love* in the time of plague (and by love* i mean brexit* and other dreary matters of uk politics)

passivity is one helluva drug

Matt DC correct, its not necessarily "I dislike those kind of people", it can just as easily be "those kind of people dislike me and wouldn't want me there""

I think the oppositional stance is counter-productive after a point, even if unintentional (eg thinking about how Bernie could have pivoted not in substance but in tone. Similar to Leicester City's 2015/2016 campaign where they were an insurgency in the early part of the season but started acting like league leaders once January hit, closing out games 1-0 instead of 3-2

"why are you making this political?"

This ties in here as well - the correct response to this is NOT "everything is political you clown" which concedes the framing, its "I've no idea what you're talking about lets get out there and do this". We don't have to acknowledge these traps and we don't have to walk into them

"those kind of people dislike me and wouldn't want me there"

this is ofc v powerful but it's also striking that there aren't many of these grassroots orgs devoid of any potentially offputting associations or affiliations, bc if they stick around long enough to be effective they tend to develop these associations all by themselves. this thinking is an excuse that symptomatic of underlying complacency

"I've no idea what you're talking about lets get out there and do this".

the focus on tangible action is ofc right but pretend incomprehension is imo at best a tactic not a strategy

this whole conception of the public as confused & mistrustful flowers who need to be carefully coaxed and guided is ultimately limited by being patronising and rests on a view of political (non)agency that is itself a major enemy of the left

i'm probably talking slightly at cross purposes here, in regard to actual right-wingers rather than regular members of the public that aren't necessarily political. Pretend incomprehension is too strong a term its more about deciding what you want to engage with people over. Inclusivity based on matter at hand, keeping focus on such and not going down sidestreets.

that sort of pretending not to understand is too yorkshire for me. you need to pick your battles but you also can't endlessly avoid stuff without consequences. tell them politics is power bb.

that sort of pretending not to understand is too yorkshire for me. you need to pick your battles but you also can't endlessly avoid stuff without consequences. tell them politics is power bb.

Never heard of it pal

i'm actually finding my current chats with friends who were bemused or even hostile last year (not pro tory but definitely not persuaded by lab) to be more heartening than i expected

i have a very very left-anarcho acquaintance who when you exasperatedly say "gah, people are such ____ !!" always says "people are many things", which i find useful

(i mean, she doesn't mean elon musk here, she means ppl she encounters when organising, which she does a lot of)

xp it's a wicked county

Still haven't received my letter from BJ, maybe they were all sent second class? Hopefully not signed for, that'll spread the virus like wildfire with poor old postie being the unwilling vector.

― threnody for the victims of alan shearer

I would like to register my strong approval of this display name.

Underlying what I'm saying is something about focusing on where there is agreement not where there is disagreement and building from there. Right wingers are adept at focusing on or creating disagreement (not just right wingers!) and its easy to fall into the trap, which is to shift the focus to where they want it, and not you. "China Virus" is a classic of the genre

xp seconded!

wonderful stuff

its not necessarily "I dislike those kind of people", it can just as easily be "those kind of people dislike me and wouldn't want me there""

It doesn't even need to be this strong fwiw, although both of those lines of thought exist, it could just be "this is for people who are in the club and I'm not in the club, I'll find something else". But in general the idea that, for example, people in vulnerable groups need food delivered to them right now is one that is shared by a very wide cross-section of people so it makes sense that other networks are springing up to ensure this happens.

FWIW locally there appears to be one church group doing this and a more nebulous community group just posting things through people's doors. Probably a few things on Facebook as well although that has the issue of being invisible to a lot of the people who most need to see it. No explicitly party political organisation at all that I can see.

Breaking: @tom_watson announced as new chair of @UK_Music - https://t.co/OX4vSGjil3 pic.twitter.com/e09t7apJf8

— Music Week (@MusicWeek) March 30, 2020

god help us

Somehow still better than his predecessor (Dugher) who it seems failed his mission to discover the new Beatles

Tom's search to find the new Shed Seven should be easier.

with the swagger of mike gapes

well at least that's one industry set for a bright future post-virus

BAGGYMPPPPP

Unlucky for Tom's diet book.

Remember the time Theresa May made a pissy statement about Cadbury’s not using the word “Easter” in an Easter egg hunt promo?

Small shops told Easter eggs are non-essential goods by police and local councils, trade body says https://t.co/eGbxmJXKcw

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 30, 2020

"This is a time when being excessively pedantic seems rather absurd."

gonna assume this bloke set foot in the UK for the first time ever this week

Sorry to interrupt lads, but the Chinese aid packages to the UK have this stamped on them, and I am absolutely, 100% gone. A brutal yet wholesome own. https://t.co/Y8uLqybRgA pic.twitter.com/9eR1dMhwlf

— Michael Oswell. Designer. Dreamweaver. Visionary. (@_MichaelOswell_) March 30, 2020

never forget these cunts are still at it:

Two of the most controversial planks of the so-called hostile environment policy have been amended to ensure they can still be carried out during the coronavirus outbreak, the Home Office has said.

