies, random tweets about how their ships are bigger than others etc and then losing it because of this. I doubt we'll address it because Boris bad but still - very very odd.

Not been following french diplomacy that much but not noticed anything very very odd. macron sees himself as an outsider to politics, which he is, and his aggressive and blunt style to diplomacy has been consistent since his election. The aukus response was entirely predictable. The relationship with the US seems to have been largely repaired but still very poor with the UK. Think macron dislikes Boris on a personal level and also thinks Boris best responds to threats. With Merkel going, and Germany almost certainly looking more inward initially at least, also going to probably see increased importance of French diplomacy.the recent france Italy agreement being an example

https://www.reuters.com/world/europe/it ... 021-11-26/

Paddington should look at UK Diplomacy you will find the source of most of this.
La perfide albion is in full swing.

The Aussie government did lie to Naval group and is now completely fucked as regards to it's Navy capacity. which is relatively funny.

To be honest I think Macron is playing it exactly as he should. Particularly on the refugee stuff, he knows the UK is in a weak position, he knows Boris is in a weak position, and acting accordingly. Don't blame him at all, why should he take their shit.

[fishfoodie]

[petej]

A pretty limited grasp of history or at least a very out of date one is a pre-requisite to having a lot of nationalist pride. For example normal UK people's defence of elite slave trading families (eg colston) is bizarre/tragic to me considering the living conditions of their likely working class ancestors. Do they even realise that they paid taxes (I think this was finally paid off in the 5 years or so ) to cover the money paid to slave owners?

[fishfoodie]

The Tory rags are reporting the imminent green lighting of a tunnel between Scotland NI ....

The papers do mention that it's a bit longer than the chunnel; but don't mention the minor differences between the geology of the two regions; or the piddling detail of both ends of this feat of engineering being in the middle of nowhere. Ten billion; bollox; multiple by five !

We all know it won't be built; but the question is just how many more tens of millions will be pissed away; just to placate the DUP ?

Blonde slug vanity project. Spend gazillions on feasibility study then not do it

Just for shits & giggles, I did a quick SWAG at the numbers.

According to this, in 2018, an average of 550 Lorries crossed each day; so about 5M over 25 years.

So if the 10B figure is accurate, & the UK tax payer looks for payback in 25 years; that means they need to charge each of these lorries £2,000 a journey, for something that costs them ~£400 on the Ferry !

I'd like to apologize to the board; it turns out that my projected cost for this beautiful bridge, is a tad unrealistic.

The FT has the final scores of the doors.

https://www.ft.com/content/7e14cb51-d56 ... e59ba4114d

Boris Johnson has been advised in an official report that his plan for a bridge or tunnel from Scotland to Northern Ireland would cost up to £330bn — over 20 times more than originally thought — and would be “impossible to justify”.

The UK prime minister a year ago commissioned Sir Peter Hendy, the chair of Network Rail, to examine the feasibility of a new transport link across the Irish Sea. But his report, published on Friday morning, concluded that the project was a non-starter, saying: “The benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs to the public purse.”

Even my limited mathematics is able to tell though; that 330/20 isn't 10;so the FT is guilty of airbrushing the full enormity of the lie; & waste of public money.

Still; this would have been three times the cost of the HS2 Extension; to link to a place in Scotland with half a dozen sheep; to a place in Northern Ireland; with a dozen sheep...... money well spent !

[Tichtheid]

Blonde slug vanity project. Spend gazillions on feasibility study then not do it

Just for shits & giggles, I did a quick SWAG at the numbers.

According to this, in 2018, an average of 550 Lorries crossed each day; so about 5M over 25 years.

So if the 10B figure is accurate, & the UK tax payer looks for payback in 25 years; that means they need to charge each of these lorries £2,000 a journey, for something that costs them ~£400 on the Ferry !

I'd like to apologize to the board; it turns out that my projected cost for this beautiful bridge, is a tad unrealistic.

The FT has the final scores of the doors.

https://www.ft.com/content/7e14cb51-d56 ... e59ba4114d

Boris Johnson has been advised in an official report that his plan for a bridge or tunnel from Scotland to Northern Ireland would cost up to £330bn — over 20 times more than originally thought — and would be “impossible to justify”.

