UK Election!

We’ll look back at the current contention a little like the period when telephone masts and plyons went up.. Hell, pylons are a little unpleasant asthetically but I quite like wind farms.

Both upgrades to the grid, and onshore renewables, are going to be resisted. And we’re way behind on both thanks to the Tories putting them in a box marked “Too hard, do not open”, so projects need to be put in place at much higher speed than should have been necessary. Expect a big culture war on this… green energy and new energy distribution networks are going to be the bogey men over the next few years once the dust settles from this election. Come 2030+ I think you are right, we will look back and shrug at the necessary changes to our landscapes…but the pace of change will frighten many in the meantime.

Labour has appointed one of the country’s foremost climate experts to lead a “mission control centre” on clean energy.

… And on yet another bit of positive news, I’m off to kip. :good:

It’s almost like there’s a list somewhere of ‘stuff the Tories did wrong’ and an urgent desire to tick off doing the the opposite.

The 1922 shambles is great. Different times on the invite sent out by the whips office and the 1922 committee itself and beyond the wit of some to check.

I can only hope the election of the chair is declared null and void, they waste another week getting sorted, and then re-elect the same chair anyway for comedy value.

I like the KeirStarmerParody account on X, can’t post a screenshot till things are fixed:

“Suella Braverman is what happens when you feed Priti Patel after midnight”

It’s all getting a bit overwhelming this idea of governments actually doing stuff that they’ve clearly planned for…

The new UK government recognises that boosting infrastructure investment will help build high value, low carbon, competitive industries.

The new National Wealth Fund I discussed with @RachelReevesMP can crowd in private capital to kickstart growth & create jobs in vital sectors https://t.co/VfLSl5srJO pic.twitter.com/2Kbnra7coL

— Mark Carney (@MarkJCarney) July 9, 2024

All while the Tories sum up their 14 years in power by their inability to get their few remaining MPs together in the same room at the same time

The effective wind farm ban and the appointment of a climate expert is excellent news. A positive provable action and setting up more positive actions to come.

I’m seeing way more stuff being done, and set up to be done than I ever expected in very short time. Although this might simply be normal for a government not stuffed full of blithering idiotic morons, which is what I’d got used to.

Yeah, but has Starmer appointed a ‘Minister for Common Sense’ or a ‘Minister for Brexit Benefits’ yet? I don’t see how you have a functioning government without them.

‘Minister for Brexit Benefits’

Well he should do, he’s still promising them.

Yes, re-evaluating energy policy, touring the country to reset relations with devolved administrations,  and meeting world leaders to set out a foreign policy agenda is all well and good.

But when will we be able to buy wine in pints?

It’s good to have a climate expert on the carbon reduction panel but I’m not sure they’re going to add a lot.  You might be an expert in modelling but your recommendation is always going to be ’emit far less carbon!’  Obviously they need to be there, and I’m sure I’m wrong 🙂

You are Mol. Chris Stark isn’t an expert in modelling, he’s an astute political operator with the respect of the industry. I struggle to think of someone I’d have more confidence in their ability to deliver the improvements required to deliver decarbonisation at pace.

the costs involved in off shoring them always made the effective ban ridiculous.

IIRC the costs WERE ridiculous, but now it’s pretty much the same per MW.

The difference is that you can build an offshore windfarm the size of Wales and no one notice.

I suspect that apart from smaller scale schemes where individual landowners do it* rather than big companies that we won’t see a big rush of schemes.   I used to work on a site where a relatively small (i.e. it’s a “big” wind turbine, not one you’d put up on  scaffold pole but not quite Afan Masts scale) , turbine had been installed and it was paying the landowner £300k/year with no upfront costs as a 3rd party managed it.  I can see a lot of farmers opting to do that.

But when will we be able to buy wine in pints?

We should rejoin the EU, I was at a music festival near Nantes last week and bought a pint of Muscadet (If picture uploads were working I’d include proof).  I regretted it later though…

Edit – used a hotlink instead 🙂

It’s good to have a climate expert on the carbon reduction panel

Its probably better than to have somebody on the panel from Shell, who happens to have made a large donation to your funds in order for you to end the ‘woke nonsense’ and grant some more North Sea drilling licenses  😉

But when will we be able to buy wine in pints?

I was in the pub the other day and bought a 100% British pint of inches. Take that Brussels!

@molgrips – Mrhoppy is spot on. Stark seems to be an operator and pragmatist, he’s not just numbers and wishful thinking.

