Boris Johnson!

Seriously?!?! There are people that deliberately don’t vote and are proud of it?

I've never voted, wouldn't claim to be "proud of it" just never have

Agree @dazh, I wonder why they’re in the spoons at 10am drinking

Or maybe your one dimensional, snobbish and ignorant analysis

I grew up on a council estate with parents on the dole. Thanks for your judgement

I wonder why they’re in the spoons at 10am drinking

And I wonder how they can afford it - every day of the week

dahz nice selective quoting there. Of course we couldnt possibly accept that there are actually people out there who are actually responsible for their current situation and it's not all the fault of society.

I grew up on a council estate

Doesn't matter where you come from. Your comment was snobbish and ignorant, especially as you should have a better understanding of such things given your background. Poor people drink a lot. I'm amazed that surprises you.

I see another MP has handed a letter in

Still don't think it's enough

Crazy thing is he's now shaking the magic money tree like mad

But people still can't stand him

https://twitter.com/RedfieldWilton/status/1529854990881259522?s=19

Poor people drink a lot.

Apparently so do those at 'the top' in Downing Street.

**** me, it looks like I'm even a centrist when it comes to alcohol.

🤦

Doesn’t matter where you come from. Your comment was snobbish and ignorant, especially as you should have a better understanding of such things given your background. Poor people drink a lot. I’m amazed that surprises you.

As stumpy said - nice selective quoting.

I drink a lot - I can afford to

I made a choice to not be like my parents and make something of my life. I see people from the same estate drinking in the town's spoons all day, every day. How do they afford it?

And I wonder how they can afford it – every day of the week

Because drinking in weatherspoons is cheaper than buying meths these days.

But yeah, you would expect people with financial difficulties to have a part-time drinking problem - not everyday ffs.

Largest lead for Labour since invasion of Ukraine.

Blimey, the largest lead Labour has had since the invasion of Ukraine is 9% ?!?

I guess there hasn't been too many bad headlines for the government. Perhaps a few negative headlines for Johnson will push the Labour lead into double figures.

Oh, ok, I give in. No one at all chooses not to work and they ONLY sit in the pub all day to drown out their abject misery because society has dealt them such a crap hand. I'm so stupid to think they would choose that lifestyle.

SOME Poor people drink a lot

FTFY rather unpleasant of you to tar all poor people with the same brush, many 'poor work bloody and manage to keep tgeir shift together despite what inequalities life throws at them.

especially as you should have a better understanding of such things given your background

Maybe he does because of his background. I've had the privilege of knowing a few people who have worked to get away from their background, they are are often the most vocal critics of people who succumb to their circumstances.

rather unpleasant of you to tar all poor people with the same brush

Came across as "snobbish and ignorant" to me.

But people still can’t stand him

He's in danger of walking into a period where his government has finally woken to the emergency measures required... but they, and least of all he, receive none of the thanks for it, having made it clear for months that they are politically against offering that help. A reluctant bailout for voters at the instigation of others looks a lot like trying to save political careers... where as the same announcement around the time of the first raising of the cap on domestic fuel prices would have given them a huge bump in support that they might still be riding. If it wasn't for Johnson and his continued lying, they might have been able to time things better for people stressed about paying the bills and for their only political futures.

That polling graph looks promising for both Labour and the LibDems as the by-elections approach.

Maybe he does because of his background

Thanks - I do, I grew up surrounded by people who couldn't be arsed to work because they were better off on benefits. None of them had a miserable existence. Granted this was 40 odd years ago and things are different now regarding living costs.

My parents decided they wanted £20/week board from me when I started my YTS (the only way to get an electrical apprenticeship at the time) on £35/week - the reason - they were losing child benefit because I had started working

Is there any data on North/south household energy usage? I assume people up North have to heat their houses more.

A pint every couple of hours in a warm, lit environment surrounded by company is probably cheaper and than heating your flat on a state pension and means you actually get to interact with people rather than staring at your damp, peeling wallpaper…

I grew up surrounded by people who couldn’t be arsed to work....My parents decided they wanted £20/week board from me

So the issues you had with your parents makes you qualified to look at people in pubs today and pass judgement on them?

Why don't you deal with your parent/child issues, move on, and just enjoy your drink, rather than worry how other people in a pub are paying for their drinks?

Granted this was 40 odd years ago and things are different now regarding living costs.

Things are different now in almost every way. Mrs Daz was a drug and alcohol support worker for 15 years in Manchester. She worked every day with the sort of people who drink every day in wetherspoons (we even used to see some of her clients when out and about, sometimes in the same pub). Many of them were on the sick with plenty enough money to drink regularly in places like wetherspoons. Some topped up their benefits with petty crime, drug dealing or prostitution. Some even did odd cash in hand jobs for extra beer money. Many of these people are in the situation they are as a result of being in care, victims of physical and mental abuse, ex-convicts, drug addiction etc. They're simply unemployable without significant amounts of professional support which the state isn't willing to give them. Easy to just assume they're lazy and ****less though isn't it? That way no one needs to do anything.

