[Youngian]

It reminds me of the story of Chelsea players referring to Frank Lampard as the 'Professor'. because he had a few GCSE's.

Matt Le Tessier’s team mates called him a poof for reading the Guardian. Is he now their respected intellectual guru?

[Spoonman]

It reminds me of the story of Chelsea players referring to Frank Lampard as the 'Professor'. because he had a few GCSE's.

Matt Le Tessier’s team mates called him a poof for reading the Guardian. Is he now their respected intellectual guru?

Pretty sure that was Graham Le Saux, was it not? I can't recall Le Tessier even being referred to as some sort of intellectual during his playing days.

[Tubby Isaacs]

According to Sky News presenter Sophie Ridge, Tory MPs are telling her 'that the problem with the PM is that while he may be a first class academic he is a fifth rate politician.' What does this say about the calibre of the current crop of Tory MPs if they regard Rishi as some kind of intellectual heavy weight. It reminds me of the story of Chelsea players referring to Frank Lampard as the 'Professor'. because he had a few GCSE's.

He wrote a pamphlet on freeports before they were fashionable (or rather before everyone was casting about desperately for Brexit benefits). That basically makes him Keynes in the current Tory Party.

[Andy McDandy]

If he's a Keynes, it's Milton.

[davidjay]

It reminds me of the story of Chelsea players referring to Frank Lampard as the 'Professor'. because he had a few GCSE's.

Matt Le Tessier’s team mates called him a poof for reading the Guardian. Is he now their respected intellectual guru?

Pretty sure that was Graham Le Saux, was it not? I can't recall Le Tessier even being referred to as some sort of intellectual during his playing days.

Pat Nevin. Read the Guardian, liked the Cocteau Twins.

[Youngian]

It reminds me of the story of Chelsea players referring to Frank Lampard as the 'Professor'. because he had a few GCSE's.

Matt Le Tessier’s team mates called him a poof for reading the Guardian. Is he now their respected intellectual guru?

Pretty sure that was Graham Le Saux, was it not? I can't recall Le Tessier even being referred to as some sort of intellectual during his playing days.

Yes it was, my mistake

[Tubby Isaacs]

There was actually a case for changing these, because they will make building lots of extra housing harder. But I'll take the political win as partial payback for Brexit, where they told shedloads of lies about how nothing would change.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Sunak apparently deferring to Miriam Cates now. I'm no expert but I reckon Sunak ought to worry less about the crank church vote, and a bit more about "Blue Wall" Lib Dems.

[satnav]

With Friday's storm leaving death and destruction in its wake a number of people have been asking why has Sunak not been visiting the areas worst hit by the storm. Presumably he won't becoming to Chesterfield we don't have a Tory MP. I seem to remember that Johnson was nowhere to be seen when we had serious floods shortly before the Covid pandemic.

[kreuzberger]

Does Chesterfield have an airport? (There's your problem, right there...)

[Yug]

It does have open spaces large enough for helicopters to land.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

It does have open spaces large enough for helicopters to land.

If it has floats.

[Tubby Isaacs]

- How are the polls? Surely now there's an international crisis, people are returning to the natural party of government?

- No.

[satnav]

I see Rishi has remedied his non-appearance at any of the flooding sites by dispatching Therese Coffey to comfort the flood victims. Haven't these people suffered enough?

[Tubby Isaacs]

More of those long term decisions.

Goodbye, rail investment, hello more money for bus subsidies now.

[Boiler]

I'll see that bollocks, and raise you this:

Rishi Sunak and the great HS2 ‘released funding’ con. part 4.

This morning certain national and other newspapers are uncritically rehashing a DfT press release, claiming that money released from scapping phase 2 of HS2 is going to fund new bus services next year.

This is very frustrating because those newspapers and journalists are helping the government publicise the con. Not one of the journos has stopped to think, do any analysis, or ask any awkward questions. For example, discussing the theoretical size of the slice of a non-existent pie rather than pointing out the fact the pie itself doesn’t exist. Is it any wonder people in the UK are so woefully ill-informed when members of the 4th estate become an uncritical arm of government propaganda?

Instead of having a new green railway, the modern spine of our crumbling network which is beset by Climate Change we’ll have what to show for the money? Nothing – apart from the abandoned, half built structures on HS2’s route to Crewe – a monument to Rishi Sunak and this governments short-term thinking and lies.

It’s no wonder some perceptive commentators are calling Sunak ‘Truss lite’. This is similar to her economic madness of borrowing money from the markets to fund tax cuts.

Yet again Rishi Sunak is trying to con you with ‘jam tomorrow’ – and large sections of the media are helping him to do it.

Mr. Bigland's blog is well worth reading if you're into transport matters (and railway photography).

[satnav]

Mark Harper also seems to be trying to claim credit for the £2 bus fare cap even though it was originally introduced by Andy Burnham and some other Labour mayors in the North.

[Boiler]

Mark Harper also seems to be trying to claim credit for the £2 bus fare cap even though it was originally introduced by Andy Burnham and some other Labour mayors in the North.

But as pointed out before, not all operators cap their fares; my local independent doesn't. Stagecoach certainly do, having used them a bit recently (including today).

[Tubby Isaacs]

Don't normally retweet this guy, but this doesn't look good. I wouldn't call it corruption- the developer has something that's a lot more valuable than it was this time last year. Not many former prisons or air bases sitting around waiting to be converted into Spartan accomodation for asylum seekers. The real issue here is incompetence from Sunak himself who vetoed funding capacity when he was Chancellor. Go for that. Corruption makes the government look too much like evil geniuses.

[Boiler]

Do we know if any remediation work was carried out by the developers - be it asbestos removal or even demolition?