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

With Corbyn courteous and polite was feeble and ineffective, with Starmer it's the second coming.

Fairly certain he came on himself by the end of this thread

Already, after just a few minutes, there's been more scrutiny - in the practical sense of the word - of the govt position than we've seen from the leader of the opposition for five years. Starmer is actually listening to the answers and then asking questions of them.

— Ian Dunt (@IanDunt) April 22, 2020

Stephen Kinnock *standing up in his own living room* to ask a question in parliament is Full Kit Wanker behaviour.

— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) April 22, 2020

Lol what a dickhead

WE..lp

Welcome to the MPs who were appointed to the Women and Equalities Committee last night.

We will be announcing our future work over the next few weeks. pic.twitter.com/TEgXhxNbL6

— Women & Equalities Committee (@Commonswomequ) March 3, 2020

41,000 people dead and not a single one of them is Dunt

I'm sure the 8 million non-white people in the country will be delighted that Gibbo4Darlo was the diversity pick there xp.

Re Starmer's powerful, forensic, penetrating performance:

“yeah could you tweet something like “powerful and forensic performance by kier starmer in today’s PMQs”. like obviously not that word for word, put your own spin on it “ pic.twitter.com/pFQwaI6YCf

— jonathan nunn (@demarionunn) April 22, 2020

you would think one of them would have an ounce of shame no wait maybe you wouldn't

Sir Meltalot corrected Raab on some figures, zounds! he's like a human abacus!

Kim Johnson is black, she is just light skinned. I think a couple of members may be lgbt as well but yeah, looks terrible.

Not a dry seat in the lobby when Starmer’s at the dispatch box.

good to see ed davey looking statesmanlike in these challenging times

https://i.guim.co.uk/img/media/068c9af7c0dd2425685d66f93fefb6c88937acb8/144_142_3141_1885/master/3141.jpg?width=620&quality=45&auto=format&fit=max&dpr=2&s=51b9824f1507f0c4c049e1264c529059

at least he's wearing trousers i guess

Can someone just take a minute to Photoshop the word 'SHOOT' onto that whiteboard please?

Which MP is most likely to have set up an 'office' somehow even worse than that? I'm gonna say Mark Francois.

It's a good job Simon Danczuk isn't in Parliament right now.

Bringing this guy back for selection to own the left

https://youtu.be/078q4F1TDnY

I'm quite impressed with that setup tbh. He's got a Jabra, he's got a decent camera in eyeline, he's got his notes doc in eyeline, he's doing massively better than half my colleagues

wait why is some cunt wittering about "our nuclear deterrent" on the radio?

Wondering whether Whitty was authorised to say that social distancing will be required for the rest of 2020? It's probably true but also feels off-message - not to mention it requires the government to write an even more gigantic cheque.

Break: I am told that a very tense meeting of the executive of the Conservative backbench committee 1922 has just concluded. Every Tory MP at the meeting and every MP who dialled in expressed deep concern at the impact of the lockdown on business

— Nicholas Watt (@nicholaswatt) April 22, 2020

go cry about it you top-hatted fucks

fuck business iirc

clap for wealth creators

English identity, civic nationalism and a compulsory civic service – @DavidLammy's St. George's Day long read: https://t.co/dz60vm3e43

— LabourList (@LabourList) April 23, 2020

I feel sorry for the Lamster when you see some of the racist replies here, but with all due respect you can shove your compulsory civic service up yer arse pal!

tbf to Lammy, and you're right racists should die, but can he not draw connections between those responses and his dream of a cuddly nationalism?

One of the most overrated politicians ever.

he most certainly doesn't make the connections, he's been quite consistently spouting such old school conservatism (discipline, nationalism, corporal punishment ..etc) for years now.

First, credibility and trust. Issues of credibility and trust started before Jeremy Corbyn, I think there were issues for *Ed Miliband and were actually issues for **Gordon Brown. Second, making sure the policy platform that Labour is presenting is chiming with the electorate.

*Jewish
**Scottish

This is really not the time to be reheating half-arsed thinkpieces from three years ago.

