[davidjay]

This is the thing. If I was on the anti-woke right, my line would be "credible allegations against a man who the liberal left took to their hearts".

Wouldn't blame Jones too much for that judgement. He writes a column and campaigns on stuff. He wasn't one of the showbiz insiders or managers who are implicated.

You know that's way too deep for them. It's much easier to say he's being got at for speaking Truth and you lot never said this about Huw Edwards.

[Andy McDandy]

In the media, there's a line, quite a way up the hierarchy. Above that line, you are an asset, a playa, no longer one of the easily replaceable peons scrabbling around for a break. You are a name, a face. In the words of Len Grossman*, welcome to the goodie room.

Go up past that line and you become used to getting whatever you want. As Charlie Brooker put it, one day you're apologising to a junior researcher for asking them if they could get a cup of tea. The next, you're roaring at them for not bringing it to you fast enough, or on the little carriage as you asked for.

Everyone I've seen defending him has, so far, been above the line.

*Character played by Tom Cruise in the film "Tropic Thunder".

[MisterMuncher]

Respectfully, I don't know that "man accepts endorsement from currently popular figure without perfect future knowledge" is much of an own.

[mattomac]

Yup it’s the people defending him today that are the issue

[Youngian]

Got the message from Ed Miliband that a Russell Brand endorsement was not a good thing as too many people found him an annoying verbose twat. But no reason to believe there was anything sinister about him, his heart seemed to be in the right place.

[Philip Marlow]

It's pretty awful but still miles better than anything written by Bad Writing Takes.

No, it really isn’t. Not even remotely.

Honestly, it must be killing the GBeebies crew that they can’t properly weaponise that photo of Jones with Brand, y’know, since he’s being set up by The Man and all.

[The Weeping Angel]

No Bad Writing Takes is a truly terrible account. Meanwhile Owen is now going down to I barely knew him line with regards to Russell Brand.

[Oboogie]

See also:

[Tubby Isaacs]

Hadn't seen this. Famously good faith political operator, Chuck Grassley, taken seriously by Owen.

It would be a stretch to call Liz Truss "Reaganite", given the difference in size of the state between the UK and the US.. Let alone Rachel Reeves. If not putting up taxes is "Reaganite", irrespective of the starting point, then Emmanuel Macron is Reaganite.

Anyway, Reeves didn't say "no tax rises".

[Youngian]

A Senator for Iowa, not a stand on your two feet free marketeer for corn growers then.

[Killer Whale]

Hmmm...
Reagan tripled the national debt in three years. His was smoke and mirrors economics that pretended to be about responsibility, but in practice was about borrowing to put money into the pockets of the upper middle class.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Real terms increases in spending too (albeit mostly on Defence). I think on balance Rachel Reeves is unlikely to spend 5% of GDP on Defence,

[The Weeping Angel]

Hadn't seen this. Famously good faith political operator, Chuck Grassley, taken seriously by Owen.

It would be a stretch to call Liz Truss "Reaganite", given the difference in size of the state between the UK and the US.. Let alone Rachel Reeves. If not putting up taxes is "Reaganite", irrespective of the starting point, then Emmanuel Macron is Reaganite.

Anyway, Reeves didn't say "no tax rises".

Reagan also cut taxes which Rachel Reeves hasn't actually proposed.

[Watchman]

Hmmm...
Reagan tripled the national debt in three years. His was smoke and mirrors economics that pretended to be about responsibility, but in practice was about borrowing to put money into the pockets of the upper middle class.

Somethings never change

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Being an utter wanker on the Sophy Ridge programme on Sky...

[Malcolm Armsteen]

(over Palestine)

And he wasn't impressed by Starmer's speech, wanted him to make grandiose promises yawn yawn...

[Malcolm Armsteen]

[Youngian]

Wouldn’t be much point in having Owen on speed dial if he didn’t have a whiney rebuttal to the Labour leadership. But he holds no post just a bloke on the telly who likes politics.

[The Weeping Angel]

Owen has read Starmer's statement from yesterday and has concluded that's he's a racist.

[Yug]

An interesting take the boy Jones has there. Totally unconnected with any form of rational reality, but interesting none the less.