To be honest it's the electricity bill that is hurting us most (just north of Manchester) not the gas. And we get more daylight in the summer than Southerners.

Things are different now in almost every way.

This.

To be honest it’s the electricity bill that is hurting us most (just north of Manchester) not the gas.

Our electricity generation is still (stupidly) overly dependent on gas.

Many of these people are in the situation they are as a result of being in care, victims of physical and mental abuse, ex-convicts, drug addiction etc.

Some absolutely are, most though are more victims of their own (and their parents) attitudes. They are also virtually unemployable. There are also many people from the same backgrounds who haven't held themselves back and have made the most of the limited opportunities they have.

So the issues you had with your parents makes you qualified to look at people in pubs today and pass judgement on them?

Of course living a life of benefits culture makes me more qualified than some to comment on the attitudes of SOME people within said culture

My observation of social situations makes me qualified to have an opinion on what I see and the initial comment was in reply to a tangent of the thread where a suggestion was made that some of these contributions may be pissed up the wall. They undoubtedly will and if you think that isn't the case then you are sadly blinkered.

Why don’t you deal with your parent/child issues, move on, and just enjoy your drink, rather than worry how other people in a pub are paying for their drinks?

Why don't you accept people's views instead of telling them what to do? 🤷

Is this thread still going on about partygate, i'm sure a lot of the special advisors and civil servants aren't having to lower themselves to hitting wetherspoons just yet 😂

and I thought 'Carrie Out' was referring to the Abba party. Silly me.

I saw a Tweet earlier saying that the Senior Partygoers were not fined but the Juniors were - because the Juniors filled in their MET questionaires but the Seniors refused to.

As someone replied, there's a "life lesson" in there that you'd do well to learn from.

They undoubtedly will and if you think that isn’t the case then you are sadly blinkered.

I wouldn't claim to know whether other people in my local weatherspoons are paying for their drinks out of universal credit.

Where people have got their money from to pay for their drinks isn't something which I give any thought. I don't go down the pub to make assessments of people that I don't know.

Why don’t you accept people’s views instead of telling them what to do?

You thought I was telling what to do? I am obviously not particularly bothered that 40 years ago your parents forced you to give them more than half your wages, I just suggested that you should perhaps move on and not be so judgemental about other people because of it. If you didn't want anyone to comment why did you raise the issue?

Of course living a life of benefits culture makes me more qualified than some to comment on the attitudes of SOME people within said culture

I'd have thought being an alcoholic who drinks at wetherspoons at 10am in the morning would be the salient qualification to pass judgement on people who do the same. Until you've done that maybe you should keep your uninformed views to yourself?

Anyway.

I think we should just circulate some fake news headlines, see how many are believed and just how outraged anyone actually is at anything anymore:

"Boris Johnson to appoint Goose as special advisor"

I'm not totally sure all of those aren't really happening...

It's been reported that despite the inflation sales of beer and fags have held up. I don't cast cistercians but see it as a manifestation of alienation in a shit society. Moral opprobrium is seriously nasty, the same is never applied to the rich sorted with coke and fizz.

A pint every couple of hours in a warm, lit environment surrounded by company is probably cheaper and than heating your flat on a state pension and means you actually get to interact with people rather than staring at your damp, peeling wallpaper…

You can get a bottomless cup of coffee in Wetherspoons for less than £2. I know where I’d be every day if I was struggling on a pension😉

When I worked at a Peak District bike shop I’d often go to the Wetherspoons for breakfast (not been in one since B.) there was a proper community, a bloke called Andrew who’d have a full dinnertime meal at 8am, he also had a pet rabbit. Also others having their first pint, it was a very supportive and caring place, including the staff. I think that it was a wonderful place and probably the best community support and care in the community that some people can access.

I don’t cast cistercians

You monk-eying around again?

and I thought ‘Carrie Out’ was referring to the Abba party. Silly me.

More of a Cliff Richard hit being alleged, I think.

it was a very supportive and caring place, including the staff. I think that it was a wonderful place and probably the best community support and care in the community that some people can access.

I’m not sure if that’s horribly tragic or rather heart warming. I’m inclined to go with the latter.

What I do know is that I was skint, I can imagine many worse places to spend my time than a friendly pub with cheep beer and food

I saw a Tweet earlier saying that the Senior Partygoers were not fined but the Juniors were – because the Juniors filled in their MET questionaires but the Seniors refused to.

As someone replied, there’s a “life lesson” in there that you’d do well to learn from.

The 'life lesson' to learn from the modern Tory party is to evade, distract, lie and (if really pushed) get some expensive legal advice.

What if everyone behaved this way? There definitely would be 'no such thing as society' then.

But us little folk wouldn't get away with it.

If I met Johnson face to face right now, I'd stick one on him, no matter what the consequences.

