"we'll change the things that need changing and that's all we'll change": the paSUKification of post-brexit politics 2021

oh and

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2021/dec/20/jewish-woman-accused-antisemitism-labour-threatens-sue-anti-zionism

An 82-year-old Jewish woman, who is being investigated by Labour for alleged antisemitism...

I'm sure there was a time when something like this would be considered completely absurd.

I read that thing about being a protected belief under the equality act and thought “I bet this cites that fucking Forstater case” and sure enough…thing is the latest review of said case does conclude that, but it basically also says one has the right to an opinion but not to disseminate it in the workplace or use it to harass people. Still though, Bindmans don’t fuck around.

After nearly 7 years, in April I'm moving on from best daily reporting job + the most wonderful team in the business. It's been an honour and an amazing ride - more to come in 2022! With love + thanks to all at @BBCPolitics

— Laura Kuenssberg (@bbclaurak) December 20, 2021

Aww, glad she gets to work directly for Tory Comms now, her dream job

Laura replacing Allegra would just be chef's kiss

Rats/sinking ship

It will be interesting to note the change of her tone now she's free of the shackles of BBC impartiality

Later, Ms Murray tweeted: “Today Jeremy Corbyn went to his local mosque for Visit My Mosque Day, and was attacked by a Brexiteer. Rachel Riley tweets that Corbyn deserves to be violently attacked because he is a Nazi. This woman is as dangerous as she is stupid. Nobody should engage with her. Ever.”

that seems like a very reasonable tweet to be considered defamatory in a court of law and have to pay 10k in damages to RR... ffs!

Riley said she was being sarcastic in her tweet, did not call Corbyn a Nazi, and told the judge that Murray’s tweet caused serious harm to her reputation.

The entitlement just drips out of that quote like rancid goose fat

Hopefully someone’s going to be able to take the £10k off her with a libel action of their own.

It’s a weird judgement, tbh, and I’d guess it hasn’t gone before a jury.

top reply to Laura K's tweet being from Pippa Crerar telling her she's "smashed it" is just unreal

An outbreak of white feminist girlbossing on Melt Twitter? I CANNOT BELIEVE IT.

squeezing the pips out of politics

The highest compliment I can pay Laura is that after 7 years in the BBC’s top political job, with countless hours on screen and many conversations off-screen, I have no idea what her personal political views are or how she votes in a general election. A true professional. https://t.co/SfblLcE8ge

— Wes Streeting MP (@wesstreeting) December 20, 2021

hahahahahahahahahahahahaha

with political acumen like that who needs enemies

McShitter will never top that post!

That is him there.

Gotta say my feeling is that this is correct.

Breaking:

Boris Johnson is unlikely to impose further Covid restrictions before Christmas after delaying a decision today

No announcement is expected today - ministers don't think the data is there, despite warnings from scientistshttps://t.co/GGzYSCAm90

— Steven Swinford (@Steven_Swinford) December 20, 2021

SAGE models are like 600 - 6000 deaths a day and I'm like 'hmmm...really?'

A cabinet minister was briefing the Telegraph yesterday that only the ‘fanatics’ Javid and Gove wanted further restrictions. The idea of bringing in some limits in January sounds plausible but I’d be pretty surprised if it’s the full Step 2 list.

Riley said she was being sarcastic in her tweet, did not call Corbyn a Nazi, and told the judge that Murray’s tweet caused serious harm to her reputation.

The entitlement just drips out of that quote like rancid goose fat

― the fifth housemate (Matt #2), Monday, 20 December 2021 13:15

How is this sarcasm supposed to be working? She actually meant it's very bad advice to not be a nazi? Or she prefers people are nazis if it means they get hit with eggs?

Save-A-Christmas
Save-A-Christmas
Save-A-Christmas
ScrewANew/NextYear

I think Murray might have won had she quote-tweeted Riley rather than making her statement absent of context. Also interesting to see the scope of the damages were restricted because Riley clearly intended her initial tweet to be provocative.

The delay on packages for businesses will mean lots of working class people who work those jobs not being able to work and make rent in the coldest months of the year. Haven't heard shit from Lab besides support for Laura K today.

Johnson pool 3/

* Get boosted

* Restrictions? “We are looking at all kinds of things to keep Omicron under control and we can rule nothing out”

* Help for hospitality? Packages are already in place and we will keep everything under view

— Sam Coates Sky (@SamCoatesSky) December 20, 2021

imagine giving more of a fuck about Laura k than the welfare of millions of workers when you are the party of Labour, just a purposeless gang of career pol arseholes

Not much in the data so far.