The UK prime minister a year ago commissioned Sir Peter Hendy, the chair of Network Rail, to examine the feasibility of a new transport link across the Irish Sea. But his report, published on Friday morning, concluded that the project was a non-starter, saying: “The benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs to the public purse.”

Even my limited mathematics is able to tell though; that 330/20 isn't 10;so the FT is guilty of airbrushing the full enormity of the lie; & waste of public money.

Still; this would have been three times the cost of the HS2 Extension; to link to a place in Scotland with half a dozen sheep; to a place in Northern Ireland; with a dozen sheep...... money well spent !

To be fair that is a bit like saying there has been a lot of money spent on a link between rural Kent and rural Pas-de-Calais.

The bridge is too expensive and from what I can gather about what is under the water, a really quite difficult undertaking, but should it have been a goer, it might well have been a direct link between EU countries, if everything plays out to that end.

[Lobby]

Just for shits & giggles, I did a quick SWAG at the numbers.

According to this, in 2018, an average of 550 Lorries crossed each day; so about 5M over 25 years.

So if the 10B figure is accurate, & the UK tax payer looks for payback in 25 years; that means they need to charge each of these lorries £2,000 a journey, for something that costs them ~£400 on the Ferry !

I'd like to apologize to the board; it turns out that my projected cost for this beautiful bridge, is a tad unrealistic.

The FT has the final scores of the doors.

https://www.ft.com/content/7e14cb51-d56 ... e59ba4114d

Boris Johnson has been advised in an official report that his plan for a bridge or tunnel from Scotland to Northern Ireland would cost up to £330bn — over 20 times more than originally thought — and would be “impossible to justify”.

The UK prime minister a year ago commissioned Sir Peter Hendy, the chair of Network Rail, to examine the feasibility of a new transport link across the Irish Sea. But his report, published on Friday morning, concluded that the project was a non-starter, saying: “The benefits could not possibly outweigh the costs to the public purse.”

Even my limited mathematics is able to tell though; that 330/20 isn't 10;so the FT is guilty of airbrushing the full enormity of the lie; & waste of public money.

Still; this would have been three times the cost of the HS2 Extension; to link to a place in Scotland with half a dozen sheep; to a place in Northern Ireland; with a dozen sheep...... money well spent !

To be fair that is a bit like saying there has been a lot of money spent on a link between rural Kent and rural Pas-de-Calais.

The bridge is too expensive and from what I can gather about what is under the water, a really quite difficult undertaking, but should it have been a goer, it might well have been a direct link between EU countries, if everything plays out to that end.

The full report also looked at Johnson’s alternative proposal of a tunnel, but concluded both would be far too expensive and take too long. They would also take at least 30 years to become operational.

“The study found that a suspension-bridge crossing would cost £335bn, while a tunnel would be cheaper at £209bn. Either a bridge or underseas-tunnel option would be the longest of their kind ever constructed.

Planning, design, parliamentary and legal processes, and construction would take 30 years before the crossing could become operational, assuming it had a smooth passage of securing funding and winning permission.”

As you note, one of the biggest problems with either proposal is the depth of the sea bed and the large amount of unexploded munitions in the area.

“Beaufort’s Dyke is up to 300 metres deep and more than two miles wide at its broadest point, and is also filled with million tonnes of munitions dumped in the 1970s.

A tunnel would have to be constructed at depths of about 400 metres below water level, exerting significant pressures and requiring a 25-mile climb in either direction given a maximum rail gradient of one in 100.

By comparison the Channel tunnel is just over 23 miles long, with a maximum depth of 75 metres.”

[Sandstorm]

Just hire some ferries from those Tory-supporting folk who currently sell pharmaceuticals or farm machinery

[Lobby]

Just hire some ferries from those Tory-supporting folk who currently sell pharmaceuticals or farm machinery

Could be Chris Grayling’s opportunity to use all his knowledge of ferry contracts.

[fishfoodie]

Just hire some ferries from those Tory-supporting folk who currently sell pharmaceuticals or farm machinery

Could be Chris Grayling’s opportunity to use all his knowledge of ferry contracts.

For >200 Billion; you could probably buy, or build enough RoRo ferries, to line them up stem to stern, & create a Bailey bridge between Scotland & NI !

