I’m sure that it’ll have a really positive effect on teenage pregnancies too

They really are trying to turn the clock back 60 years. Maybe if we all pretend the interweb doesn’t exist, it’ll all go away

the sex-ed stuff  wont actually happen, pointless culture war nonsense

anyway, who is on defection watch in the Tories today before PMQs?

So who is on the Tories #defectionwatch before #PMQs today 👁‍🗨??

— Chris Kimberley (@ChrisKimberley) May 15, 2024

@kimbers I think it’s reasonable to assume at this stage of the parliamentary cycle nothing they announce will actually happen.

Especially with a dwindling majority. I’m not expecting any more defections though… just more Conservative MPs giving up and staying home.

I’ll be taking an early lunch and put LBC on.

I think it’s reasonable to assume at this stage of the parliamentary cycle nothing they announce will actually happen.

Oh I don’t know. Rishi is enacting his ‘you’re safer with the Tories’ philosophy, announced earlier this week, by releasing prisoners early and getting the courts not to send any more criminals to prison as there’s no room

You literally couldn’t make it up

maybe this has been done already but, if i was a “leader candidate” I’d be pushing my supporters to get Sunak out and me in BEFORE the election defeat we all anticipate, so at least I can be a leader and have the ex-PM income for life.  After the next election my hopes are that it’ll be at least 10yrs to the next consrvative PM and so even “young” contenders like Badenough, Braverman or Mordaunt might be seeing pressure from younger candidates who’re yet to emerge

??

Have we done much on the Tories slowly killing the HE sector in the UK?

There’s a number of factors

• Stagnant tution fees (which is completely the wrong model, but what we have right now)
• Limiting visas for postgrads, cutting of a major income stream
• Pulling us out of horizon and then not backfilling the lost research income. Now we’ve rejoined it’ll take a while to recover
• Fostering an environment where universities are having to court inward investment from foreign sovereign wealth funds with slightly shady humanitarian records
• Not capping undergraduate places so higher ranked universities (cough, Russell group) can ‘reach down’ for students who would normally go to mid tier universities and offer places on lower grade entries, leading to a cascade effect
• Not regulating student accommodation prices so students might only have £10-£20 per week to live off, and pricing out lower income students

Bradford university just announced a voluntary redundancy scheme, and are the latest in a line of formerly financially stable unis that are now heading towards bankruptcy

Have we done much on the Tories slowly killing the HE sector in the UK?

Is this because no properly educated person would vote Tory?

PMQs… “look at the dangers in the rest of the world, not at our record at home”

Apparently they did.

No pre-#PMQs defection, but that didn't stop Labour MPs from having some fun

A number going 'woooooh' as Conservative MPs walk down the commons aisle (including the chief whip) — prompts a speaker comment pic.twitter.com/399bT6V7nb

— Josh Self (@Josh_Self_) May 15, 2024

I think Sunak has taken a big risk taking on Starmer on “law on order”. The PM sounds totally out of his depth.

He’d be out of his depth in a car park puddle TBF.

Sunak will be very happy that the news is showing clips of Starmer calling him a jumped-up milk monitor. Doesn’t reinforce the popular view of him at all! 😀

A supporter of the little fella is reported to have described him as…He’s like a children’s TV programme; the more you see of him, the less you like him.

Can’t dispute that.

Even today’s Times in giving fashion advice recommends not to look like Sunak. Oh dear.

Sunak ” As I’ve been crystal clear” what does he mean? I mean he doesn’t answer the questions, then tries to deflect the answer. Can we please have an election this party is turning our country into a joke…Well in fairness since Brex5h1t it was one anyway, it just now looks like a banana republic ;-(

JeZ

He’s obviously not enjoying it and you can see he’s under a lot of pressure.

Why doesn’t he just **** off?

banana republic

It’s not even a republic.

It’s not even a republic.

Good point a constitutional monarchy government. Mind you there’s a plenty of banana republics jealous of the amount of corruption this government gets away with, lol

JeZ

Can we please have an election this party is turning our country into a joke…Well in fairness since Brex5h1t it was one anyway, it just now looks like a banana republic ;-(

Much as I want rid of the tories I’m always curious at comments like this. I don’t really care what ‘our’ country ‘looks like’, all I’m bothered about is whether normal people can live their lives without worrying too much about money and getting healthcare and education for their kids etc. Even with all the problems the tories have caused life is still pretty good in this country and is very far from what you call a banana republic.

Even with all the problems the tories have caused life is still pretty good in this country and is very far from what you call a banana republic.

Yeah but the UK has been falling notably down the international rankings…

https://www.transparency.org.uk/concerns-corruption-all-time-high-uk-falls-its-lowest-ever-score-global-corruption-perceptions-index

Yeah but the UK has been falling notably down the international rankings…

Perhaps but even the least corrupt countries still have lots of problems. I’d much prefer a corrupt govt which does stuff in the interests of everyone than a less corrupt govt which only acts in the interests of the rich. Then of course there’s the corruption enshrined in the capitalist system which is legal. Is that better or worse than the corruption measured in your league table?

