Starmergeddon: They Came And Ate Us

[Hal Jordan]

What with the new broom and all, it seems appropriate to have a new thread to use.

Ministers are being appointed and as per the Reverend Coles, it's nice to see people appointed who have some idea about the post and who don't actively hate the purpose e.g. Milliband for Energy Security and Net Zero as opposed to the succession of fossil fuel deep throaters that filled the position under the last lot.


Rwanda policy scrapped! And on a Friday night after 6 p.m.

[sturginho]

So I am a bit confused by timings and such, does the new parliamentary session start now, or is the old one still going?

[Biffer]

So I am a bit confused by timings and such, does the new parliamentary session start now, or is the old one still going?

Old one is finished, new one will start in the next few weeks, with all the Maps being sworn in, and a new speaker elected.

[Insane_Homer]

IMG_20240706_201556_542.jpg (50.4 KiB) Viewed 1754 times

[Slick]

So I am a bit confused by timings and such, does the new parliamentary session start now, or is the old one still going?

Old one is finished, new one will start in the next few weeks, with all the Maps being sworn in, and a new speaker elected.

I saw our new MP in the pub on Friday night, he said they had all been told to report for duty on Monday morning which had taken him by surprise!

[Glaston]

Anyone know why Thornberry was dumped as Attorney General?

[Glaston]

IMG_20240706_201556_542.jpg

It's against peoples Human Rights to return Govt cash.

[Slick]

And he does appoint Douglas Alexander to a junior minister post

[Biffer]

Anyone know why Thornberry was dumped as Attorney General?

He had someone much, much better lined up. Couldn’t appoint him in opposition.

[dpedin]

I'm impressed by the quiet, business like competence being shown by our new Gov so far. It may be 'boring' to some but they are beginning to lay the groundwork for what looks like a Government that wants to govern and deliver the best it can for the population - ditching Rwanda, positive noises about relationship with EU, Lammy out visiting EU friends, Starmer visiting all 4 nations in first week, good call with Biden, pursuit of dodgy PPE monies, Timpson appointment, a respected KC in the AG role, appointment of Vallance - a real scientist, etc. And all this achieved even though Starmer knocks off at 6pm on Friday night!

[C69]

I'm impressed by the quiet, business like competence being shown by our new Gov so far. It may be 'boring' to some but they are beginning to lay the groundwork for what looks like a Government that wants to govern and deliver the best it can for the population - ditching Rwanda, positive noises about relationship with EU, Lammy out visiting EU friends, Starmer visiting all 4 nations in first week, good call with Biden, pursuit of dodgy PPE monies, Timpson appointment, a respected KC in the AG role, appointment of Vallance - a real scientist, etc. And all this achieved even though Starmer knocks off at 6pm on Friday night!

Whilst I find Starmer's politics too bland, it would actually be good to have competence in place.
Appointing experts with knowledge of their beliefs will be refreshing.
How many cabinet posts did Shaps have?

Hopefully a more radical agenda can be driven through now.
CGT reform next?

[SaintK]

Anyone know why Thornberry was dumped as Attorney General?

He had someone much, much better lined up. Couldn’t appoint him in opposition.

The Timpson appointment as Prisons Minister is a very interesting one as well

[lemonhead]

I'm impressed by the quiet, business like competence being shown by our new Gov so far. It may be 'boring' to some but they are beginning to lay the groundwork for what looks like a Government that wants to govern and deliver the best it can for the population - ditching Rwanda, positive noises about relationship with EU, Lammy out visiting EU friends, Starmer visiting all 4 nations in first week, good call with Biden, pursuit of dodgy PPE monies, Timpson appointment, a respected KC in the AG role, appointment of Vallance - a real scientist, etc. And all this achieved even though Starmer knocks off at 6pm on Friday night!

Whilst I find Starmer's politics too bland, it would actually be good to have competence in place.

Likely what 90%+ of voters wanted. Politics needs to get boring again for a while.

[sockwithaticket]

I'm impressed by the quiet, business like competence being shown by our new Gov so far. It may be 'boring' to some but they are beginning to lay the groundwork for what looks like a Government that wants to govern and deliver the best it can for the population - ditching Rwanda, positive noises about relationship with EU, Lammy out visiting EU friends, Starmer visiting all 4 nations in first week, good call with Biden, pursuit of dodgy PPE monies, Timpson appointment, a respected KC in the AG role, appointment of Vallance - a real scientist, etc. And all this achieved even though Starmer knocks off at 6pm on Friday night!