[Biffer]

Well this is the thing. If you really want to improve connectivity, CalMac is desperately in need of an upgraded fleet, and the port facilities in Holyhead, Larne etc all need big investment. And how about upgrading the A1 north of Newcastle? Dreadful piece of road.

[Sandstorm]

Well this is the thing. If you really want to improve connectivity, CalMac is desperately in need of an upgraded fleet, and the port facilities in Holyhead, Larne etc all need big investment. And how about upgrading the A1 north of Newcastle? Dreadful piece of road.

Whoa whoa whoa! You want to upgrade some UK infrastructure?? Commie bastard!

[Tichtheid]

Well this is the thing. If you really want to improve connectivity, CalMac is desperately in need of an upgraded fleet, and the port facilities in Holyhead, Larne etc all need big investment. And how about upgrading the A1 north of Newcastle? Dreadful piece of road.

Whoa whoa whoa! You want to upgrade some UK infrastructure?? Commie bastard!

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

[Slick]

Well this is the thing. If you really want to improve connectivity, CalMac is desperately in need of an upgraded fleet, and the port facilities in Holyhead, Larne etc all need big investment. And how about upgrading the A1 north of Newcastle? Dreadful piece of road.

Whoa whoa whoa! You want to upgrade some UK infrastructure?? Commie bastard!

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

[Tichtheid]

Whoa whoa whoa! You want to upgrade some UK infrastructure?? Commie bastard!

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

I missed any announcement on that.

I've driven all over Europe and sometimes in the US, that particular road is one of the few I recall having death rates displayed on the roadside - by that I mean major roads, not rural, this is the major road between London and Edinburgh, and it's single file traffic ffs!

[Biffer]

Whoa whoa whoa! You want to upgrade some UK infrastructure?? Commie bastard!

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

It's been called for in Henry's review. Its not been accepted by the governments. Scottish govt says transport is devolved so its up to them what any money is spent on. And upgrading roads doesn't give Johnson anything shiny to stand next to so he's not interested.

[Slick]

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

It's been called for in Henry's review. Its not been accepted by the governments. Scottish govt says transport is devolved so its up to them what any money is spent on. And upgrading roads doesn't give Johnson anything shiny to stand next to so he's not interested.

Yes, you’re quite right, that’s what it was

[Slick]

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

I missed any announcement on that.

I've driven all over Europe and sometimes in the US, that particular road is one of the few I recall having death rates displayed on the roadside - by that I mean major roads, not rural, this is the major road between London and Edinburgh, and it's single file traffic ffs!

Yup. Having spent the best part of 40 years driving from London to Scotland and back 2 or 3 times a year, as a kid and now with my family, that extra hour you add on approaching Edinburgh on the A702 is also bloody annoying!

[Biffer]

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

I missed any announcement on that.

I've driven all over Europe and sometimes in the US, that particular road is one of the few I recall having death rates displayed on the roadside - by that I mean major roads, not rural, this is the major road between London and Edinburgh, and it's single file traffic ffs!

Yup. Having spent the best part of 40 years driving from London to Scotland and back 2 or 3 times a year, as a kid and now with my family, that extra hour you add on approaching Edinburgh on the A702 is also bloody annoying!

I’ve always rather enjoyed the A702. Lovely bit of road to drive, and when i was living down south getting there meant I was nearly home. Although I was driving a Z3 at the time so that would’ve helped.

[Slick]

I missed any announcement on that.

I've driven all over Europe and sometimes in the US, that particular road is one of the few I recall having death rates displayed on the roadside - by that I mean major roads, not rural, this is the major road between London and Edinburgh, and it's single file traffic ffs!

Yup. Having spent the best part of 40 years driving from London to Scotland and back 2 or 3 times a year, as a kid and now with my family, that extra hour you add on approaching Edinburgh on the A702 is also bloody annoying!

I’ve always rather enjoyed the A702. Lovely bit of road to drive, and when i was living down south getting there meant I was nearly home. Although I was driving a Z3 at the time so that would’ve helped.

There is some truth in that, I can feel my whole body relaxing as we pull off the motorway and it is a nice drive. However, an extra hour at the end with 2 young kids and an initial hour of quiet at the start of the journey wasted on only 40 miles is a killer!