There are fewer Covid patients in UK hospitals (7,611) than there were at the beginning of the week (7,697), a month ago (8,071), and two months ago (8,007).
We're at one fifth of last winter's peak. pic.twitter.com/iHxqJFrgvy

— Oliver Smith (@ollysmithtravel) December 19, 2021

This was a piece on the London vaccination rates (which are reported as being a bit low).

I wrote a blog for @UKandEU about vaccination rates in London after that story in @thetimes last week that 1/3 of Londoners were unvaccinated.

Spoilers: it's almost certainly wrong. Very wrong.https://t.co/yGHjFky8hI

— Colin Angus (@VictimOfMaths) December 20, 2021

this is an utterly baffling statement pic.twitter.com/gtvICoLNr3

— 𝔐𝔞𝔤𝔫𝔢𝔱𝔰 🧲 (@PerthshireMags) December 21, 2021

https://labourhub.org.uk/2021/12/21/a-letter-from-north-shropshire/

a short piece by the previous N Shropshire Labour candidate on a missed opportunity. All the usual Starmer shit went on: rigged selection process that gave it to some melt advisor who locals didn't like, self-defeating leaks from his office to the Graun, lack of resources to run a serious campaign. Although perhaps Starmer not visiting the place, not even once, is the only thing they did right tbf.

Lol I wonder how many of the Comms wonks are feeding back to Kieth that the nation thinks he's a wanker

Would you even want the opportunity to be taken by a party so indistinguishable from the Lib Dems that they don't even contest them?

didn't the LibDems vote against the spycops bill? It doesn't really take a lot to better on civil rights than Labour rn.

The Lib Dems are full of noble ideas until they get a sniff of power when they instantly revert to being Tory cunts.

Moran is def in the top 5% of MPs, voting-record-wise, but given the gig she's in there has to be something amiss. If she'd won leadership they'd definitely be pitching left of Labour rn, for what little that's worth

I feel this thread hasn't done a deep-dive on the latest Green co-leaders, they seem kinda sound

You do that - nobody else here gives a shit.

They're kinda clean-energy technocrats tbh, but they don't necessarily seem horrid

Jobs and lots of small businesses might go under.

Average award looks set to be just over £3,000 per venue.
Easily less than a day’s typical revenue for many at this time of year.
And unlike last time - there’s no furlough to cover wage costs and protect incomes. https://t.co/y7qeoiAhHq

— Duncan Weldon (@DuncanWeldon) December 21, 2021

lots of barely closeted racism in a terminally unfunny Novara baiting thread from the melts today because apparently non-British sounding names are hilarious or something. Lol good old ilx lurker and very enthusiastic live music fan John McT isn't happy about it and called it out as a stupid and offensive attack on a group of people whom he both likes and supports.

That thread is very odd because it just doesn't correspond to any kind of reality.

Part of the concept was 'surname is like a brand of snacks' - as if 'Sarkar' or 'Bastani' sound like crisps? ... They ... don't. I suppose 'Walker' actually does sound like crisps. But do those people now think it's laughable to be called 'Walker'?

It's poor even on its own incredibly poor terms.

Quite good to hear about this reaction from JMcT.

I have expressed my disgust at this before, supposedly left ppl making jokes like "Milo Yianopopopopoulos" etc, or making fun of Thangnam Debbonaire's name, I don't really get how those are non-racist gags, regardless of the politics of the target. I think anyone doing that shows themselves up to be a buffoon tbh

I went to find the thread & unless I’m misremembering it’s by that ultra misogynist troll who’s mates with Rowling

Seems to be the one bit of good news I saw today.

This is a really heartening step in the right direction. I watched some of those evidence sessions and the fact that the Committee had a who's-who of anti-trans campaigners in to give evidence & STILL produced these recommendations calling for wide reform of the GRA says so much. https://t.co/jCBZ0nWO4y

— Moya Lothian-Mclean (@mlothianmclean) December 21, 2021

NEW: The Met Police has referred itself to the police watchdog over its decision not to investigate the Downing Street Christmas party despite video evidence leaked to @itvnews.
https://t.co/5cukfpR4sX

— Paul Brand (@PaulBrandITV) December 21, 2021

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z_JOGmXpe5I

Great analogy.

Extraordinary story.

This Wales thing of fining workers for not working from home is a joke/misunderstanding right? If not it is so incredibly fucked up.

"If they move, fine them!"

I know it's that fucking Boris garden picture but looking at everything else in this letter you ask yourself what will the collective trauma result in overtime?

Letter to the @guardian pic.twitter.com/7zV9QVuH1p

— Miranda Sawyer (@msmirandasawyer) December 22, 2021