[Youngian]

First came across Starmer when a judicial crisis emerged over the prosecution of distressed elderly people that had assisted in the suicide of loved ones. Juries were refusing to convict these people so do you engage in a public debate and change these laws that are no longer enforceable?
This hot potato looked like political hassle for the government so they shoved it on the DPP’s desk. Keir delivered a solution by changing the guidelines that it was not in the public interest to prosecute once the prosecution case was reviewed. It’s likely you would never have read about this landmark change.
There’s a lot of merit in changing guidelines or ‘realigning’ them with the Human Rights Act. Instead of wasting political capital explaining to the Sun and Mail that you’re not a do-gooder that sides with terrorists on demos.
Especially as these papers are ill equipped and too myopic to follow the legal world beyond ‘judge lets off yobbos.’

[Malcolm Armsteen]

And invent the 9 day week?

[Youngian]

TV star David Frost invented the eight day week. Presented a show in London, Sydney and New York so crossed the dateline.

[Andy McDandy]

And he had time to explore all those houses and negotiate Brexit? What a guy!

[soulboy]

Desperately off topic but well-known liar* Hulk Hogan invented the 400-day year.

In his second autobiography "My Life Outside The Ring," Hogan made the outlandish claim that he once wrestled 400 days in one year. Because of the time difference flying back and forth from Japan, Hogan claims his years were longer that 365 days. Hogan said, "If I say I wrestled four hundred days a year, it's no exaggeration. My years were actually longer than 365 days. There were times when I'd fly back and forth to Japan twice a week just to wrestle. Now it was nothing to wrestle in Madison Square Garden one day, then fly all the way to the Egg Dome in Tokyo the same day, 'cause you'd gain fourteen hours, and then fly back to the West Coast and so on ... So I could wrestle in Japan today and then fly back across the International Date Line and land in another town yesterday. I was constantly adding days to my years!"

* He also claims that he was the first person to be asked to endorse what became the George Foreman Grill and was the original choice for bass player in Metallica.

[Yug]

This non-story was on the Sky website this morning, and now the Grauniad version has appeared in my news feed.

Keir Starmer has repeatedly refused to rule out a deal with the Liberal Democrats if Labour fails to win a majority at the next general election during an interview after last week’s local elections...

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... t-election

Why is it so important to the fourth estate for Starmer to rule out now something which may become necessary in the future, or may never happen anyway?

And where are the reports that the Tories haven't ruled out gassing black babies? They haven't said they're going to, but they haven't publicly ruled it out either.

Sometimes I wonder what our news providers would be lik if they only provided news.

[Oboogie]

Why is it so important to the fourth estate for Starmer to rule out now something which may become necessary in the future, or may never happen anyway?

It's a trap.

If he doesn't rule it out, he's going to be jumping into a coalition of chaos with those undemocratic LibDems and together they'll steal your Brexit and take us back into the EUSSR.

If he does rule it out, it means he's planning to jump into Humza Yousaf's pocket and be a puppet of the Scots who will demand that Starmer steals your Brexit and takes us back into the EUSSR.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Reporting for so many 'journalists' (and this is a real weakness of Beth Rigby) has become the search for the 'gotcha'. It's futile, meaningless and beloved of the right wing press who can spin it to look like 'an admission' or even a promise...

I had really thought Rigby was better than this, but it seems I was mistaken.

[Oboogie]

I had really thought Rigby was better than this, but it seems I was mistaken.

She's got advertising slots to sell.

[Youngian]

Why is it so important to the fourth estate for Starmer to rule out now something which may become necessary in the future, or may never happen anyway?

It's a trap.

If he doesn't rule it out, he's going to be jumping into a coalition of chaos with those undemocratic LibDems and together they'll steal your Brexit and takes us back into the EUSSR.

If he does rule it out, it means he's planning to jump into Humza Yousaf's pocket and be a puppet of the Scots who will demand that Starmer steals your Brexit and takes us back into the EUSSR.

If the Tories have found their trump card is droning on about a Brexit they can’t defend beyond jam tomorrow, bring it on.

Excitable FBPE types don’t get why Davey didn’t set out a rejoin line, so do they get it now? Don’t appear so.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Has Nick "Karpov" Reeves, thought of what happens next? Starmer and Davey agree to rejoin, get a mandate, then the EU says "Great, except we pissed about a lot with you before. So you'll have to agree to x, y,, z of unpopular stuff, and even then we're not interested because the other lot would leave if they won a general election".

I think it would be pretty cynical to promise rejoin.