I’m starting to feel positive about hitting carbon targets again. I’m working on decarbonisation in industry, if we can tap in to, or benefit from this sovereign wealth fund announced, I’m pretty certain I can draw down inward investment from our global leadership team.

There’s a couple of serious things we need from the new government.

An industrial strategy with decarbonisation embedded. Make us attractive for investment to produce products here at a lower rate of emissions.

A proper strategy for green electricity and non-fossil fuel sources of thermal energy. Hydrogen, electricity, biogenic gases, carbon capture and use (CCU)

They’re saying the right things so far and appointing the right people

Every morning since the weekend I’ve woken up and just listened to the peace and tranquility that has descended.

No wondering every day what the **** are they doing now.

It’s beautiful

I saw Starmer on the news last night – I don’t see face to face clips very often these days – and I was struck by how professional and businesslike he appeared.  There might be confirmation bias, for sure, but he was talking efficiently and authoritatively about the issues (NATO summit).

Anyone else notice the lack of brown faces in the Labour Cabinet? I make it just two out of 26 Cabinet members, which is in sharp contrast with Boris Johnson’s Cabinet.

Or is something which white politicos don’t notice?

I include myself btw. I hadn’t noticed until a black person drew my attention to it.

Anyone else notice the lack of brown faces in the Labour Cabinet? I make it just two out of 26 Cabinet members, which is in sharp contrast with Boris Johnson’s Cabinet.

Funnily enough I did notice that – although it’s great there are plenty of women there, there is a lack of non-gender diversity.

Mark Francois got re-elected…..how?
His extensive military career

He was in the Waffle SS

The Tories made much of the diversity of their cabinet, but very few (of any background) were competent.

Ernesto – I don’t think that skin colour is as relevent as someones attitude.

You can hardly say that any progressive cause was advanced while the non-white members of Boris Johnsons cabinet represented some of the most prejudiced, regressive, reactionary attitudes that we have ever seen in government.

In some cases the likes of Badanoch, Braverman and Patel have used their skin colour as a fig leaf to say things that would have caused outrage if they’d have come from someone white and male.

I think what’s of far more relevence, when talking of inclusiveity, is the fact that the cabinet members are overwhelmingly educated at comprehensive schools and none of them have personal wealth equivelent to the GDP of Luxemburg.

They also look like they they wouldnt struggle to find their own arse using both hands, which certainly puts them a step up from the last lot

A new record of 90 ethnic minority MPs in this parliament (66 of them on the government benches)… so hopefully this balance will change over the coming years.

When having non white faces meant Badanoch, Braverman, Patel, Cleverly etc, I can probably live with that for now but yes it needs to be bettered.

I think what’s of far more relevence, when talking of inclusiveity, is the fact that the cabinet members are overwhelmingly educated at comprehensive schools and none of them have personal wealth equivelent to the GDP of Luxemburg.

This is important as is the gender balance but so is other diversity.  However 2 out of 26 is close to the % across the nation

This is important as is the gender balance but so is other diversity

My point is that how representative of the general population, never mind the BAME population, are the likes of Sunak, Braverman and Kwatang?

Not even remotely. They all come from incredibley privileged backgrounds and were all privately educated.

Not one of them has ever showed the remotest interest in advancing the causes of the larger BAME population. In fact, given that they’re all the children of immigrants, they’ve dedicated far more effort to pulling that ladder up behind themselves and making sure nobody else ever enjoys the advantages they had

Ernesto – I don’t think that skin colour is as relevent as someones attitude.

That just sounds like an excuse to me. Unless you are suggesting that Keir Starmer couldn’t find more than one black MP and one Asian MP with the correct “attitude” to include in his Cabinet.

Kelvin claims that there are 66 ethnic minority Labour MPs so Starmer had plenty to choose from beyond the 2 that he did.

The Forde Report commissioned by Starmer highlighted some very serious problems with Black and Asians progressing within the Labour Party, the composition of the current Cabinet suggests that it is still something of a problem.

Black and Asian people should be fairly represented at the very highest levels of power, the fact that their lack of representation seemed to go unnoticed and wasn’t even acknowledged on this thread until it was drawn to my attention by a black person makes the point.

From my point of view Wes Streeting is making sensible noises about spending money more effectively in the NHS, ie reversing the diversion of funds from primary to secondary care that’s occurred over the past 15 years. It won’t be popular but it is needed.