[SaintK]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

Nadine Dorries was embroiled in a row with fellow Tory MP Caroline Nokes this weekend after the culture secretary dismissed her allegations of inappropriate touching against the prime minister’s father.
She said she had known Stanley Johnson for 15 years and described him as a gentleman. She rejected Nokes’s claim that he had “smacked her on the backside” at the Conservative party conference in 2003. “I don’t believe it happened,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “It never happened to me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

[fishfoodie]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

Nadine Dorries was embroiled in a row with fellow Tory MP Caroline Nokes this weekend after the culture secretary dismissed her allegations of inappropriate touching against the prime minister’s father.
She said she had known Stanley Johnson for 15 years and described him as a gentleman. She rejected Nokes’s claim that he had “smacked her on the backside” at the Conservative party conference in 2003. “I don’t believe it happened,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “It never happened to me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

I'll bet he never slapped Ann Widdecombe on the arse either.

[Random1]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

Nadine Dorries was embroiled in a row with fellow Tory MP Caroline Nokes this weekend after the culture secretary dismissed her allegations of inappropriate touching against the prime minister’s father.
She said she had known Stanley Johnson for 15 years and described him as a gentleman. She rejected Nokes’s claim that he had “smacked her on the backside” at the Conservative party conference in 2003. “I don’t believe it happened,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “It never happened to me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

[Rinkals]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

Nadine Dorries was embroiled in a row with fellow Tory MP Caroline Nokes this weekend after the culture secretary dismissed her allegations of inappropriate touching against the prime minister’s father.
She said she had known Stanley Johnson for 15 years and described him as a gentleman. She rejected Nokes’s claim that he had “smacked her on the backside” at the Conservative party conference in 2003. “I don’t believe it happened,” she said in an interview with the Daily Mail. “It never happened to me. Perhaps there is something wrong with me.”

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

[fishfoodie]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

He can always sue her for slander !

[petej]

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

He can always sue her for slander !

pointing out inappropriate rubbish behaviour in the past is mostly about highlighting that such behaviour is now unacceptable (though to most it was already unacceptable when this occured). Undoubtedly some loons, bots and trolls on Twitter where fuckwits compete for attention by posting silly shite will be saying Nokes is a lying *****" and some others saying Johnson should be locked up but that is twitter.

[dpedin]

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

He can always sue her for slander !

pointing out inappropriate rubbish behaviour in the past is mostly about highlighting that such behaviour is now unacceptable (though to most it was already unacceptable when this occured). Undoubtedly some loons, bots and trolls on Twitter where fuckwits compete for attention by posting silly shite will be saying Nokes is a lying *****" and some others saying Johnson should be locked up but that is twitter.

Handsy Johnson Snr - Noakes allegation has been corroborated by another individual.Even that well known liberal thinker Isabel Oakshott, partner of Tice, said in a tweet it was well known he was 'handsy' but didn't think it was a police matter. I suppose the alleged wife beating including a broken nose is relevant too?

[Random1]

Mad Nad being a bitch shock horror...........and oh yes there is an awful lot wrong with you!!!!

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2 ... s-father

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

Completely agree that these things should be investigated, as should all alleged crimes.

Publishing this stuff before that investigation feels a touch like having your cake and eating it though - the alleged culprit gets the social condemnation and is ostracised, but there is no due process.

I’m trying to think of other types of crime where the victim announces the details of the crime to the world, whilst having no intention of reporting it to the authorities to investigate.

I get the need for something that sorts out sexual harassment and rape, as the stats are horrendous, but feels like a Slippery slope to side line due process.

[Biffer]

Problem is, due process for 'he slapped my arse twenty years ago' would be 'thank you for the report madam' and no further investigation.

[I like neeps]

Dangerous stuff this.

Can’t see any way to square the circle as either

1- allow him to be viewed as committing a sexual criminal offence without trial, or

2- suggest the accuser is a liar.

Some difficult stuff for society to sort out over the coming years.

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

Completely agree that these things should be investigated, as should all alleged crimes.

Publishing this stuff before that investigation feels a touch like having your cake and eating it though - the alleged culprit gets the social condemnation and is ostracised, but there is no due process.