[Youngian]

Once you make Swiss type bilateral deals the other side will make the case for rejoining for you as the UK becomes a rule taker not a rule maker.
That’s why Farage abandoned talking about Norway around 2014 and plucked this idea out of his arse about leaving a customs union (so he could avoid the rule taker argument in a future ref). No one bothered to check whether Farage was talking horseshit.
The key to recommencing a credible economic strategy with Europe is a free movement treaty. Or could the UK sign 25 bilateral agreements and then it’s just a matter of paperwork?
Start with ‘the Benidorm Accord’ with Spain and Gibraltar and slip a Bulgarian deal through when a royal baby is announced. As it’s one of the only EU countries left where it’s worthwhile coming to the UK. No one will notice the return of free movement apart from their own rights being restored.

[Tubby Isaacs]

You see a lot of this stuff. She's actually fair on Labour's proposals, apart from health (is new capacity "privatisation"?) But what does all this cost? The electricity grid isn't a small thing. What do Tory voters say when you put it to them that their tax goes up to buy it back? (Not to say it might not be good value anyway).

[mattomac]

Not sure Royal Mail is worth it, public wanted that they thought why should the government own a Mail service when the privates do it well.

Only to realise the privates don’t do it well.

Water I think is a shit show and should be nationalised, NHS will require the use of private, the patient won’t really notice though, it was only obvious my MRI scan was private because I had gone to the NHS one and saw how snazzy this new unit was in comparison.

Also “would you like a coffee or tea” while you wait sort of gave it away, however if it cuts down waiting lists and waiting times so be it.

As for the Railways they’ve come to a point that they are so subsidised and so controlled by the Government that they would be beneficial to do it tell no one as no one would notice. GWR I will slightly miss mind their only downside are the new seats and that was government scrimping.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The receipts from the privatisation of the Royal Mail was just under £2bn in 2013. That would be affordable to renationalise, even if it was a fair bit more than that in 2024 terms. I don't really see the point. I'd be happy for competition to work, with sectoral bargaining for workers.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I don't get the Chris Dillow argument here on nationalisation at all. Sure there's an asset too, but that doesn't mean you aren't shelling out a lot of money. That's clearly what's meant, nothing to do with political discourse being "debased". I think it's a very obvious argument.

If the whole point is to run it in a different, less profit-chasing way, surely the asset will pretty rapidly be worth less on the balance sheet? I don't see why you wouldn't tackle the problem via regulation instead, via stronger price caps or whatever.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Sir Keir says local councils will be allowed to build on more of the green belt. More powers for councils to be used to serve their residents, very good for the economy and housing supply, what's not to like?

The BTL Guardian bunch have found a few things. Developers might like it, and the green belt shouldn't be built on, blah blah empty homes (there aren't that many, and they're disproportionately in places people don't want to move to), and they don't count because they aren't council houses. And the Mail won't like it, which apparently means Starmer doesn't know what he's doing because he just wants to please the Mail.

Rather than boost the economy like this, Starmer should just rejoin the EU or something. In fairness, more people than before BTL are making the point that this isn't on offer, but it's still "just do this, Starmer" for the most part.

[Youngian]

If all the claims made about producing meat through precision fermentation* instead of cattle are true, then countries will have all the land they need for other demands. Speaking as a meat eater who’s sceptical about most green technologies fully delivering their claims, this is the most exciting innovation I’ve ever come across to halt global warming. And more besides when you look at what huge parts of the countryside could look like without cattle farming.

* Producing protein from microorganisms. If you’ve had insulin, eaten cheese or drunk beer you’ll get the idea.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfr ... on-farming

[Crabcakes]

It‘s off topic, so I’ll be brief, but I agree - this is literally planet-saving stuff. Once scale-up has been mastered it should be cheaper and easier with a guaranteed quality end product (so more appealing to business - meaning there’ll be a big driving force behind it), has the added advantage of being *better* than vegan (as lab-grown meat has never been alive so is ethically more sound even than eating plants), needs less land, water, no hormones in cattle, no pesticide for feed crops (and more land for field crops), and will make a big dent in global warming gases.

[Andy McDandy]

And don't we just know how the usual suspects will react? Dust off the "Frankenstein Food" headlines, what about the poor farmers, Liz Fucking Jones doing a taste test, etc.

A few years ago Asda had a line of vegan burgers called "No Bull", which seem to have vanished from their shelves. They were mushroom-based, but tasted absolutely of beef. They're still my benchmark for anything beef-like that's never gone moo.

I suspect we'll see some cattle farming continue - lots of other stuff comes out of a cow (gelatin, milk, leather etc) and there may well develop a market for premium "real" meat (similar to the one for Waygu beef today). But yes, overall very exciting news.