Free as a Dodo: UK Politics Welcomes 2021

Yougov has it CON 45 LAB 32

I used to think YouGov were biased and often the outlier amongst pollsters in adding a couple of points to the Tories (apart from crunch time) when Jez was leader. Now I put them at the top of my UK's Most Accurate Pollster chart.

got to hand it to kieth, he is well on his way to opening up that fabled 20-point gap between labour and the tories

https://resize.hswstatic.com/w_290/gif/bungled-personal-flight-attempt-1.jpg

Starmer’s approach of trying to introduce himself to the public as someone they can imagine as prime minister at some point in the future, as a reasonable person who shares their instincts and offers “constructive opposition” rather than constant attacks, and as someone who is distinctively different in approach and style from the previous leader they rejected so decisively, has been sensible.

quoted from the Tom Hamilton piece

*How* exactly is Rishi Sunak bringing austerity back to public services?

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A thread…🧵1/

— Ben Chu (@BenChu_) March 4, 2021

we've a got a tory government blatantly doing continuity austerity but repeatedly saying they aren't doing it in their messaging and then a fuckwitted opposition effectively talking up austerity (with some weak repudiations of it that have zero cut through) and trying to fight them on 2015 terms again.

A senior staffer recently told victims at a Windrush engagement event that compensation is wildly delayed (and has to be squeezed like blood from stone when it does come) because @ukhomeoffice has to be careful, what with it being taxpayer money.

https://t.co/cW9PpJQzE7

— Windrush Lives (@WindrushLives) March 4, 2021

I guess the austerity rhetoric still works for racism. would be nice if someone was challenging either of those things

I take it taxpayers actually means "us" (tories/state/bourgeoisie/etc) but is supposed to be understood as meaning all white citizens- who are themselves trusted to pretend to understand it literally while also pretending to forget the victims would qualify if that were the case- so many layers of shit to the seemingly-gratuitous cruelty here. not even touching the six figures

except to say it obviously makes a mockery of the whole pretense, and also that patel is evil but bullying home office civil servants is extremely good

if you can survive working with Priti it's good money. I'm going to stop playing Euromillions and start applying for every vacancy in the home office.

"An aide in the DWP received a £25,000 government payout after a threatened lawsuit in which Patel was named."

although I've noticed they have one level of out of court settlement for plebs and then the premium one for the billy big bollocks Knight Commander of the Order.

pic.twitter.com/lGFFfptSPe

— P.G. Chodehouse (@mynnoj) March 5, 2021

gif of the week

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/EvvAhoHXIAAsN7N?format=jpg&name=900x900

Tim fucking Henman and Anthea Turner. Jesus, some our top epidemiology experts are bad enough without these fuckwitted dilettantes putting their oar in.

Lee Hurst top billing like it's 1996.

he's probably never even played a comedy gig to a crowd that matches full capacity Henman Hill. Tiger Tim won't be pleased.

Incredible that this conversation started with whether or not Pacific Rim was abject shite.

Ah good old Twitter. https://t.co/uHf88AfnnL

— Blurst of times (@Alec_Eiffel85) March 6, 2021

Friday night discourse. Bush labelling some shitposter "Antisemite Twitter" for harmlessly poking fun out of his daft, possibly drunk post about Pacific Rim and his stanning for that awful pro-Kieth, Tom Hamilton piece.

If I was going to call someone an antisemite for no reason, I guess I’d also pick someone who doesn’t exist, whose avi is a carefully manipulated picture of Michael Ball, and whose name is a comic corruption of an Irish hunger striker. I mean — legally — where’s the problem?

— Elvis Buñuelo (@Mr_Considerate) March 6, 2021

I hope you're not downplaying the problem of non-existent anti-Semites on the Left?

no, that's even worse than inferring they are a huge national SS unit of evil cultists who don't even understand the finer points of Pacific Rim

How it started How it’s going pic.twitter.com/568WEdij1v

— Matt Zarb-Cousin (@mattzarb) March 5, 2021

tbf if it was Ashworth the BBC wouldn't let on then we aren't really missing much anyway

lol, it's student politics to complain about bbc bias said the adults

it's really slack of me. I worked in the Windhill area of Bradford for years and must passed through that junction (albeit as a half asleep passenger) literally thousands of times.

lol meant for Guess The City thread

Sue Cook's name on that list above really confirms its Accidental Partridge character.

Bill Oddie is a bit lower down the list

lol, was thinking exactly the same

I was delighted to nominate Cuba’s internationalist doctors for the Nobel Peace Prize.https://t.co/oUID4HHoId

— Jeremy Corbyn (@jeremycorbyn) March 6, 2021

Cuba.

it's Jermy Righton, amirite?

I have been puzzling over why none of the commentariat has called this budget out for what it is: an austerity budget. Let me first justify why its an austerity budget. 2010 austerity had two aspects. The first was shrinking the state: a large squeeze in public spending 1/13

— simon wren-lewis (@sjwrenlewis) March 5, 2021

GMB British Gas strikers take 28th day of action @GMB_union #StopTheBritishGasFire https://t.co/tL9Y7eUyXS pic.twitter.com/fqGJf3eFqL

— UnionNewsUK (@Union_NewsUK) March 6, 2021

one of the big austerity hawks of the previous cabinet, Phil Hammond, was advising caution (from the comfort of his top job in an investment bank) when they were feeding out the corporation tax rise stuff, which was just really flying a kite and setting an easy trap for Kieth to fall for. I've not heard him complaining much since because the budget in the cold light of day doesn't really differ that much from what he'd have done. They've changed the messaging a bit, although Theresa May declared "austerity is over" twice iirc.

Farage no longer Reform leader, presumably going to focus more on being the Little English Limbaugh

Safe in the hands of the next London Mayor, Laurence Fox

they could probably do with just one more completely frivolous candidate entering the fray, just to split the negligible "anti-woke" statue humping vote a little bit more.

Negligible?

last time I looked Khan had a 20 odd point lead.

i got a brian rose leaflet through my door the other day. had no idea who he was. picture has him wearing a red tie and pocket square, very labour. apparently he’s launched kickstarters to fund a covid denialism website and a series of “accelerate your business” videos which are basically pyramid schemes. how the fuck are people like this not only 1) not in jail but 2) running for mayor?? this guy might as well have a flashing sign strapped to his head that says CON ARTIST

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Ekm41JrWkAALe0q.jpg

lool!

Ohhh you meant in London, okay yes

He looks like the spiv who used to leaflet my block offering to buy ‘old gold’ that people might have languishing in a ‘draw’. Best of all, he had a yute sidekick in a tracksuit who looked like seriously rough trade.

he's got a strong "unlicensed body building supplements" energy about him

looks like a peter serafinowicz character.

didn't realise there was an election until I got a shaun bailey leaflet, which is just fascinating in how cagey it is about which party it's from

pretty sure he was the baddie in Line of Duty last night

https://cdn-0.enacademic.com/pictures/enwiki/87/Warrior_Issue_20_Page_01_Front_Cover.jpg

"the man with no time for crime"

nothing worse than a supposed crim who is a bit too busy for any law-breaking

The Queen is to address the nation in a televised speech at 5pm today https://t.co/0ucEvTOPUh

— Manchester News MEN (@MENnewsdesk) March 7, 2021

"are you ready to laugh?"

A tsunami of national grief to follow... Looool!