Whilst I find Starmer's politics too bland, it would actually be good to have competence in place.

Likely what 90%+ of voters wanted. Politics needs to get boring again for a while.

Some of the media I consume has been talking to pollsters throughout the campaign and they kept emphasising that most people in their focus groups just want politics to go away, they don't want it to be something they have to think about.

Quiet competence will absolutely enamour this Labour government to a lot of people.

[tabascoboy]

Whilst I find Starmer's politics too bland, it would actually be good to have competence in place.

Likely what 90%+ of voters wanted. Politics needs to get boring again for a while.

Some of the media I consume has been talking to pollsters throughout the campaign and they kept emphasising that most people in their focus groups just want politics to go away, they don't want it to be something they have to think about.

Quiet competence will absolutely enamour this Labour government to a lot of people.

Let's hope they use Social Media in a positive way, and we have an end to kneejerk "wokery!", "The Blob!", "anti-semitic!" type outpourings - even better if the Tories have learned their lesson about this too, that all it does is satisfy the Deform mob faux outrage. Just keep it factual and neutral.

[Jock42]

So I am a bit confused by timings and such, does the new parliamentary session start now, or is the old one still going?

Old one is finished, new one will start in the next few weeks, with all the Maps being sworn in, and a new speaker elected.

I saw our new MP in the pub on Friday night, he said they had all been told to report for duty on Monday morning which had taken him by surprise!

Perhaps I expect too much from people, particularly well paid ones in important positions, but I would have assumed Monday would be a big day.

[Slick]

Old one is finished, new one will start in the next few weeks, with all the Maps being sworn in, and a new speaker elected.

I saw our new MP in the pub on Friday night, he said they had all been told to report for duty on Monday morning which had taken him by surprise!

Perhaps I expect too much from people, particularly well paid ones in important positions, but I would have assumed Monday would be a big day.

I think it was more putting together a team in London, finding a place to stay etc rather than actually having to go to work

[mat the expat]

IMG_20240706_201556_542.jpg

This is something good - Labor here didn't go after the rorters

[tc27]

Quote weird seeing a goverment implement an actual thought out policy agenda including stuff that either boring or unpopular (good idea to get that done asap). Inject the dull techocracy into my veins is the only antidote the the populist bullshit we have had for so long.

Also please build loads of windmills, nuclear power plants and houses in every Green and rural Tory constituency. Cheers.

[SaintK]

Should imagine Labour may well want to look at this for the future. Wasn't in their manifesto though.

More than 400,000 people may have been prevented from voting in the general election because they lacked the necessary ID, with those from minority ethnic communities more than twice as likely to have experienced this, polling has suggested.
Of those surveyed by More In Common, 3.2% said they were turned away at least once last Thursday, which if reflected across the UK would equate to more than 850,000 people. Of these, more than half said they either did not return or came back and were still unable to vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... suggests

[Dinsdale Piranha]

Quote weird seeing a goverment implement an actual thought out policy agenda including stuff that either boring or unpopular (good idea to get that done asap). Inject the dull techocracy into my veins is the only antidote the the populist bullshit we have had for so long.

Also please build loads of windmills, nuclear power plants and houses in every Green and rural Tory constituency. Cheers.

Don't forget the Lib Dems who went full nimby a few years ago.

[Sandstorm]

Should imagine Labour may well want to look at this for the future. Wasn't in their manifesto though.

More than 400,000 people may have been prevented from voting in the general election because they lacked the necessary ID, with those from minority ethnic communities more than twice as likely to have experienced this, polling has suggested.
Of those surveyed by More In Common, 3.2% said they were turned away at least once last Thursday, which if reflected across the UK would equate to more than 850,000 people. Of these, more than half said they either did not return or came back and were still unable to vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... suggests

"Lacked the necessary ID" or "Forgot it at home..." ?

I'm sorry, but if you don't have a valid photo ID then you're just an idiot and will probably unintentionally spoil the ballot paper while trying to make a cross.

[TedMaul]

Quote weird seeing a goverment implement an actual thought out policy agenda including stuff that either boring or unpopular (good idea to get that done asap). Inject the dull techocracy into my veins is the only antidote the the populist bullshit we have had for so long.

