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

Tweets on Tues fell below standards I set myself as well as those expected of me by constituents & Keir Starmer’s Labour Party. As a patriot, I’m v angry about those damaging the UK, undermining our values whilst abusing our flag, but that must not tip into foul language. Sorry.

— Neil Coyle (@coyleneil) August 27, 2020

lool!

lol check out the tiny story at the very bottom of the page
https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EgdJVvoXkAAaakr?format=jpg&name=large

Matt is away

needs to count his money some days!

also "The BBC show which welcomes a conservative view" - what an absolute enigma, just can't believe it etc!

I campaigned for Neil Coyle to be elected in the first place, because Labour sent me to that constituency. I didn't know who he was or anything. I suppose no-one did at that point. I have often rather regretted it since.

we've all given support to people who turned out to be disappointments. Kieth Starmer's mum must be kicking herself.

That’s not rain outside, it’s the Labour Party pissing down your neck.

Just abysmal stuff pic.twitter.com/dsoCKWvJnH

— black lives matter (@jrc1921) August 28, 2020

Vote Labour for Your Usual Way of Life is a strong message tbf

The polling is pretty starkly against going back to offices (except from over-65s) so definite vote-winner stance again

it's just cargo cult Brownism at this point

👌

Not to mention those for whom work is their only escape from an abusive spouse.

— Isabel Hardman (@IsabelHardman) August 28, 2020

i think that was meant for the "bad faith" thread

I'm obviously not planning to go back to work any time soon but city centres completely stripped of retail, arts, hospitality and service jobs is a pretty bleak prospect. It's easy to say 'cities will adapt, people will retrain, etc' but much harder to imagine how it'll work in practice.

Yeah, well what about getting some me-time away from your partner who left politics rather than be investigated for sexual harassment of a young woman doing work experience?

Has anyone pointed out to her that there's very little actually preventing people from going into the office if they want to?

Quite a lot of companies are forbidding it, I know mine is for most people.

They have a limited amount of bookable, distanced hot desks for people (in bc4). Need team lead approval though.

All the corridors, kitchen, toilet areas are one-way. Temps are being taking on entry.

But, yes, space for a fraction of normal numbers

Breathtaking - the DfE actually now advising schools to plan for local lockdowns, at 7.30pm on the Friday of a bank holiday weekend, with schools either opened or opening next week. https://t.co/GCPNlQKsXI

— Richard Adams (@RichardA) August 28, 2020

"we must, first, help Henderson or Snowden to beat Lloyd George and Churchill (or, rather, compel the former to beat the latter, because the former are afraid of their victory!); second, we must help the majority of the working class to be convinced by their own experience that we are right"

Reminded recently of Vardy's quote on resolve, when talking here about that goal against Liverpool

Hardman's view is a crazy one that people have been repeating for 5 months.

If anyone is being abused, at home, that is awful.

But 'go to work so you don't have to be with that person quite so much' is not an optimal solution to that problem.

And as a solution to that problem, it is not good enough to justify the other problems it causes (viz: public death and serious damage to public health).

As I said, it's text book bad faith. I don't believe her main concern for people returning to work is to protect people in abusive relationships.

Mass anti vaxx protest in Trafalgar Square.

Hell is empty and all the devils are here. pic.twitter.com/TLi7DBr0dO

— Expect resistance 🚩 (@Simon_P_Hannah) August 29, 2020

david icke, qanon, at least one BUF flag on display

btw fuck this absolute cunt. no wonder he & corbs are so comfortable hanging out with SWP front groups. labour was never good or even ok

After visiting #Assange in prison I became even surer that this is an innocent man, a political prisoner,whose life is being taken from him day by day as a result of the acquiescence of the government to American dictat.All who believe in justice have a duty to demand his release https://t.co/A3FcB7S5ui

— John McDonnell MP (@johnmcdonnellMP) August 29, 2020

I know this is a pretty standard position esp in bloke-left and conspiracy-left circles but that doesn’t make it any better. every prisoner is political but the one time people actually give a shit about incarceration is when it’s a rapist who promotes nazi talking points. fuck everything

Observer back on their tactical voting bullshit

How Labour climbed 26 points to match the Tories in opinion polls https://t.co/s1ExbxdLx5

— Guardian politics (@GdnPolitics) August 29, 2020

Toby Helm was an absolutely transparent Corbyn-basher before he started blowing Nandy and Starmer. Just look through his bylines. Truly “campaigning journalism”!

