have been for ages.

Since 2008 in fact. And we currently the only country in the G7 with that dishonourable status.

“You won’t see this in the mainstream media”, says Lee Anderson.

“I saw that in the mainstream media earlier today”, says I.

Mainstream media in 30p lee’s world is the Mansfield Chad.

Don’t be too quick to condemn the Tory “Stop The Boats” campaign, says former Labour Home Secretary David Blunkett, according to the Daily Telegraph.

Apparently the man who as Home Secretary relaxed the rules so as to make it easier to strip people of their UK citizenships spoke on BBC Radio Four’s The Week in Westminster to say:

“We should allow this Bill to go through and the Government have got 18 months to show whether they really can make it work – I don’t think they can, but let’s see.”

So apparently a policy which has been denounced by the United Nations, and includes among other things the deportation of the victims of slavery, should be given a chance to see if it can really work, although it probably won’t.

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2F03%2F10%2Flabour-should-not-oppose-small-boats-bill-lords-says-david-blunkett%2F

David Blunkett holds some questionable views so that’s not surprising

Things don’t appear to be going swimmingly for Rishi Sunak’s flagship bigot’s policy :

A senior Tory told The Telegraph that the Government faces a range of amendments from this wing of the party, with the ministers potentially needing to win around about 30 MPs – a figure which could call Mr Sunak’s majority into question.

The Tories have a very comfortable majority in the House of Commons but Sunak might struggle to secure a majority for his Stop The Boats policy? I don’t think it was supposed to be like that.

And then there is the question, from inside Sunak’s own party, as to whether attempting to appeal to bigots and racists has any chance of working:

The Government has acknowledged that there is a chance that the Bill is incompatible with the European Convention on Human Rights (ECHR), leading to speculation that the Tories may end up fighting the next election on a pledge to withdraw from the convention.

But the MP said this would be a mistake. “That’s not the way to win an election.”

“There’s some people who are drinking the Kool-Aid about making the next election a culture war.

“Forget it. The next election will be about which party is seen to be more competent to handle the economy and the next five years. It’s not going to be decided on a culture war.”

https://12ft.io/proxy?q=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.telegraph.co.uk%2Fpolitics%2F2023%2F03%2F11%2Fsmall-boats-law-could-watered-amid-growing-wave-rebellion%2F

Heard that Patel might be one of those looking to amend the bill to take some of the most dubious* edges of it. Priti Patel thinks it goes too far!

[ *deporting unaccompanied minors without allowing access to the asylum system, even if trafficked… ie the Mo Farah question ]

Meanwhile, in France…

https://twitter.com/libe/status/1633904543820857352/photo/1

David Blunkett is just a lefty Anne Widdecombe.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/12/rishi-sunak-has-electricity-grid-upgraded-to-heat-his-private-pool

Rishi is never going to really push this bill into law. Its basically jam tomorrow for the frothing loons and undecided (red wall?) voters to vote for them at the election. Then, as usual, the mugs will found out too late that they’ve been lied to again and it’ll fail because of some reason. This is the Tory playbook. Chuck in a cheeky tax cut just prior to the election too.

frothing loons and undecided (red wall?) voters to vote for them at the election.

I think ‘red wall’ voters have probably decided to vote in the way that caused someone to describe them as a “red wall”.

Latest Red Wall Voting Intention (23 January 2023)

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/mar/12/rishi-sunak-has-electricity-grid-upgraded-to-heat-his-private-pool

From Twitter:

Let them Heat Lake…

“Let them Heat Lake…”

priceless. [for him no doubt]

https://news.sky.com/story/rishi-sunak-no-plans-for-elgin-marbles-law-change-to-return-parthenon-sculptures-to-greece-12832790

Even some Tory MPs accept that there is no justification for hanging on to stolen property acquired when Greece was under foreign occupation.

We share their treasures with the world, and the world comes to the UK to see them.

That has to be the worse excuse. The idea that Greece won’t share her treasures with the world and let people come to see them is of course absurd.

Rishi mate, If you go on a Greek holiday this year, don’t be surprised if the waiter takes a piss in your salad.

That has to be the worse excuse. The idea that Greece won’t share her treasures with the world and let people come to see them is of course absurd.

Q: Why are there pyramids in both Egypt and South America?

A: Because they were too heavy to carry back to the British museum. Boom boom!

Deltapoll, which tends to be more generous to the Tories than most pollsters, has just released its latest poll which was taken over the last 4 days, it gives Labour a 23% lead over the Tories.

🚨🚨New Voting Intention🚨🚨
Labour lead is twenty-three points in latest results from Deltapoll.
Con 27% (-4)
Lab 50% (+3)
Lib Dem 9% (+1)
Other 15% (+1)
Fieldwork: 10th – 13th March 2023
Sample: 1,561 GB adults
(Changes from 2nd – 6th March 2023) pic.twitter.com/3RgtjJ6tIc

— Deltapoll (@DeltapollUK) March 13, 2023

With the disastrous handling of the Gary Lineker tweet, and growing opposition from Tory MPs, I don’t think the “Stop The Boats” campaign is quite panning out as Rishi Sunak might have hoped.

https://www.standard.co.uk/news/politics/bbc-gary-lineker-latest-news-illegal-migration-bill-second-reading-migrant-channel-crossings-b1066764.html

With the disastrous handling of the Gary Lineker tweet, and growing opposition from Tory MPs, I don’t think the “Stop The Boats” campaign is quite panning out as Rishi Sunak might have hoped.

I really, really hope so.👍

Little Rishi really is desperate to look the hard man and not the school prefect, isn’t he, bless him?

Less immigrants, more guns and helicopters and explodey things! Ggggrrrrrr

As the world becomes more volatile and competition between states becomes more intense, the UK must be ready to stand our ground.