I’m trying to think of other types of crime where the victim announces the details of the crime to the world, whilst having no intention of reporting it to the authorities to investigate.

I get the need for something that sorts out sexual harassment and rape, as the stats are horrendous, but feels like a Slippery slope to side line due process.

A number of people have now come out and said Stanley is a bit handsy including Isabel Oakeshott whilst jumping to his defence so not sure there's much doubt when your defenders are agreeing with the accusations...

You are right though. I think ultimately people speaking up are doing so in a way to highlight the issue. If Johnson is angry his dad has these accusations surrounding him now, maybe he could work to actually make the laws stricter/increase police spending on the issue/try to reform how police investigate it etc.

[petej]

How about actually investigating the allegations and seeing if there is corroborating evidence before you brand her a liar?

But, yes, I can see that it would be preferable to simply brand her a liar, just in case anything nasty turns up.

Completely agree that these things should be investigated, as should all alleged crimes.

Publishing this stuff before that investigation feels a touch like having your cake and eating it though - the alleged culprit gets the social condemnation and is ostracised, but there is no due process.

I’m trying to think of other types of crime where the victim announces the details of the crime to the world, whilst having no intention of reporting it to the authorities to investigate.

I get the need for something that sorts out sexual harassment and rape, as the stats are horrendous, but feels like a Slippery slope to side line due process.

A number of people have now come out and said Stanley is a bit handsy including Isabel Oakeshott whilst jumping to his defence so not sure there's much doubt when your defenders are agreeing with the accusations...

You are right though. I think ultimately people speaking up are doing so in a way to highlight the issue. If Johnson is angry his dad has these accusations surrounding him now, maybe he could work to actually make the laws stricter/increase police spending on the issue/try to reform how police investigate it etc.

It is to highlight the issue and more about society self policing than the police investigating. It is not surprising that an 81 year old privileged type behaves badly. Others at the time should have called him out on it. This is a generation clash about what is acceptable behaviour. You can see it in the Tory party recently on 2nd jobs that a lot of the younger newer Tories didn't agree with Johnson initially siding with Paterson.

[I like neeps]

Looks to me like cancel culture dare I say.

[tabascoboy]

Quite.


Biffer's point about the A1 north of Newcastle - it's the main artery between Scotland and England and much of it is single file traffic in each direction with tractors and other farm traffic on it.

Wasn’t some major upgrades to that announced during the week? Could have just been an opinion piece I read but I thought it had been confirmed

It's been called for in Henry's review. Its not been accepted by the governments. Scottish govt says transport is devolved so its up to them what any money is spent on. And upgrading roads doesn't give Johnson anything shiny to stand next to so he's not interested.

I'm sure he'll switch back to Boris Island Airport for his vanity project again soon

[SaintK]

So with the goverment and Johnson all over the place on so many things, it looks like Starmer is carrying out another potentially botched front bench reshuffle!!!!

"I don't know the details of any reshuffle," deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tells journalists
Labour MP Cat Smith has tweeted that she has lost her position on the front bench, confirming Keir Starmer is moving his front bench team around

[JM2K6]

So with the goverment and Johnson all over the place on so many things, it looks like Starmer is carrying out another potentially botched front bench reshuffle!!!!

"I don't know the details of any reshuffle," deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tells journalists
Labour MP Cat Smith has tweeted that she has lost her position on the front bench, confirming Keir Starmer is moving his front bench team around

Is it a reshuffle?

Cat Smith, who previously served in Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team, tweeted that she would be stepping down. She suggested Starmer had offered her the opportunity to remain in her existing post, but that she had raised concerns about several issues, including the failure to restore the whip to Corbyn.

That sounds more like she wants to fuck off. We'll see if there's more changes, I gues.

[petej]

So with the goverment and Johnson all over the place on so many things, it looks like Starmer is carrying out another potentially botched front bench reshuffle!!!!

"I don't know the details of any reshuffle," deputy Labour leader Angela Rayner tells journalists
Labour MP Cat Smith has tweeted that she has lost her position on the front bench, confirming Keir Starmer is moving his front bench team around

Is it a reshuffle?