Acres and acres of this sort of thing:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/may/25/tom-watson-labour-must-back-second-brexit-referendum

Clearly there is no further need for John McDonnell now that we have Comrade Rishi.

I finally get why people do that annoying clapping hands emoji thing on Twitter now. Individual polls four years out from an election prove nobody's point and it's daft pretending otherwise.

What matters is consistent direction of travel, and this should really be framed as a story about the Tories tanking. Their poll lead was frothy, admittedly, a combination of a honeymoon PM and unprecedented historical circumstances, but losing it is going to provoke some rancorous plotting among Tory backbenchers.

It's also worth emphasising, time and time again, that line in the Dominic Cummings job advert about the govt having no reason to worry about short-term unpopularity. They won't give a shit about this, the backbenchers who keep going on TV to defend policies that then get scrapped might feel otherwise.

If Labour have gone from 28 to 40, have they climbed 26?

If the Cons are on 40 they're hardly 'tanking'.

Yeah I think they are tanking if a range polls show them at 35. That could happen as Brexit is implemented or there is some kind of property crash..

The fact that the gvrnment have implemented a £10,000 fine to anyone caught playing music or encouraging a crowd in Notting Hill this weekend, but encouraged street gatherings for VE DAY during the height of the pandemic says EVERYTHING about the treatment of black ppl in the UK.

— 🅼🅰🆂🅷. (@MarkAshleyD) August 30, 2020

one aspect of the selective easing of lockdown is that its remained most stringent in restricting any non-commercial form of social gathering, you can't have a big birthday party in your house, but you could have 30 people round to the pub no bother.

we regret to inform you that West Wing porn is still big business

https://www.newstatesman.com/politics/uk/2020/08/liberal-democrats-don-t-need-listen-they-need-lead

headline otm

The numbers here look really, really bad. A very tough Xmas to come for many ppl.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2020/aug/31/low-demand-for-uk-office-workers-media-software-finance-reveals-asymmetric-recovery

one aspect of the selective easing of lockdown is that its remained most stringent in restricting any non-commercial form of social gathering, you can't have a big birthday party in your house, but you could have 30 people round to the pub no bother.

― plax (ico), Monday, 31 August 2020 08:35 (fourteen hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

Currently working out which beloved friends and family don't make the final 15 from 4 households in my garden for my son's 21st and hoping the weather isn't shit.

Meanwhile the local Spoons will be as chocka as pretend social distancing allows.

(also fully aware half of the country doesn't even have a garden in which to put up a shitty last minute ebay gazebo)

Cursed paragraphs

ANDREW NEIL lost it on Monday’s edition of This Morning as he weighed in on the controversy surrounding an image singer Adele posted of herself marking Notting Hill Carnival celebrations at home this weekend.

yeah i thought she looked like Katy Perry too Andrew

Try Glasgow less then

Also in Scotch news

EXC: James Kelly quits Scottish Labour shadow cabinet and calls on Richard Leonard to resignhttps://t.co/cNPfUrquyw

— Paul Hutcheon (@paulhutcheon) September 1, 2020

I know, I know, reading PMQs in the Guardian isn't self-care, but the state of this.

Sir Keir Starmer also pays his condolences to the rail crash victims. And he pays tribute to John Hume, the former SDLP leader who died during the recess.

Turing to the A level grade debacle, he asks when the PM first knew there was a problem with the algorithm.

Johnson says he and Gavin Williamson understand how difficult it has been for parents and pupils.

He says the government did act. Students know have their grades. Will Starmer congratulate those students?

Starmer says he has already congratulated students. But Johnson ignored the question, either because he did not know, or because he did know and did nothing. So when did he know?

Johnson says Ofqual said the system was robust. He accuses Starmer of undermining confidence. He says Labour still does not support children going back to school. Will Starmer say schools are safe?

Starmer says Johnson has a tin ear. He says Labour has said it wants pupils back. Kate Green, the shadow education secretary, said so in the Commons yesterday. The government has no grip. That’s right, isn’t it?

Johnson says Starmer wanted to stay in the EU. He backed an IRA-condoning Labour leader.

Johnson condones the Internet Research Agency does he not

Hasn't he got an ex-IRA as an MP?

https://amp.theguardian.com/politics/2020/sep/02/cummings-recruit-sacked-after-suggesting-police-use-live-rounds-on-blm-protesters?