It is incredible how a lot of the people who were saying we absolutely must get children back to school as quickly as possible so they can eat properly are the same people apparently unwilling to feed them in any other capacity.
Wouldn't be surprised if the government u-turned on this one - you can ignore Labour comfortably but ignoring England's Marcus Rashford is more difficult - and Rashford is potentially exposing himself to a hate campaign that would dwarf anything faced by Raheem Sterling in its virulence.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:29 (three years ago) link
Someone I went to school with was doing the whole "disgraceful, these people died for our freedoms" thing on Facebook over a picture of a defaced monument of some Confederate general with minimal impact on modern Britain but he was getting such a virtual shitkicking from several of the black people who went to our school that I just sat there and watched and then quietly defriended him. A lot of people will just kneejerk into these kinds of arguments and they can be prompted to do so with extreme ease, as the government has realised.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:32 (three years ago) link
Someone on Twitter described the mobilisation of nationalist thugs in the service of a controversy entirely generated by the government as 'weapon testing', which has a grim ring of truth about it.
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:34 (three years ago) link
Be interesting to see the reception rashford gets from the crowd at spurs oh wait
― Boris the Spreader (NickB), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:35 (three years ago) link
Rashford is the right colour for a hate campaign, true
― Subverted by buggery (Tom D.), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:39 (three years ago) link
It certainly doesn't help when you get grandstanding Labour idiots like Sheerman fuelling the braindead culture war by angrily responding in the local rag to a tweet by a nobody with 7 likes saying hey lets take the H Wilson statue down!
― calzino, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 09:44 (three years ago) link
my former childminder sharing a post on Facebook by some army cunt doxxing a woman for "supporting graffiti on the churchill statue" - I try to report it for harassment and it asks me "who is this post harassing?" with the two options being "me" and "a friend" - tried the second and it gave me a dropdown list of my Facebook friends. so apparently doxxing is fine on Facebook.
― Anti-Cop Ponceortium (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:09 (three years ago) link
maybe those white middle-aged men are just all fans of Middlemarch?
Wait till they discover George identifies as a woman.
― BRAVE THE AFRIAD (onimo), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:13 (three years ago) link
The horrifying thing is right now we have a group of people who are absolutely convinced that they are an oppressed minority under siege, a government very happy to encourage that idea, and an economic situation that is about to lead to rapidly spiraling unemployment.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:14 (three years ago) link
With people like Andrew Marr throwing phrases like 'culture war' around.
― Subverted by buggery (Tom D.), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:17 (three years ago) link
Yeah it’s grim as fuck.
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:18 (three years ago) link
there was a good piece by Charlotte Higgins the other day that pointed out that if Boris was even half as polished a classicist as he pretends to be, he'd know that the Romans were absolute buggers for cancellation culture, taking down statues and monuments, altering them to erase people who weren't cutting it in the political milieu of their era any more.
― calzino, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:20 (three years ago) link
One export that we can rely on:
New Zealand ends Covid-free run with two cases from UK https://t.co/jxiFnmnf3P— The Guardian (@guardian) June 16, 2020
― ShariVari, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:26 (three years ago) link
Tory backbenchers are coming out against the government in support of the school meals thing now by the way. If that rebellion grows, and if the policy is playing well in former Red Wall seats, then the government might fold. Labour strategy appears to be trying to split Westminster Tories off from the government on specific issues and it does seem to be effective in terms of forcing individual policy changes.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 10:28 (three years ago) link
On the Mirza appointment:
i think maybe bc i have to deal with them more i’ve seen more contempt for longer, including what doesn’t hit press. eg a home office official asking me post-windrush whether it was simply my organisation’s view that the human rights act applies to migrants.— gracie mae bradley (@graciemaybe) June 16, 2020
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 11:44 (three years ago) link
Re: declining trust in the UK print and broadcast media after GE2019, these are from a long piece I'm currently writing. pic.twitter.com/o6PldYUtLN— Juliet. (@zinovievletter) June 16, 2020
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 11:47 (three years ago) link
Good news:
Not so. The government is not opposing this Lab motion. We will be unveiling significant extra support for kids today. Well done @MarcusRashford . We support you in speaking up for vulnerable children https://t.co/eQN2fTWA0m— Gary Streeter MP (@garystreeterSWD) June 16, 2020
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 11:59 (three years ago) link
BREAKING: @BorisJohnson has U-turned on summer free school meals for England.🚨An extra £120m to be spent on extending vouchers through summer holidays.🚨Huge victory for @MarcusRashford + other campaigners— Paul Waugh (@paulwaugh) June 16, 2020
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:03 (three years ago) link
Erect a statue of Marcus Rashford in every town in Britain as far as I'm concerned.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:03 (three years ago) link
lol get fucked boris
― Prosecutor Bradley Tankerton (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:04 (three years ago) link
that Juliet Jacques piece is depressing af but should be read by every daft bastard who thinks the left can win thru the media
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:08 (three years ago) link
£120 million is such a tiny amount that the real story is that the cunt had to have his arm twisted in the first place
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:10 (three years ago) link
otm
― Prosecutor Bradley Tankerton (bizarro gazzara), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:10 (three years ago) link
This is good although yes it makes Rashford more of a target for abuse - might've been even better if e.g. a group of players across different clubs could've got together on it to help mitigate that and ultimately it's still fucked up that a famous individual might be able to prompt police change in ways organised collectives can't. NHS workers from overseas are apparently still paying extra for healthcare.
