[Abernathy]

Okay, I know it's part of the job description of Tory Party Chair to do endless media appearances on the morning after any set of elections or any by-elections and tell lies about how the Tories did not in fact get comprehensively slammed and that actually Labour really did piss-poorly, but Hands, the latest absolutely monstrous arse to do the job, is truly fucking woeful.

I suppose it might have been worse. They might have let 30p Lee out.

[Spoonman]

I suppose it might have been worse. They might have let 30p Lee out.

Give it time...

[mattomac]

I actually thought 30p was their sacrificial lamb, seems he wasn’t which begs the question.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Is Greg in trouble at the next election?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chelsea_a ... stituency)

He's lucky that opposition is split fairly evenly, but the Lib Dems are 2nd, and are more likely to get Tory switchers, so he might have a problem if the Lib Dems get their bar charts out.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Greg's uncovered a bombshell here.

The Leader of the Opposition has visited a constituency where there's going to be a by-election. By public transport. And seems like a good sport.

No coming back from this for Starmer. It ought to be a safe seat on current boundaries (much less so on new boundaries), and I guess we'll see if the Starmer card trumps Bozo Truss Hunt Sunak.

Greg's a former merchant banker and represents Chelsea btw.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I suppose "green spaces" is a legitimate issue seeing Labour have said they'll build on more of them. Whether it's a winning message remains to be seen. But the rest of it? Are they going to be wielding "Sunak out!" placards?

[Andy McDandy]

Well, Selby's in North Yorkshire - just. Was west riding until 1974.

So, aside from "doing her job", the other three are a bit out of her hands.

[Bones McCoy]

I wonder how that controlled immigration is going.

[mattomac]

They are rather crap.

Any ideas?

No

[Watchman]

Looks like one of those gatherings that people got arrested for on Coronation day

[Tubby Isaacs]

Tory MP is unimpressed with Hands. He may not be the only one.

[Yug]

"Elections are won proving your worth"

Pliz explain Mad Nad's string of election victories. Thx.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I'd forgotten about Greg.

He''s here found the bombshell that some Labour MPs support the policy of the Labour Mayor of London.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Never mind schools falling down. Greg's on to the real issues. Some people in the Shadow Cabinet used to work for the previous Labour Government. This apparently means that Labour has no "new ideas" and is committed to a "short term" approach. Not hard to see another way of looking at it- that there are people with experience in Government who probably have some idea about what worked and what didn't.

I suppose they must do focus groups, but does this "they're bringing back Blair" really scare the public?

Tories criticise Starmer for having five former Blair-era special advisers in shadow cabinet
The Conservative party has sent out this comment on the Labour reshuffle from Greg Hands, the Tory chair. He says:

This reshuffle shows Sir Keir Starmer offers no new ideas, just more of the same old short-term approach to politics which has failed this country.

He constantly changes positions to win votes, showing he doesn’t have the strength of character to lead Britain.

[Andy McDandy]

Just after Sunak flipped on onshore wind farms...

[Tubby Isaacs]

I think it's hard to infer "lack of strength of character" from appointing experienced politicians to jobs in the Shadow Cabinet.

[Yug]

And it also shows the gulf between Labour and the Tories in that the Labour leader has a pool of experienced politicians to draw on.

What has Sunak got?

[Youngian]

I think it's hard to infer "lack of strength of character" from appointing experienced politicians to jobs in the Shadow Cabinet.

We’ve come a long way from Corbyn and hard left still in control although that was only a year or so ago.
Labour from now on will look like a government and they even have a top flight civil servant as Starmer’s new chief of staff this week. Sue somebody.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Greg Hands here, formerly of Cambridge University, the City of London and Wall Street. All those places have their faults, but they tend to take a dim view of people just making up numbers. If I were a journo, this would be my first question to the likes of Greg. "Lee Anderson has probably done this all his life, but you actually know better, don't you? Aren't you a bit embarrassed?"

I think the stuff about smashing smuggling gangs is probably rubbish, but I wasn't aware being criticised by left and right means something is "falling apart".

[Killer Whale]

It's interesting (not to mention predictable) that the 'we must stop criminal gangs and dangerous crossings' line has now morphed into blatant 'we must stop brown people' as soon as Starmer tries to call their bluff by trying to address the issue like a grown-up.