The changes relate to right-to-rent and right-to-work checks - legal obligations placed on landlords and employers respectively to carry out immigration checks on prospective tenants and employees.

The right to rent and right to work checks were among some of the policy tools wrongly applied to members of the Windrush generation, ultimately leading to homelessness and unemployment in many cases.

Effective immediately, temporary changes will mean the Home Office will not require landlords and employers to see original documents and will allow checks to be undertaken over video calls.

These temporary changes will mean that during the coronavirus outbreak prospective renters and workers will now be able to submit scanned documents, rather than originals, to show they have a right to rent or right to work.

Migrants rights campaigners have long called for the checks to be scrapped and in the case of right to rent checks, the Government is challenging a High Court ruling that they are unlawful and incompatible with human rights legislation.

But the Home Office said the checks continue to be necessary and it is an offence to knowingly employ or let property to anyone who does not have legal immigration status in the UK.

The home secretary, Priti Patel, said: “I have introduced these temporary changes to help employers and landlords conduct checks more easily as people follow advice to stay at home to protect the NHS and save lives, during the coronavirus outbreak.”

Yup

Home Office is scaling back EU 'Settled Status' support as #coronavirus is stretching resources. Telephone helpline is suspended, ID documents can no longer be sent by post and some offices round the country to help vulnerable people with applications have closed. #brexit pic.twitter.com/LdCqafYRkj

— Georg von Harrach (@georgvh) March 30, 2020

Two of the most controversial planks of the so-called hostile environment policy have been amended to ensure they can still be carried out

I agree there are two planks who should be carried out.

Together with over 120 Labour MPs I am calling for an emergency £10 a week on child benefit whilst the economic effects of the virus is with us. And after this is over we must once again fight for a child poverty strategy to end this disgrace to our society for good.

— Lyn Brown 🌹 (@lynbrownmp) March 30, 2020

More like loose change amirite

Known coronavirus cases in the UK:

🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿 Eng: 18,606 (+2,109)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿 Sco: 1,563 (+179)
🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 Wal: 1,439 (+208)
🇬🇧 NI: 533 (+123)

Total Covid-19 related deaths:
1,408 (+80)

Chgs. w/ yesterday.https://t.co/W2sD872dcu pic.twitter.com/8v4NWCizpx

— Britain Elects (@britainelects) March 30, 2020

look at Welsh figures, not good considering they have a 40 %ish smaller population than Scotland. But at least they had a raucously rocking good time at that Sterophonics gig!

i was gonna suggest to Lyn Brown that if Labour had an all poverty strategy then that would cover kids as well, not sure why she's ok with adults being poor tbh

even in the darkest of days i think there's always time to revisit the classics

pic.twitter.com/4znmHemZKF

— RP Corp International Division (@RPCorpIntl) March 30, 2020

Just a pity we didn't send in Jack Regan to have a quiet word with Boris at the start of this crisis.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vTObZq2c15g

I see numbers for cases and it’s just meaningless to me. If you call 111 it just says “if you’re calling about having coronavirus hang up and take paracetemol unless you’re on the verge of death” essentially. So how on earth can anyone know the number of cases?

Yeah but park that for a sec, how are you doing?

hi Tracer, how're you doing? hope you're doing ok

xp!

Call your own GP for advice.

thanks dudes. I’m still in it. Cough is very mild and no shortness of breath which is giving me cause for optimism. odd flashes of pain in the base of my skull. nights are absolutely terrible. mornings i can barely tell i have it. untold numbers of family members sharing “one weird trick” etc

I should probably start a “my experience with the ‘rona” thread given how many of us will soon likely be able to contribute :|

Glad to hear it's bearable so far. And yeah, that sounds like a good thread idea.

It's good to see you are getting through it, Tracer 👍

Yeah best wishes dude

Interesting - KCL epidemiologist on BBC says loss of taste/smell, and extreme fatigue are proving to be more common symptoms in COVID19 than fever. UK have been criticised for focusing so narrowly on cough/fever as symptoms, compared to other countries eg France.

— Dawn Foster (@DawnHFoster) March 30, 2020

Saw Ted Knight do a talk a few weeks ago for new Lab members. It was by equal measures quite boring and yet at times very fiery and fearsome too.

I am so sad to hear that my old comrade Ted Knight has died. He was one of the finest and most courageous socialists I have known. He devoted his life to the greatest cause there is, humanity. https://t.co/eyKZfrboLa

— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) March 30, 2020

stet i’m so sorry to hear you got this.

i have fever at night but it disappears with the sun.

Hang in there pardner.

Get well stet :-)

Tuesday’s Mail: "Now 1 in 4 hospital doctors off work" #BBCPapers #TomorrowsPapersToday (via @MsHelicat) pic.twitter.com/kbF4enN1RN

— BBC News (UK) (@BBCNews) March 30, 2020

👏👏👏

fkn layabouts, some of them are probably foreign too