Cat Smith, who previously served in Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team, tweeted that she would be stepping down. She suggested Starmer had offered her the opportunity to remain in her existing post, but that she had raised concerns about several issues, including the failure to restore the whip to Corbyn.

That sounds more like she wants to fuck off. We'll see if there's more changes, I gues.

Why would leave your position for an old has/never been like corbyn.

[Rhubarb & Custard]

There's a decent push being made in the Labour Party to allow Corbyn something of a backseat driver role, basically some not too surprisingly aren't happy the party aren't as left leaning as they were under Jeremy. Starmer doesn't want to touch the idea with a bargepole, he doesn't want the lefty influence and/or image and he doesn't want anti-semitism gaining influence and/or image. The resignation of Smith if anything helps Starmer, to shape the bench he wants and to hamper efforts to push a more lefty agenda, unless Smith surprises us all and in returning to the back-benches becomes more powerful than we could possibly imagine

[JM2K6]

So with the goverment and Johnson all over the place on so many things, it looks like Starmer is carrying out another potentially botched front bench reshuffle!!!!

Is it a reshuffle?

Cat Smith, who previously served in Jeremy Corbyn’s frontbench team, tweeted that she would be stepping down. She suggested Starmer had offered her the opportunity to remain in her existing post, but that she had raised concerns about several issues, including the failure to restore the whip to Corbyn.

That sounds more like she wants to fuck off. We'll see if there's more changes, I gues.

Why would leave your position for an old has/never been like corbyn.

Variations of that question can be asked of a load of his fans.

[JM2K6]

There's a decent push being made in the Labour Party to allow Corbyn something of a backseat driver role, basically some not too surprisingly aren't happy the party aren't as left leaning as they were under Jeremy. Starmer doesn't want to touch the idea with a bargepole, he doesn't want the lefty influence and/or image and he doesn't want anti-semitism gaining influence and/or image. The resignation of Smith if anything helps Starmer, to shape the bench he wants and to hamper efforts to push a more lefty agenda, unless Smith surprises us all and in returning to the back-benches becomes more powerful than we could possibly imagine

Nowt wrong with more lefty agendas, and it's something I'd be keen on Labour trying to do. I just don't want Corbyn-era insanity, or Corbyn himself, or people who think that left wing == Corbyn or bust.

[petej]

There's a decent push being made in the Labour Party to allow Corbyn something of a backseat driver role, basically some not too surprisingly aren't happy the party aren't as left leaning as they were under Jeremy. Starmer doesn't want to touch the idea with a bargepole, he doesn't want the lefty influence and/or image and he doesn't want anti-semitism gaining influence and/or image. The resignation of Smith if anything helps Starmer, to shape the bench he wants and to hamper efforts to push a more lefty agenda, unless Smith surprises us all and in returning to the back-benches becomes more powerful than we could possibly imagine

Nowt wrong with more lefty agendas, and it's something I'd be keen on Labour trying to do. I just don't want Corbyn-era insanity, or Corbyn himself, or people who think that left wing == Corbyn or bust.

Very much this. I don't see why the 72 year old contrarian is required.

[SaintK]

There's a decent push being made in the Labour Party to allow Corbyn something of a backseat driver role, basically some not too surprisingly aren't happy the party aren't as left leaning as they were under Jeremy. Starmer doesn't want to touch the idea with a bargepole, he doesn't want the lefty influence and/or image and he doesn't want anti-semitism gaining influence and/or image. The resignation of Smith if anything helps Starmer, to shape the bench he wants and to hamper efforts to push a more lefty agenda, unless Smith surprises us all and in returning to the back-benches becomes more powerful than we could possibly imagine

Nowt wrong with more lefty agendas, and it's something I'd be keen on Labour trying to do. I just don't want Corbyn-era insanity, or Corbyn himself, or people who think that left wing == Corbyn or bust.

Very much this. I don't see why the 72 year old contrarian is required.

You'd probably think Starmer has pitched it about right iff this is the reaction from the hard left

The reshuffle was criticised by former shadow chancellor John McDonnell, a key ally of former leader Jeremy Corbyn.
He tweeted: "Reviving the careers of former Blairite ministers and simply reappointing existing shadow cabinet ministers to new posts does give the impression of Christmas Past, not Christmas Future."