Also please build loads of windmills, nuclear power plants and houses in every Green and rural Tory constituency. Cheers.

Great idea. Punish the blameless people who live there.

[tc27]

Quote weird seeing a goverment implement an actual thought out policy agenda including stuff that either boring or unpopular (good idea to get that done asap). Inject the dull techocracy into my veins is the only antidote the the populist bullshit we have had for so long.

Also please build loads of windmills, nuclear power plants and houses in every Green and rural Tory constituency. Cheers.

Great idea. Punish the blameless people who live there.

Punish them by giving them jobs, affordable housing and electricity?

[Paddington Bear]

Quote weird seeing a goverment implement an actual thought out policy agenda including stuff that either boring or unpopular (good idea to get that done asap). Inject the dull techocracy into my veins is the only antidote the the populist bullshit we have had for so long.

Also please build loads of windmills, nuclear power plants and houses in every Green and rural Tory constituency. Cheers.

Don't forget the Lib Dems who went full nimby a few years ago.

The Oxford-Cambridge arc, with enormous GDP upside, runs nearly entirely through Lib Dem seats now… has to be tempting

[Biffer]

Should imagine Labour may well want to look at this for the future. Wasn't in their manifesto though.

More than 400,000 people may have been prevented from voting in the general election because they lacked the necessary ID, with those from minority ethnic communities more than twice as likely to have experienced this, polling has suggested.
Of those surveyed by More In Common, 3.2% said they were turned away at least once last Thursday, which if reflected across the UK would equate to more than 850,000 people. Of these, more than half said they either did not return or came back and were still unable to vote.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/ ... suggests

"Lacked the necessary ID" or "Forgot it at home..." ?

I'm sorry, but if you don't have a valid photo ID then you're just an idiot and will probably unintentionally spoil the ballot paper while trying to make a cross.

Not entirely true. There are people who have neither a passport nor a driving license, and don’t have any kind of travel card, disabled badge, or defence id.

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/2 ... m-photo-id

[Biffer]

Transport Minister who has worked in Transport since the seventies.

Competence.

[Raggs]

There's something reassuring about having qualified people in roles that they're qualified for. It should be blatantly obvious, and yet...

I know there was a huge clusterfuck around covid, but if I recall correctly, the guy in charge of getting vaccines in place, was also an ex-pharmecutical CEO or some such, which is almost certainly why we ended up getting vaccines locked up early, it was just about the only bit of our covid response that went genuinely well.

[fishfoodie]

No sign of the Russian Election interference report yet; that should be good for another kick in the balls to Reform, & some of the departed Tories.

[_Os_]

What are we up to in under half a week?

Rwanda Scheme - scrapped
Real terms onshore windfarm ban - scrapped
Prisons without capacity - no investment by the Tories (the opposite prisons were closed), immediate action required, sentences of less serious criminals being cut

I'm enjoying that the newspapers don't know what's happening anymore, the hacks aren't having lunch with ministers every other day and aren't in the same whatsapp groups, their best contacts are now the Twitter feeds everyone else can look at. They have no gossip, no bullshit leadership contests, no inside info, and that's what angers them the most.

None of the right wing tabloids got behind Labour (other than the Sun on the day to save Murdoch's ego), so they don't need them now they're in government. Major policies are dropping out of the sky daily unannounced, no weeks long hype like it's a heavy weight title fight between two average fighters that cannot sell itself.

[dpedin]

What are we up to in under half a week?

Rwanda Scheme - scrapped
Real terms onshore windfarm ban - scrapped
Prisons without capacity - no investment by the Tories (the opposite prisons were closed), immediate action required, sentences of less serious criminals being cut

I'm enjoying that the newspapers don't know what's happening anymore, the hacks aren't having lunch with ministers every other day and aren't in the same whatsapp groups, their best contacts are now the Twitter feeds everyone else can look at. They have no gossip, no bullshit leadership contests, no inside info, and that's what angers them the most.

None of the right wing tabloids got behind Labour (other than the Sun on the day to save Murdoch's ego), so they don't need them now they're in government. Major policies are dropping out of the sky daily unannounced, no weeks long hype like it's a heavy weight title fight between two average fighters that cannot sell itself.

