[Watchman]

Interesting how he quotes the Taxpayers Alliance as “helping” him out

[Youngian]

But for some reason I never bothered with the other series of After Life, after liking the first one.

A lazy and offensive idea to use the grief process as a vehicle to act like a nasty and unlikeable Larry David. Gervais is at his best in it playing off some well cast guest stars like Penelope Wilton, Roisin Conaty and Paul Kaye. And also that Joe bloke from eight out of ten cats who looks like Grange Hill’s Mr Baxter. Apparently a comedian but a mystery why he gets works.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Currently quoted at 33% against Labour at 47%.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Oh man.

[Abernathy]

Deep joy. We cannot get enough of these by-elections right now. Each one will strengthen Labour’s claim to become our government come the election.

[Crabcakes]

Deep joy. We cannot get enough of these by-elections right now. Each one will strengthen Labour’s claim to become our government come the election.

At this rate they’ll *be* the government by the next election!

[Boiler]

One to watch; The New Conservatives.

https://thenewconservative.co.uk/

Mention of them here:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-66084962

In a report launched on Monday, the New Conservatives claim the British public "did not vote for mass migration and the social and economic harms it brings".

And...

The report was written by Tory MP Tom Hunt and backed by a group of right-wing Conservatives, including the party's deputy chairman, Lee Anderson, and backbencher Miriam Cates.

One of the report's main recommendations is closing temporary schemes that grant eligibility for worker visas to care workers.

Okay Miriam, put your money where your mouth is: let's see you do a month on minimum wage in a nursing home, away from your pampered life in the Commons. It takes a special kind of person to care for an elderly person with dementia who's just soiled themself.

[Youngian]

They’re panicking because carers are no longer white but the same colour as the people on Farage’s Breaking Point posters. Not just those in care but their families will notice this trend and word gets around even in the absence of screaming Mail headlines.

[Crabcakes]

In a report launched on Monday, the New Conservatives claim the British public "did not vote for mass migration and the social and economic harms it brings".

There are plenty of things people didn’t vote for. Doesn’t follow what they want is the polar opposite imposed in the cruelest and yet also most ham-fisted way possible though.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Johnson took the « tens of thousands » bollocks out, I thought. Or is this « they voted to take back control » bollocks?

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Nice.

[Killer Whale]

I had thought that Lee Anderson was made Deputy Chairman because it was thought he would be better inside the tent pissing out. Turns out he has no qualms about pissing whereever he likes.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Sunak’s office managed to get Anderson not to actually stand on the stage while attacking his government’s policy, which is the biggest success they’ve had for a while.

[Boiler]

From the Guardian:

Screenshot 2023-07-03 at 16-50-52 Illegal migration bill mauled in Lords as peers vote to insert protections for children and LGBT people– politics live.png (30.93 KiB) Viewed 1988 times

I see my MP is the bloody president...

From BTL:

Screenshot 2023-07-03 at 16-56-03 Illegal migration bill mauled in Lords as peers vote to insert protections for children and LGBT people– politics live.png (16.9 KiB) Viewed 1985 times

[RandomElement]

I don't know who this group is appealing to. The Tories have been drifting further right over the last few years and have been losing voters.
Brexit has fallen flat on its face and an increasing number of people are realising that. Plus people have more problems of their own, the cost of living crisis and the like, so being unpleasant to immigrants is less of a vote winner as most people understand that immigration isn't such a big issue.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Cates left school in 2000, long after league tables had been part of the system. The idea that the school was trying to stop people doing well at Maths seems a bit far fetched. I wouldn't be surprised if somebody could dig out the actual league tables from her time, or some Ofsted reports.

Truss just about got away with her likely nonsense, but Cates might find this is a bit too recent to pull the same stunt.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I don't know who this group is appealing to. The Tories have been drifting further right over the last few years and have been losing voters.
Brexit has fallen flat on its face and an increasing number of people are realising that. Plus people have more problems of their own, the cost of living crisis and the like, so being unpleasant to immigrants is less of a vote winner as most people understand that immigration isn't such a big issue.

There are quite a few people who back the "lower immigration now" stuff in the abstract, but fewer will when the choices are put to them.

They assumed that the new voters they got from Brexit are all like this, but they aren't. As I've said, I think lots of the vote was for more economic protectionism, and that "here's our big new free trade deal" isn't what they particularly want.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Looks like 30p Lee has been spoken to by the whips: his name has been taken off the New Conservatives letterhead/publicity materials...

[Youngian]

I don't know who this group is appealing to. The Tories have been drifting further right over the last few years and have been losing voters.

They’re appealing to care home patients and their families who’ve noticed the complexion of the staff are looking more like those people on Farage’s Breaking Point posters than Latvians. The Mail and Express aren’t screaming about it but word gets around about this Brexit betrayal.

Even with liberal immigration policies we may have to find ways of working smarter as demographic labour shortages intensify. A point for national consensus maybe but what possible intelligent ideas could Cates and Kruger contribute? They have none, just a bunch of nasty minded hecklers.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Deputy PM caught chucking about figure knocked up by Hunt's spads as "Treasury analysis".