Free as a Dodo: UK Politics Welcomes 2021

*looks around at 120,000 dead, massive unemployment, surging eviction and unemployment rates, brexit-fuelled economic collapse, ever-increasing income inequality*

will no-one think of the landlords

I often do think of landlords when I'm applying some flea killing formula to the back of my dog's neck

is there any other sector of the economy where investors seem so convinced that the value of their assets, and the income they derive from them, is somehow divinely ordained and must therefore be protected at all costs

Oh look Hatt Mancock's been found to have acted unlawfully around the handing out of public contracts to his school chums, and there will be not even the vaguest suggestion of repercussions for him.

Hard to deny the Beeb and Nicholas Witchell are much more than a division of Buckingham Palace’s PR department. The barely contained rage here... pic.twitter.com/TfdaxlEHa1

— Phantom Power (@PhantomPower14) February 19, 2021

Could not give any less of a shit about Prince Harry of course, but am enjoying seeing how they've annoyed Nicholas Witchell so much they've given him a nervous twitch.

― Bastard Lakes (Camaraderie at Arms Length), Friday, 19 February 2021 13:07 (two hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lol, loving it!

I’ve always wondered what Witchell did that got him stuck with the Royal desk for 20+ years. He used to be the BBC’s frontline news presenter.

Though going by his recent form, he probably saw it as a promotion.

I guess it's quite a cushy number cosying up to the royals. Going on a few foreign trips to report on them, think I could hold my nose nad od that.

*and do*

I'd rather starve to death, living in a tent!

tir nad od

Prince Charles on Nicholas Witchell: "I can't bear that man. I mean, he's so awful, he really is." Pot/kettle obv but imagine continuing with the gig after that.

Was gonna mention..

Along with:

Harry:"You can't say that..!"
Charles:"Yes I can.."

A rare piece of good news:

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2021/feb/19/uber-drivers-workers-uk-supreme-court-rules-rights

― Scampo di tutti i Scampi (ShariVari), Friday, 19 February 2021 12:32 bookmarkflaglink

This *is* good, and is an example of legislation very gradually catching up globally, and differently for each market, with the numerous ways platform/gig economy models get their profit margin. as mentioned upthread i think, people who did one of the original surveys of the viability of the gig economy in 2015 updated the data a couple of years ago and found that there hadn't been anything like the uptake their data (at that time heavily weighted to Uber) had predicted. As well as being over reliant on Uber, their original predictions hadn't factored in the extent to which post GFC poverty was driving people taking up two jobs.

ofc we could set yet another 'stimulus' to the in-work poverty on which the likes of uber rely from covid. but legislation *is* catching up in a number of large markets, suggesting that one of the main innovations was simply that the business model enabled by internationally hosted platforms and local resources hadn't yet been regulated for. any company trying to do this again, would have to factor into their business model the likelihood that they would fall under labour regulation, so i'm pretty optimistic.

More importantly these business models are just *fucked* and rely heavily on future monopolies, to fulfil which aim they'll run at a massive loss funded by VC. FT piece here, paywalled, apologies, but really the headline says it all: Uber and Lyft’s valuations expose the gig economy to scrutiny: The platform business model faces challenges. Either customers or investors will pay.

it is immensely annoying for anyone that runs or is part of a moderately and sustainably profitable business is automatically more successful by tens of millions of pounds than the likes of Uber, but that models such as uberisation and platform based labour arbitration are held up as 'the future.' Consistent venturing of investment into unsustainable business models will do a great deal of damage to workforces as well as the intrinsic damage of having businesses that require people to work this way, so legislation is doubly welcome, even from a business point of view - ie people who are often hostile to supportive labour regulation.

weird how one form of entitled tossing it off is a life of public service and another form is history's greatest outrage

I'd rather starve to death, living in a tent!

― calzino, Friday, February 19, 2021 11:23 AM (three hours ago) bookmarkflaglink

lmao

According to a source, the departure of Oliver Lewis - or “Sonic” - from Downing St was because “Carrie wants [Henry] Newman running the Union” - ie the unit charged with keeping Scotland in the UK, which was Lewis’s job. This shows not that Carrie Symonds is necessarily... https://t.co/PN4FdTosdo

— Robert Peston (@Peston) February 19, 2021

the puppet on a string PM!