This kind of endless thinking aloud that Labour politicians feel impelled to do is wearying at the best of times let alone in a pandemic when no one gives a shit.

Regional controls on immigration are also a terrible idea. It doesn't look like a great deal has been learned since the Miliband era wrt how to deal with this stuff.

The timing is presumably because he has a book to hawk.

I found that whilst I obviously had a degree of familiarity with many of my London MP colleagues, actually I got on very, very well MPs representing places outside London – Slough, Reading, Dartford, and Peterborough

LOL, what a dipstick.

I actually can't read that, it's so abysmal.

Just in time for the end of universities (except the ones the rich and privileged can get into):

The marketisation of HE continues to be shown to be a farce since there is nothing to sell or buy. The things universities need to do right now—educate and care for students as individuals—are given no value. Disheartening. https://t.co/Ro3aNexO4G

— Dr Lauren Redhead 🐝 (@laurenredhead) April 23, 2020

Slough, Reading, Dartford, and Peterborough

Country and Western?

Rent deferrals are a terrible policy, when are the political class going to get it?

It's been confirmed by Keir Starmer's team that Labour still supports rent deferrals during the coronavirus crisis, as called for by Corbyn as leader.

— Sienna Rodgers (@siennamarla) April 22, 2020

Labour must return to getting these three fundamental aspects of opposition right:

First, credibility and trust. Issues of credibility and trust started before Jeremy Corbyn, I think there were issues for Ed Miliband and were actually issues for Gordon Brown.

Ahahaha FFS...where do you start with this start

I think the Treasury will blink on bailing out universities, if not necessarily all of them. UK HE is one of the only marketable brands the country has and it's an important engine of soft power. If, as i suspect, this is going to be a multi-year disruption, though, it's going to be extremely expensive.

jesus that lammy article. trying to work out how he squares

Addressing issues of poverty and brutal unfairness because of class are not sufficient. It seems to me, that you still have to have an account of the nation; that’s really important.

with

I recall with joy and humour my first pints in the Farmers Arms in Peterborough. At a certain point in my life I had gone to watch ‘the Posh’, which is Peterborough United, not Spurs! I spent some of my life as a lawyer in California, and pined for Ribena, Walker’s crisps, the kind of grey sky and nature of England. What I mean is that Englishness, it seems to me, is quite important.

Walker's fucking crisps. He's completely clueless.

so the hashtag #ProudToBeEnglish is trending this morning and as a company which has been on the streets of london meeting y'all daily for several centuries I can assure you this is not the hill you want to die on

— Henry Sotheran Ltd (@Sotherans) April 23, 2020

this thread is ok

like, this is fucked, that thing probly cant stnd up on it's own honestly cruel pic.twitter.com/hdNKPw43zL

— NHS SUSAN (@despairgenie) April 23, 2020

Oh right, it's St George's Day is it? That explain, and the fact that he's got a book coming out, explains the Lammy idiocy.

I genuinely can't work out if this is parody or not

https://www.spectator.co.uk/article/spectator-writers-in-lockdown-by-the-people-stuck-with-them

Just imagine being locked down with any of those people. It doesn't bear thinking about.

Reader, they married them in the first place

Idly wondering how long it will take for Toby Young's new puppy to realise he's a cunt.

Some people reading this will think, “I bet he changes his tune if he gets the virus.” In fact, I’ve got the virus. I became symptomatic seven days ago, have been bedridden ever since and am now anxiously waiting to see if the disease spreads to my lungs. I’m 56 with no underlying health conditions, so my odds are good. But if the Government follows my advice, and it turns out that by the time I require urgent care the NHS cannot accommodate me, I won’t regret writing this.

...

Toby spent the first week of lockdown in bed convinced he had coronavirus. He didn’t. He is a complete hypochondriac at the best of times and this pandemic has sent his anxiety levels through the roof. He was so worried about catching it that the stress led to a bout of shingles which is what actually laid him up. But Toby was convinced and started taking hydroxychloroquine, vitamin C and anything else he’d read might alleviate symptoms. There was also a lot of temperature-taking, as well as doing some ridiculous breathing test that has now been discredited.

amazing