ForenSix Opposition - Politics in the Soon To Be Former UK in Autumn 2020

Good thinking, avoiding any plot twist that could be undone by the presence of a mobile phone.

otm

i can't wait to hate-read excerpts of this on twitter tbh

I certainly hope Pesto isn't killed in a hit and run in the near future

huge striker by steve bruce vibes pic.twitter.com/xAT0ItaA8e

— cruyff guy (@clxpnd) October 2, 2020

End of discussion frankly.

Lets get that on Ian Penman's desk, give him some proper meat for the next LRB.

100% this is ghost written by the way, Peston is basically always working afaict, he doesn't have time to write even a shitty novel, unless he's literally been working on it since 1997.

I dunno man Gil Peck's work doesn't seem that onerous, you can save a lot of time by never fact-checking

Wait did he actually name his alter ego after two imperial measures?

Could've gone with Robin Carbonara ffs

Gil Peck Heron

the infection will not be herd immunitized

Is tweeting stupid questions about five times a day really “always working” though

it is if you're a lazy dullard

i speak from a place of deep personal experience

I have time to write a shit novel I simply choose not to, my protagonist would be called Rod Ounce

Isn't he basically always on TV? IDK, he seems very difficult to avoid right now.

nah gyac rumbled me ages ago, I've been on ITV while Pesto was writing this book

BREAKING: Downing Street has refused to call for Covid-positive MP Margaret Ferrier to resign.https://t.co/bF3ux0wKSM

— HeraldScotland (@heraldscotland) October 2, 2020

'Colonel Poo' is surely a primer suspect in The Whistle Blower?

(xpost - hmmm, I wonder why?)

Have to say in the Corbyn situation the fact it was a wake arguably makes it worse from a public messaging point of view, thousands of people this year have been unable to attend the funerals or wakes of their loved ones and that will continue to be the case because of the rule of six, it just reinforces that 'one rule for them' dismissiveness and, at worst, fuels the ongoing rage.

The story isn't gaining traction because the Ferrier situation is transparently so much worse, the government doesn't want to draw attention to these breaches for obvious reasons, and because most of the country stopped caring what Corbyn does and doesn't do months ago.

I'd care to argue one way or another on this when I heard (which was a few hours before it was posted here) but I just don't give a shit. Corbyn isn't the leader.

I mean it's also a good example of why immediately putting your hands up and going "I fucked up, I'll pay the fine" is better than trying to hide it or explain it away.

Coopers still won't have him pay the fine tho, lol.

*coppers, so'z

"I fucked up, I'll pay the fine"

Sorry but that's still pure "one rule for them" privilege.

it does give off strong "i'll park where i like" vibes

It is but it kills the story.

Also he was a guest and not the organiser, it’s the responsibility of the organiser to limit numbers.

My @guardian story: Hundreds of thousands who lost jobs in pandemic denied universal credit, official figures show https://t.co/vPIRWJIhk8

— Patrick Butler (@patrickjbutler) October 1, 2020

Piece on the FT blog on the EU lab markets looks v bad, even if the support schemes across the EU are better than UC.

About 26% of new universal credit claimants are from managerial, administrative and professional backgrounds, according to findings by the ESRC-funded Welfare at a Social Distance academic research project, a trend that may bring fresh scrutiny of a welfare system designed primarily for people on low incomes.

damn, they are treating them as badly as they do to working poor people, this calls for reforms.

The number of people who seem surprised the system is in such bad shame is one of the main reasons why the Tories have been able to get away with it for so long. There isn't really any reason to be surprised at this stage but it does show quite how little attention a lot of people pay to what's going on.

"I had assumed that we still live in a society where there was a safety net for people who from no fault of their own need support at time of crisis."

Idk I distinctly remember spending some time in a north London jobcentre about 7/8 years back and watching a a posh man raging at staff because he was an architect and got the same rate as everyone else... if they didn’t know by then I don’t know if you’d ever get through to them.

Nobody votes Tory because they're blissfully unaware of poverty

Grenfell Tower providing a big charred reminder of that.

if i was an architect, i would simply be good enough at my job that i would never be a position where i needed to claim universal credit

#dishyRishi please come to our rescue!

Literally the worst kind of pricks, he’s not even attractive and he’s way to the right of Johnson.

Politics Hot is a v different ballgame to normal standards of hotness tbf

He’s not even the best-looking male Asian Tory with hideous politics! That’s Ranil Jayawardena!

Don't start me on Priti again please

> Grenfell Tower providing a big charred reminder of that.

they very quickly wrapped it in a green <3 Grenfell covering so it wasn't an eyesore for all those people living in the new expensive flats that used to be television centre.

I'd love to tell the architect: you think this is shit money, pal. Wait till you see some of the brutalist jobs we've got lined up for you!

lol I can remember being almost as pompous as the architect when I signed on for a 6 weeks in between a company liquidation and a new job. "Do you mind madam, I don't work in biscuit factories.. I'm an apprentice trained fully qualified professional you know". lol that would be an instant sanction these days.

Wait til they find out they're supposed to do 35 hours a week of job searches if they're going to be allowed to collect their pittance

Have to say the people interviewed in that Guardian piece don't come across as natural Tories, we know full well how many people enthusiastically endorsed eviscerating the benefits system. Architect sounds awful though.

Like, you would think the collision of the middle classes with UC would drive a change in government policy but if it's mostly going to affect young or metropolitan Labour or even LibDem voters the government will conclude it can probably cope with a few people complaining to the Guardian. But a trickle is likely to become a flood including in areas they actually care about.

They've been all over Radio 4 too so it's definitely affecting Tories

sowing ... reaping, sympathy rating minus ten etc!