I’m seeing way more stuff being done, and set up to be done than I ever expected in very short time. Although this might simply be normal for a government not stuffed full of blithering idiotic morons, which is what I’d got used to.

Yeah scary how we’d been desensitised / submitted to ineffective government. In the dying days of previous governments were any of them anything like this ineffective?

Black and Asian people should be fairly represented at the very highest levels of power

I’m not saying for a minute that they shouldn’t. My point is that they were statistically overly-represented in the last gang of corrupt, reactionary, backward-looking, incompetent ****-wits where they seemed to fit in without much difficulty, proving that colour is no barrier to either being in government or then being completely useless in government

One of them has to go down as the worst chancellor of the exchequer in this countries history and another one of them is presently over in America screaming ‘WOKE!’ to right wing nutjobs and railing against anything progressive

Binners let’s forget the Tory Cabinet then and let’s instead just focus on the current Labour Cabinet, pretend that the Tory Cabinet never existed!

Do you think that just one black man and just one Asian woman is sufficient for a Labour Cabinet, bearing in mind what the Forde Report said?

If you can’t see a problem with that then it reveals an attitude which helps to explain the alienation which traditional Labour voters, including black and Asian, feel towards Labour.

It is an issue which I would have thought Labour would now take seriously after receiving only 34% of the votes in the GE and seeing an unprecedented rise in support for the far-right and independents, and the Greens.

Still, I guess it’s up to you if you want to fiddle while Rome burns.

Black and Asian people should be fairly represented at the very highest levels of power

They pretty much are. there are 22 members of the cabinet, half of them are women, nationally about 8% of folks are Asian 3% are black, so in reality if Starmer had made just one more Asian MP a member of the cabinet, it could be said to fairly represent UK demographics, as it is, it’s misses by just one.

It’s not bad. Or would you prefer overrepresentation just to make the point?

Still, I guess it’s up to you if you want to fiddle while Rome burns.

Hang on a minute? Rome’s burning?

I thought that was last week?

Personally, I thought the fire brigade had just arrived?

Apologies if the crew of the fire engine aren’t diverse enough for you. The arsonists who set fire to the place were very diverse

We need Dianne Abbott brought back to the front bench ?

so in reality if Starmer had made just one more Asian MP a member of the cabinet, it could be said to fairly represent UK demographics, as it is, it’s misses by just one.

Thangam Debbonaire (of Sri Lankan Tamil descent) would most certainly have been in the cabinet had she not lost her seat to the Greens

nationally about 8% of folks are Asian 3% are black

LOL! And what percentage of folk are Tory? Oh dear, I can’t see any Tories in the Cabinet….. how unrepresentative!!

We are clearly not talking about straightforward “UK demographics”. I am talking about effective black and Asian representation in a Labour Cabinet. If you think everything is just fine let’s leave it at that, I’m not up for a pointless argument over the issue.

I wanted to gauge opinion on here, a very pro Starmer forum, over the lack of brown faces in the new Cabinet, I think that I have got my answer.

I wanted to gauge opinion on here, a very pro Starmer forum, over the lack of brown faces in the new Cabinet, I think that I have got my answer.

Wow, this is a very pro starmer forum indeed, full of the loony centrists :good:

I’d say there is more opportunity for ‘brown faces’, whatever that statement is meant to mean, to progress to the cabinet through the current government, due to the diversity within the current MPs, should we be concerned that the LGBT ratio, or disabled ratio as well, should the cabinet be proportionally representative of the nation, rather than being built on actual competence?

Apologies if the crew of the fire engine aren’t diverse enough for you. The arsonists who set fire to the place were very diverse

I think sums up the situation perfectly.

Starmer seems to have gone for experience and skills in deciding the cabinet. If we accept the that minority backgrounds have struggled to progress in the Labour Party, that needs to be corrected, no doubt. In the meantime, do you want less experienced/skilled people from minority backgrounds trying to deal with the mess the Tories left, or accept that stronger white ministers are better at least for now?

Oh dear, I can’t see any Tories in the Cabinet….. how unrepresentative!!

At best you are taking the piss, at worse you are trolling. Or just desperately looking for reasons to have a downer on the new government because you like to be contrary.

Though to be fair, I have no detailed knowledge of the relative skills and experience of 400+ Labour MPs, maybe Starmer is the grand wizard of the KKK UK. Oh, hang on, now I’m just making shit 🙂 up…