No matter how shit a UK government gets… someone will always come along and say “at least we can buy bread and water comes out the taps”.

“at least we can buy bread and water comes out the taps”.

partly true  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/article/2024/may/15/devon-resident-told-to-boil-tap-water-over-risk-parasitic-disease-south-west

Yeah but the UK is not a banana republic nor close to being one. It is just hyperbole to claim it is.

The UK does not have a single foreign owned export which causes political instability and which in turn causes endless succession of military coups.

Whatever problems the UK has they are not caused by the United Fruit Company. In fact it should be emphasised just how wealthy the UK is. It certainly doesn’t look like a banana republic.

Lots of things can be true at the same time.

The UK is the 5th/6th richest country by GDP – but where I live there are plenty of depressing shit-holes and wealthy bits side by side. Walk half a mile and it looks rough as hell. (I don’t blame the people – they are products of their environment despite what capitalism tells you.)

It’s all in the distribution of wealth and the lack of public investment.  Two things that should be on the lips of any MP that wants to make a difference but sadly we have the likes of Wes Streeting opening his ferociously stupid gob to look forward to.

Doesn’t seem much appetite to fix stuff because – hey the private sector will just do its thing apparently.

Uk wealth inequality says all you need to know

The UK is the 5th/6th richest country by GDP – but where I live there are plenty of depressing shit-holes and wealthy bits side by side.

This. Think many on here would be happier if we were higher up some OECD league table than solving the problems of depravity and poverty we see everywhere. Seems like the myth of trickle down wealth isn’t dead yet, at least not on STW. 🙄

Relative to our peers we’re a poor country with a number of rich people/companies in it that inflates the GDP.

Our wealth inequality is embarrassing. We’re far too centralised with central government running too much which means that policies that should benefit localities aren’t realised.

What local government were have is being starved of funding

Our education systems, heath systems, utilities infrastructure, road systems, and social housing have been horrendously under funded in the last 14 years.

For a developed nation we’re a fkng  embarrassment

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/article/2024/may/15/end-is-nigh-labour-mps-want-to-have-fun-at-tories-expense

Amusing little summary of yesterday’s PMQs…
Even a satirist like John Crace is struggling to find the difference between real world and satire now.

For a developed nation we’re a fkng  embarrassment

We’re not a lot different to many other large developed nations. For tens of millions the US doesn’t have a healthcare system and those that do use it are often bankrupted. Germany’s railways are in chaos and economy in the toilet. The Netherlands didn’t even have a govt for over a year, France has massive problems with poverty and racial hatred in its big cities, And Italy has elected a far right reactionary government. I’m not trying to defend the tories but things really aren’t that much different here than in other countries. The problem we all share is an economic system which directs money away from the vast majority who need it into the pockets of a tiny few who don’t. There’s not a country in the western world which isn’t suffering from that problem.

The Lanyard thing is nuts, its become a focus of attention, I cant decide if it actually works  and some people genuinely get in behind it in the culture war or if its just the result of having someone so plainly unfit for office as McVey in government

TBH I’m not hugely invested in the whole rainbow and rainbow lanyard thing.*

But I now own two and am using them for my security pass at work. Pretty much because a vacuous, crooked culture warrior like McVey doesn’t like them. Childish? Yes. Does it make me grin ever so slightly on the inside? Yes.

I also note that Amazon kept freezing on Tuesday when you clicked on a rainbow lanyard – unprecedented demand, I think. 🤣

Keep your chins up, normal people, we will soon be rid of this bunch. Hopefully the electorate can actually get some social democracy out of Starmer.

*I try to be supportive of anyone (within reason, legality etc) who is getting a rough time of it for not being the norm.

Mcvey is now claiming she wasn’t banning the lanyards, says the media have made it up, despite it being on the record what she said.

^^^

That’s going to be a tricky one.

“Esther McVey Is A ****” lanyards are more difficult to find online.

🙂

If only she’d given her speech in front of a camera, we could check what she said…

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/culture-war-rainbow-lanyard-ban-estger-mcvey-b2544061.html

“The lanyards we use to carry security passes shouldn’t be a random pick and mix. They should be a standard design reflecting that we are all members of the government delivering for the citizens of the UK. Working in the civil service is all about leaving your political views at the building entrance. Trying to introduce them by the back door via lanyards should not happen.”

Rishi must be baffled that upon appointing somebody with the towering intellect of Esther McVey to the not-even-remotely-laughable position of ‘Minister for Common Sense’ she then spends 12 months doing absolutely nothing, then starts spewing out the kind of bollocks that a Daily Mail editorial writer would consider a bit beneath them 🤷‍♂️