― nashwan, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:11 (three years ago) link
The problem for the government was that as a policy it was just too popular, same as scrapping the NHS surcharge for foreign care workers (even if that hasn't actually happened yet). Tory backbenchers appear to be very susceptible to this kind of pressure right now and can be flaked off from the government especially as something snowballs and particulary when there are highly regarded celebrities involved. Boris has u-turned or conceded something virtually every week since returning from the rona ward.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:16 (three years ago) link
as i say, the economic cost of this u-turn is effectively nil and it's easily spun as Boris listening to his people and choosing to do the right thing. there's no victory in this except hopefully slightly less malnutrition.
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:18 (three years ago) link
bought Carrie her own laptop even xp
― nashwan, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:18 (three years ago) link
Slightly less malnutrition is the bit that really matters.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:19 (three years ago) link
The campaign should continue really, the government is evidently reluctant to concede even a fraction of the argument that it might be its responsibility to prevent its own citizens from starving.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:26 (three years ago) link
it's easily spun as Boris listening to his people and choosing to do the right thing
Even Laura K doesn't seem to think so.
Question many Tories asking is why on earth Govt tried to fight this anyway - one says it was ‘mental’, another that it’s a ‘shambles’ and they’ll now get no credit for it— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) June 16, 2020
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:29 (three years ago) link
hey it's all good, anything is better than nothing.
i expect Laura will be back on her meds by teatime.
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:31 (three years ago) link
a savvy opposition should be extending this argument to "people in the UK are starving and what are you gonna do?", you're right about that
I'm not sure the list of people who care about Boris' u-turns is ever going to include Boris, though.
― Andrew Farrell, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:37 (three years ago) link
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/health-53061281
What the fuck is going on this lunchtime? This isn't even the top story.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:40 (three years ago) link
yeah I just heard about that on R4 and was thinking this must be quite a big deal really.
― calzino, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:43 (three years ago) link
Lads.
We did it! Thank you to everyone who campaigned for #HolidaysWithoutHunger 🙌 https://t.co/pXgTzSKJXC— The Labour Party (@UKLabour) June 16, 2020
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:56 (three years ago) link
canny political instincts there
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:58 (three years ago) link
It woz starmzy that won it!
― calzino, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:59 (three years ago) link
oh my
― Ste, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 12:59 (three years ago) link
Not to take anything away from Rashford but it is kind of odd that so many people who until recently strongly identified as Rebecca Long-Bailey supporters appear to be totally unaware of what she's been doing.— Dan Davies (@dsquareddigest) June 16, 2020
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:00 (three years ago) link
RL-B has been pushing for schools to remain closed and for extension of food vouchers through the summer almost entirely unsupported by the leadership. Starmer didn’t even retweet her schools tweets and that ghoul Rachel Reeves was despatched to the studios to talk about reopening schools! So absolutely not having that at all.
― scampos mentis (gyac), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:05 (three years ago) link
Let's not overlook JOLYON on all this
Very proud at the part @GoodLawProject has played, alongside @UKSustain, @MarcusRashford, @RLong_Bailey and some other fine campaigners, in forcing this switcheroo. The threat of litigation certainly sharpens minds. https://t.co/62WeBIXYDw— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) June 16, 2020
― nashwan, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:06 (three years ago) link
everybody loves a bandwagon
nb of course Rashford wasn't the only person advocating for the extension BUT
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:07 (three years ago) link
Yeah what an insult it is to be undermined by that fucking arsehole Reeves talking over your brief. Props to RLB
― calzino, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:11 (three years ago) link
it is striking that rashford has got more out of the govt than nearly any opposition politician, makes me think back to chinese criticisms of british-style western democracy, where you give a blank cheque to the ppl you hate the least, and the idea it's more important to be able to influence the ppl who are in power than be able to pick who they are
― rumpy riser (ogmor), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:13 (three years ago) link
that dan davies tweet is ridiculous, conflating supporting a leadership bid with being a loyal fan
― rumpy riser (ogmor), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:14 (three years ago) link
Be very interested to know who it was that originally approached Rashford about this, I'm guessing one of the charities or campaigning orgs that have been involved.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:16 (three years ago) link
Whichever individual had the idea has probably been on the socially distanced lash for a couple of hours already.
― Matt DC, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:19 (three years ago) link
Marcus Rashford looking up ‘leader of the opposition’ on Google Images pic.twitter.com/I2rhEKxTdD— Rhys (@rhysrmann) June 16, 2020
― comparing me to Harold Shipman is unfair (Noodle Vague), Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:37 (three years ago) link
People who pay attention knew RLB was on it but also know she has been undermined (or at least doing the job of opposition in a quiet way). She doesn't cut through.
― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 16 June 2020 13:40 (three years ago) link