Taking back control! (pt. 94)

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-43729508?fbclid=IwAR2t4k7eco46lM9lNGBPxSYMHnSgEHMqHkETfs0Ty_XsVLYI0ZlfyxwvZRc

at least you can eat your fish & chips by the sea in Southend

Shocked Hull didn't make the charts but there are a lot of plus points to living somewhere cheap

course not, why would they, and why would you

Sir Keir Starmer says he will not be calling for Matt Hancock to resign over the unlawful publishing of covid contracts saying "calling for people to resign is not what the public really want to see" #ridge

— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) February 21, 2021

I hate him so much.

nobody wants to see government ministers held to account for criminal corruption

it's weird i thought Kieth was big on prosecuting people

its almost like he's completely incapable of learning anything from policies that directly cause the deaths of tens of thousands of people

six months ago:

My message to the Prime Minister: I don’t just want all children back at school next month, I expect them back at school.

No ifs, no buts, no equivocation. https://t.co/Q00nsGFH8u

— Keir Starmer (@Keir_Starmer) August 16, 2020

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer backs the govt's plan to get all pupils back in school on 8 March. Education unions have called for a phased approach & say the PM's plan is "reckless". Starmer says we need to be guided by the data #ridge

— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) February 21, 2021

(on phone or I wld have thrown in death figures ((ie data)) by timeframe, and him demanding schools reopen two months ago, too)

who would vote for this man

Sir Keir Starmer on his football strategy - "I’m a midfield player in the middle of the pitch, I like to think I’m a box-to-box player which means across the whole pitch" #ridge

— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) February 21, 2021

he needs putting in a box for sure

even all the top melts are dismayed that he's not calling for a corrupt minister's head

they all wanted a grown-up to replace Corbz and now they are complaining that he's soft and useless, it's almost like they want to keep their melt soufflé and eat it as well!

i guess he doesn't want to shift focus from this week's huge policy blitz which the public are still obsessively scrutinising

On reflection I agree he shouldn't resign.....

He should be sacked & then in court!

pic.twitter.com/0dZhiW7IBY

— Jon Trickett MP (@jon_trickett) February 21, 2021

Not even close to an opposition. Pathetic.

Burnham is just as bad as Kieth for being a soft melty shite cross-party bro towards bent Tory ministers who get caught bang-to-rights at it. It's almost like they consider corruption all part of the game.

it's weird i thought Kieth was big on prosecuting people

Suspect he is going softly softly because Labour’s complicit in this due to their inaction and he knows it. It’s that Rentoul tweet about “I hope there’s no inquiry, we don’t need to blame people for this” but as policy.

🐦[Sir Keir Starmer on his football strategy - "I’m a midfield player in the middle of the pitch, I like to think I’m a box-to-box player which means across the whole pitch" #ridge🕸
— Rob Powell (@robpowellnews) February 21, 2021🕸]🐦

Doesn't get that "box to box" and "across the pitch" are not the same thing.

Darren Anderton was a super player, barring injuries

Hes Eric Dier, would have passed off as ok in a successful outfit when everything was working around him and given a tailored role, but put him in the boss man seat and not only does he fuck it and everything around him but his own reactions show his utter unsuitability for the actual profession and he absolutely should be executed

Sorry that turned out more about dier in the end

nobody wants to see government ministers held to account for criminal corruption

I'm assuming this is the No. 1 story on all news outlets? Or are Meghan, Harry and Phil still hogging the limelight?

Anderton was great when he wasn’t injured but how often was that? Starmer was distinguished as a lawyer but absolutely flatlining as leader, hence Anderton.

Doesn't get that "box to box" and "across the pitch" are not the same thing.

It's almost like he hasn't a clue about football but he thinks it'll go down well with the proles.

He plays five a said everybody's box to box ffs

I play just behind the front one in five-a-side.

Kieth the diaphanous midfielder that tries to use his powers of invisibility to prevent managers and fans alike from realising how fucking shit he is.

One of the problems with focus groups is that people say a lot of "common-sense" stuff about bi-partisanship that in reality has very little effect on their actual voting behaviour https://t.co/YbbZpKmB0F

— Jack Saundrs ❤🖤 (@jack_saundrs) February 21, 2021

The moment the shitpost left went mainstream. https://t.co/peabqW4VYv

— Michael S (@ScanlanWithAnA) February 21, 2021

Welcome to the Resistance, Wales

Current drugs laws don’t work. Gangs, Class As, violence, deaths. The status quo has failed.
It’s time for reform.
Time for cannabis decriminalisation.
Time for devolution of the criminal justice system.
Time for substances to be treated as a health issue. https://t.co/9nkbMWkvW7

— Leanne Wood 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿 (@LeanneWood) February 21, 2021