Free as a Dodo: UK Politics Welcomes 2021

They truly have a cheek calling that Ballardian nightmare a park, it should be called The Zone or something.

Lol yeah, that’s bleak as fuck

When the Spectator was on John/Doughty Street, BJ could regularly be found in the Duke of York pub on Clerkenwell Road playing table football with the cycle couriers (it was also a major place to score weed/Class As from same).

> He says he would like to see the PM doing daily press conferences.

and the problem with daily press conferences is that occasionally p patel gets to do one (today at 5). what would she have to say that requires a special press conference?

Mods please arrange for a sub-Tarkovsky at best production at the former Olympic park

( more here - https://www.boredpanda.com/abandoned-olympic-venues/ )

the horror of the "if they can't afford kids they shouldn't have them" daily mail reaction aside, the photos of these fucking food parcels seem to be doing their job. Whichever galaxy brain thought they spotted an opportunity to bung some money to their mates while appearing to cave to Marcus Rashford should be made to live off them for a month.

and today they've chosen Priti Patel to face the music. amazing.

As if anyone in the room is going to ask proper questions about this, or challenge the kind of answers Peepee likes to give about humanitarian concerns.

the joy of Patel is you almost don't need to ask a probing question. you can ask her whether she thinks it will be sunny tomorrow and she'll spin it into an answer about how we need to bring back hanging. cf Politico asking "what will you do to relax and Christmas" and her answering "i'll look back fondly on my memories of BOOTING IN THE DOOR OF IMMIGRANTS WITH THE COPS"

when does scottish election campaigning start in earnest lads

5pm today?

What with her and Gavin Williamson there aren't half some dimwits in this current cabinet.

The company that did those awful free school meals also do catering for private schools pic.twitter.com/vYrxjUCkdw

— Tom (@genericshitname) January 12, 2021

wtf kind of school has canapes

goes without saying how fucked up this but sadly I don't even find it shocking

the horror of the "if they can't afford kids they shouldn't have them" daily mail reaction aside, the photos of these fucking food parcels seem to be doing their job. Whichever galaxy brain thought they spotted an opportunity to bung some money to their mates while appearing to cave to Marcus Rashford should be made to live off them for a month.

They can just "cave" again and install some new plan that's still deeply corrupt but a little more veiledn. That's the current govt's shtick and since most things don't get found out it works pretty well tbf.

wtf kind of school has canapes

The answer is, every school should have canapes.

when I was a kid I used to think the dinner ladies at the school canteen ate all everything from the leftover bin, so they'd be eating a mixture of boiled cabbage, pink custard and cold roast potatoes.

Westminster Voting Intention:

CON: 40% (-1)
LAB: 37% (-2)
LDM: 8% (=)
SNP: 4% (-1)
GRN: 4% (=)

Via @SavantaComRes, 8-10 Jan.
Changes w/ 18-21 Dec.

— Election Maps UK (@ElectionMapsUK) January 12, 2021

You do have to wonder how sweaty that big pink head is rn.

I'm slightly confused by the 'Morrisons etc ban maskless shoppers' thing; weren't they alreay banned? Isn't that what a mask order does?

I assume this means they'll be sending all their staff with medical exemptions home too.

stop Kieth stop you're killing 'em

I know Sainsburys and I think a few others said they wouldn't enforce mask wearing when the govt announced mandatory masks. So technically banned but the only way to enforce would be if someone called the cops.

sometimes I think some folk were fibbing about Kieth and he's not very forensic at all.

great some more cop threats and population blaming, that was a very worthwhile and helpful press conference

+5 for the next poll

don't remember a Home Secretary with this much "bullied at school" energy since Jack Straw

the horror of the "if they can't afford kids they shouldn't have them" daily mail reaction aside, the photos of these fucking food parcels seem to be doing their job. Whichever galaxy brain thought they spotted an opportunity to bung some money to their mates while appearing to cave to Marcus Rashford should be made to live off them for a month.

and today they've chosen Priti Patel to face the music. amazing.