We’re investing in our armed forces for the long-term so we’re ready for the challenges of today and of the future.

— Rishi Sunak (@RishiSunak) March 13, 2023

… and flags! Lots more flags!! AND CAPITAL LETTERS IN BOLD TYPE!!!

Not so sure if this’ll be a vote winner for Rishi McBoatface either.

Predictably, the DUP have said they reject sunak’s ‘windsor agreement’.
Democratic party? Only when it works in their favour.

So where does that leave us?

Well, the deal can still be voted through, as it is not dependent on DUP support in the House of Commons, but DUP sign-up is key to their re-engagement with the Stormont Parliament, which in turn is a central plank of the Good Friday Agreement.

The central problem (apart from Brexit itself) is that the DUP no longer has a majority at Stormont and is looking for reasons to chuck its toys out of the pram and not have to work with a Sinn Fein majority. Unfortunately, dissolving the assembly and holding fresh elections will not fix this, as the DUP will still win a similar number of seats, and won’t want to power-share as a minority party.

Indeed. The DUP will continue to shit the bed because they can’t get their tiny little minds around the fact that demographics and their own behavoir has now brought to an end what they considered their god-given right to executive power.

Government in Norn Ireland cannot resume until they grow up a bit and acknowledge that that’s how democracy works

I wouldn’t hold your breath

As for Rishi’s deal, labour will support it, so for the first time in a very long time when it comes to Brexit, the country isn’t being held to ransom by a small coterie of absolute headbangers in the DUP/ERG. Expect roars of impotent rage from the usual suspects and lots of talk of traitors and betrayal

Both martinhutch and binners have covered what my response to molgrips would have been.
DUP influence and support is declining so all they can do is attempt to block whilst claiming they are being constructive.
Donaldson and his fellow travellers couldn’t spell democratic or constructive or collaborate; as for behaving democratically, constructively or collaboratively…
They have failed to understand and accept that the majority in NI don’t want what they’re offering.
They are delivering their own demise.

Predictably, the DUP have said they reject sunak’s ‘windsor agreement’.

Anyone actually care? I know I don’t. 🤷‍♂️

Anyone actually care? I know I don’t

There’s a few thousand bereaved and injured folk who probably aren’t keen to have Northern Irish issues potentially escalate back to what they were on the 70s/80s due to idiots ignoring the importance of the GFA 🤷‍♂️

The thing is, defence spending itself isn’t automatically a bad idea- we’ve seen that in teh last few years I think. It’s just, it tends to be spent on vanity projects, flag-shagging delusions of power, polaris replacement replacements, and budgetary black holes, while the basics are cut to the bone. Spending money on the basics creates more jobs and is easier to keep that money in teh UK economy, but it doesn’t let you cosplay on an aircraft carrier and it’s not as good for landing that post-goverment job at BAE

Also the DUP will continue to boycott Stormont to the detriment of the population there

With the Beeb reporting av incomes down by £11000 since 2008, mortgages and rents up, biggest drop in standard of living in the next two years in recorded history, predicted rising immigration, the possibility of the blonde bloater being let off the hook and presenting a challenge, shit pumped everywhere, it doesn’t look all that promising for fishy Rishi.

They have failed to understand and accept that the majority in NI don’t want what they’re offering.

They have been very successful in delivering for themselves what the majority in NI don’t want.

Don’t underestimate their goal led politics… or what their obstinance has delivered for them, no matter how NI votes.

Reform UK are rasing their heads, the political giant, Ann Widdecombe, has announced they are not going to stand any candidates down this time.

That’s the nail in the Tory coffin.

The ERG (loons) have said that parts of the windsor agreement are ‘…practically useless’.
That, combined with the DUP’s rejection, forces sunak into taking a decision he probably hoped wouldn’t be necessary – ignore them and push on or offer some sort of compromise.
Can’t imagine that either fill him with joy.

so for the first time in a very long time when it comes to Brexit, the country isn’t being held to ransom by a small coterie of absolute headbangers in the DUP/ERG.

Not for this vote maybe, but Rish! might be in for a rough ride on the next vote where he doesn’t have support from the opposition…

“The thing is, defence spending itself isn’t automatically a bad idea- we’ve seen that in teh last few years I think. It’s just, it tends to be spent on vanity projects, ….but it doesn’t let you cosplay on an aircraft carrier”

The new QE class aircraft carriers were procured under the last Labour govt – albeit in full knowledge there wouldn’t be any planes to fly off them after they entered service.

If the carriers are a “vanity project” (look how much the world has changed in the last 13 months…) then the pursuit of vanity can only be lodged at the door of the then Labour government.

look how much the world has changed in the last 13 months

I’ve looked and seen that in the last 13 months Russia apparently can’t comprehensively defeat its much smaller and weaker nextdoor neighbour.

The only thing that has changed imo is my perception of how powerful militarily Russia is – a lot less than I thought.

What does tell us about whether aircraft carriers are vanity projects or not?

What areas of the world does the UK have to reach to defend the British Isles that can’t be reached from UK bases?

Aircraft carriers are not needed by any country in the world to defend itself from attack. They are used to project an image of power with a global reach, and wage aggressive wars in far off distance lands.

those sunlit uplands looking a long long way away

Inflation back up to 10.4% today.@NEF forecasts show the gap between rising prices on essentials vs rising incomes, from richest to poorest, from now until the general election.

This is why things feel broken. pic.twitter.com/LltmpBm2LW

— Alfie Stirling (@alfie_stirling) March 22, 2023

I thought we’d been assured that inflation would be back down to ‘only’ 9.9%

More importantly, food inflation (which obviously impacts the poorest the hardest) is presently 18% and rising

I’m sure Rishi will take credit for the rise in inflation in the same way he’s been doing for the recent fall.