My parents decided they wanted £20/week board from me when I started my YTS (the only way to get an electrical apprenticeship at the time) on £35/week – the reason – they were losing child benefit because I had started working

You didn't think you should pay your way despite your parents circumstances? How frightfully middle class.

40 years ago the then government was destroying working communities, did you not pay attention to what was going on around you? There were no jobs for those abandoned by the then Goths and Vandals in power. The government squandered our oil receipts on funding unemployment to break social cohesion.

@tpbiker it was heartwarming, I worry what happened to them all during lockdown and after the place never re-opened after being flooded. Even the cleaner was there for support, a lovely friendly place. Most Wetherspoons I frequented before B usually had a certain area for regulars where you could meet some lovely, if damaged, people.

it was heartwarming, I worry what happened to them all during lockdown and after the place never re-opened after being flooded. Even the cleaner was there for support, a lovely friendly place. Most Wetherspoons I frequented before B usually had a certain area for regulars where you could meet some lovely, if damaged, people.

Was this a true Wetherspoons or one of the fake ones, a real proper wetherspoons has to have a bookies within 25 yards of the entrance, otherwise it's just a cheap pub, not the community support centre 😁

@argee as, I’ve said. Not been in a Wetherspoons since B. I think your comment is very prejudiced and perhaps an attempt to provoke. There are bookies close to “gentleman’s clubs” and indeed if you go to Royal Ascot or any other posh event then the bookies will probably come to you. The Wetherspoons in question had a bicycle shop within 200 metres, a fruit and veg shop, a car dealer, several cafes and a Co-Op. Does that help? It was a very supportive place for a lot of disadvantaged folk.

You thought I was telling what to do? I am obviously not particularly bothered that 40 years ago your parents forced you to give them more than half your wages, I just suggested that you should perhaps move on and not be so judgemental about other people because of it. If you didn’t want anyone to comment why did you raise the issue?

Where did I say I didn't want anyone to comment? You told me to deal with my child/parent issues (which I don't have), it was merely a comment about my experiences of people who claimed benefits because they didn't want to work and then they sought to recover benefits lost through a disproportionate amount of my wages, because I chose to work.

You didn’t think you should pay your way despite your parents circumstances? How frightfully middle class.

My parents circumstances? They chose not to work, they didn't hide the fact. There always seemed to be a plentiful supply of dope in the house though.

40 years ago the then government was destroying working communities, did you not pay attention to what was going on around you? There were no jobs

34 years ago, I began work - there was plenty of it about then. And my parents seemed to find it on the occassions they had their hands forced

But I suppose someone will be along soon to tell me this didn't happen and it's a story I read in the Daily Mail

I’d have thought being an alcoholic who drinks at wetherspoons at 10am in the morning would be the salient qualification to pass judgement on people who do the same. Until you’ve done that maybe you should keep your uninformed views to yourself?

Oh, sorry, I forgot you couldn't have an opinion or make a judgement unless you've walked in someones shoes. Maybe some other people on here should take that sage advice.

And I'll express my views however I want thanks, I don't need your approval

FFS … all of the papers have already moved on from the parties and Sue Grey report to the multi billion dollar distraction.

The BBC news yesterday barely mentioned the parties - even PM on R4 appeared to be consciously avoiding the subject. Same on the website.

It’s as though there has been some kind of high level behind the scenes to move on.

Even this thread appears to have moved on.

The greased piglet appears to be running off, having wriggled free again.

I don't doubt they'll get away with it long term but its not quite going away yet. Protest outside number 10 today from cleaning and security staff. I suspect there's some more leaking to come as well.

It will play a part in Boj losing the election imo. Probably best for Labour if he stays.

Well it looks like we've now given the green light on STW for community support to be outsourced to Wetherspoons. Who says this place is a hotbed of lefty sentiment? This is about as Tory as you can get. 🤣

Far right wing government my arse

Nationalist in its tub thumping, Socialist to shore up its support amongst the workers. Ring any bells? Many streets and houses are going to like like Nuremberg with cucumber* sandwiches next weekend and the fly tipped sofa will be wrapping himself in it.

*That's if the Brexit-driven supply chain issues don't leave crates of them going rancid in the back of lorries stranded on the M20. I do like Coronation Chicken, mind, but the price of chicken nowadays does put me off a bit.

It was totally obvious that Sunak was being told to delay the announcement of the 'definitely not a windfall tax' windfall tax until just after the Sue Gray report came out.

If anyone was in the least bit surprised at this latest cynical attempt to move the story on then they need their heads read.

Now it is a tacit "it's OK to buy a load of party food that you'll throw most of away for next week's gammony festivities - hooray for her maj". It makes me feel like puking. Just like a senior number ten staffer at an illegal lockdown pissup hosted by Fatso.

But this is what the public wants as Paul Weller sort of sang on Going Underground.

🤷‍♂️