GBabiesNews are furious they are being ignored by the new Gov. Noticeable that they are never called to ask questions at Gov Press Conferences and don't have any access to Ministers, etc. I wonder how long it will take for them to realise that they are completely insignificant now and their list of whacky, mad and downright racist presenters dont have any relevance now given their lack of access or info to anyone in Gov. They are whistling in the wind and will be lucky to keep going as is until Christmas. They will end up alongside all the other conspiracy peddlers on Facebook and streaming into the ether!

[_Os_]

GBabiesNews are furious they are being ignored by the new Gov. Noticeable that they are never called to ask questions at Gov Press Conferences and don't have any access to Ministers, etc. I wonder how long it will take for them to realise that they are completely insignificant now and their list of whacky, mad and downright racist presenters dont have any relevance now given their lack of access or info to anyone in Gov. They are whistling in the wind and will be lucky to keep going as is until Christmas. They will end up alongside all the other conspiracy peddlers on Facebook and streaming into the ether!

I'm enjoying it.

But it's not just the loonies who are angry, more serious journos are too. They want all the news leaked before the speeches announcing it, they want public fights in the media, they want parliament to become pointless because everyone knows all the details before anything happens. That's what they mean when they say they're "frustrated" in this clip. They need to do their fucking job which is reporting/explaining/analysing/discussing serious matters and government policy, not being gossip columnists.

[_Os_]

Just a Tory MP complaining about Reeves announcing a housing development in Worcestershire Parkway. It is a new railway station built where it is, because that's where the lines from Bristol and Oxford cross. It has excellent transport links. He should be told to fuck off and the construction workers should move in asap.

[sturginho]

GBabiesNews are furious they are being ignored by the new Gov. Noticeable that they are never called to ask questions at Gov Press Conferences and don't have any access to Ministers, etc. I wonder how long it will take for them to realise that they are completely insignificant now and their list of whacky, mad and downright racist presenters dont have any relevance now given their lack of access or info to anyone in Gov. They are whistling in the wind and will be lucky to keep going as is until Christmas. They will end up alongside all the other conspiracy peddlers on Facebook and streaming into the ether!

I'm enjoying it.

But it's not just the loonies who are angry, more serious journos are too. They want all the news leaked before the speeches announcing it, they want public fights in the media, they want parliament to become pointless because everyone knows all the details before anything happens. That's what they mean when they say they're "frustrated" in this clip. They need to do their fucking job which is reporting/explaining/analysing/discussing serious matters and government policy, not being gossip columnists.

Someone ought to check on Kuenssberg

[Raggs]

Just listened to someone talking about the 3 big appointments (AG, Science and Prisons), and he made a very good point. None of those 3 will give much of a damn about whether Labour win the next election. Certainly nowhere near as much as a labour MP would have done. They don't have a constituency to protect etc, they're lords now, and have their own income/ability etc if they need it. They can literally just do their cabinet job and make a difference without the same fear that many others would have.

[epwc]

I won't go as far as "it's a masterstroke" but it kind of is

[SaintK]

Not sure Houchen will sound so positive once the government send the forensic accountants in to confirm just how many tens of millions of taxpayers money he has diverted into his mates bank accounts on the Teesworks and Teeside projects!!

[tabascoboy]

"Levelling Up" : goooonnneeee - and to be replaced with a more sensible name. Hope that sloganeering is well and truly on the way out, though I'm sure the temptation to use it will never go away

'Levelling up' phrase to be erased, says minister

The new Labour government is replacing the words 'levelling up' with 'local government' in the department's name and ministerial titles, minister Jim McMahon has said.

Levelling up - a promise to reduce geographical inequality - was a key part of Boris Johnson's successful 2019 general election campaign.

When he came into power he changed the name of the Department of Housing, Communities and Local Government, replacing 'local government' with 'levelling up'.

However, Mr McMahon told BBC Breakfast the phrase was "only ever a slogan" and was now being "firmly Tippex-ed out of the department".

"We are now the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government," he said.

"It is a reshaping of the department. It is a refocus, but frankly it is also just grown up politics."

He said the British public had "had enough of politicians making promises that don't follow through and don't make a material difference".

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c0veqgr7lw4o

[sturginho]

Didn't realise they'd made Vince McMahon a minister

[Hal Jordan]

No sign of the Russian Election interference report yet; that should be good for another kick in the balls to Reform, & some of the departed Tories.

The Tories buried that one deeper than Jimmy Hoffa.