― stet, Tuesday, January 12, 2021 5:14 AM (four hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

the thing about these "if they can't afford kids they shouldn't have them" ideas, that even if you, for devil's advocate reasons, accept that premise as correct, the kids haven't done anything to deserve not having enough to fucking eat!

The birth rate has gone drastically down anyway so riddle me this: who will be the next set of deliveroo-style servants? They'll be begging the country to procreate.

try telling them that unemployment is a structural element of market economies

when I was a kid I used to think the dinner ladies at the school canteen ate all everything from the leftover bin, so they'd be eating a mixture of boiled cabbage, pink custard and cold roast potatoes.

Ugh, you got that pink custard too? *boak*

The birth rate has gone drastically down anyway so riddle me this: who will be the next set of deliveroo-style servants? They'll be begging the country to procreate.

gulf country* ffs

Sainsburys have emailed today saying you need a mask unless medically exempt and will be challenged.
but yes I thought this was already The Law

the thing about these "if they can't afford kids they shouldn't have them" ideas, that even if you, for devil's advocate reasons, accept that premise as correct, the kids haven't done anything to deserve not having enough to fucking eat!

― Fenners' Pen (jim in vancouver), Tuesday, 12 January 2021 17:28 (forty-one minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

The birth rate has gone drastically down anyway so riddle me this: who will be the next set of deliveroo-style servants? They'll be begging the country to procreate.

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 12 January 2021 17:34 (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

otm, otm

Maybe ye could've 'afforded' the kids before the incident

carrots have remained so consistently cheap in recent years that anyone approving of a policy of putting a quarter of a carrot into a food hamper should be subject to a summary execution by firing squad.

hear hear *bangs gavel*

otm

The birth rate has gone drastically down anyway so riddle me this: who will be the next set of deliveroo-style servants? They'll be begging the country to procreate.

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 12 January 2021 17:34 (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

Lol the retirement age keeps going up for a reason. I’m gonna be 87, on a moped, getting some toff a McDonalds, just counting the days till I can finally retire or crash to fiery death.

the "if you can't afford kids" narrative is completely backwards, around the world countries without a social safety net have much larger family sizes because you need kids to look after you when you get old.

Something deeply spiritually impoverished in how we all consume a 5pm daily death total from a press conference alone at a screen, no moment of silence, no wishing that those lost rest in peace, or anything that would bring people to share in the enormity of grief for a moment

— Sean Bernard (@seanbgoneill) January 12, 2021

The birth rate has gone drastically down anyway so riddle me this: who will be the next set of deliveroo-style servants? They'll be begging the country to procreate.

― xyzzzz__, Tuesday, 12 January 2021 17:34 (thirty-five minutes ago) bookmarkflaglink

yep https://knock-la.com/vons-fires-delivery-drivers-prop-22-e899ee24ffd0

most cretinous twitter take on that voting intention poll: "kier seems to be outperforming the rest of the team"

Westminster voting intention:

CON: 41% (+1)
LAB: 37% (-)
LDEM: 8% (-1)
GRN: 5% (-1)
REFUK: 2% (+2)

via
@RedfieldWilton
, 11 Jan
Chgs. w/ 02 Dec

some more great news for the Starmtroopers and lol @ REFUK

hypothetical: as a simple measure of the state of the UK electorate those poll numbers would look no different if Crumhorn was still leader of the Labour Party

The economics of a system in which Amazon apparently believes it makes financial sense to offer to next-day courier eighty pence worth of salt to me is fascinating.

I think the jury is probably still out on whether Deliveroo can make money. It seems very likely it can’t make money competing with UberEats and JustEat, though. I could see consolidation/ monopolisation being a route out of total collapse.

Cool

Temporary morgues set up as UK hospitals run out of space https://t.co/OiA4xJhtrC pic.twitter.com/yqDYPECagc

— Reuters (@Reuters) January 12, 2021