When will this shit end?

[Matt42]

6 minutes ago, Ozanne said:

Most definitely it is. However even with the Youth vote it didn't do jack for Corbyn. He's got to bring together a coalition of voters, of different ages and locations too. In every Blair landslide win he had Scotland, so Starmer needs to make some movement up there too.

Yeah I do think losing Scotland has cost the Labour Party a lot.

[zahidf]

100% accurate antibody test approved

 

 

[gizmoman]

One of the things that does come up when people mention Starmer was his involvement with the Jimmy Saville case when at the CPS, i've just read this, written by a labour party member before his election,

https://medium.com/@lucynevitt/starmers-shambolic-cps-affabd38bb6d

it contains this bombshell,

"However, one of the most crucial cases is related to John Worboys, the black cab driver who spiked the drinks of scores of unsuspecting women before sexually assaulting them while they were unconscious in the back of his taxi. Worboys was convicted in 2009 of 19 charges against 12 women. It was suspected that there were over 100 more victims. But Sir Keir ruled not to pursue further charges. What is most interesting about the case is that Carrie Symonds, the current partner of Boris Johnson, was a victim of Worboys. If Sir Keir is elected Labour’s next leader elected, the party would face a situation where they would have not only failed to elect a woman leader, but they would also elected a man who oversaw the mishandling of a high-profile rape case involving the prime minister’s partner."

PMQ's will never be the same now!

[Zoo Music Girl]

5 hours ago, steviewevie said:

 

I think the certificate was supposed to demomstate that a workplace had attained it's Covid-secure accreditation?So a bit worrying.

Got the following from TfL today. Can't see me getting public transport to work from a long time:

We have a plan to help London re-open carefully, safely and sustainably. This follows the advice and messages published by the Government yesterday.   In line with Government plans to increase national rail services, we are working hard to return Tube and bus services to normal levels under extraordinarily difficult circumstances, with many staff ill, shielding or self-isolating.     By next week, over 70 per cent of Tube services (in line with national rail services) and 85 per cent of bus services will be running.   However, given the national requirement to maintain 2 metres distance between passengers wherever possible, the capacity on the Tube and buses will be reduced to around 13-15 per cent, even once services are back to full strength.   This means transport must operate very differently.   In line with new Government advice, everyone who can work from home should continue to do so. Public transport should be avoided wherever possible to free up the limited space available to those who have no alternative way to travel.   If you must travel, please plan ahead and travel outside of the busiest times, particularly first thing in the morning.  Please try to take the most direct route and avoid busy interchanges. To help you plan your journey we will be publishing details of the busiest stations and lines in the next few days and will write to you again with that information.   If you can, please walk or cycle for all or part of your journey, including to complete your journey if travelling into central London. We have been introducing local improvements in partnership with boroughs to widen footpaths and provide more cycle lanes. You can find out more here. This is also to help support you in making the most of your local shops and outdoor spaces.   We are taking measures across our network to enable social distancing of 2 metres where possible. Please wear a face covering. Do not travel if you have any symptoms of the virus.   You may be asked to wait to enter a station. Some stations will have one-way systems, or you may be asked to walk on the left. We are also asking people to maintain social distancing throughout stations, for example on stairs, escalators and in lifts.   If travelling by bus, please maintain social distancing at stops and bus stations wherever possible. Currently you will also need to board the bus using the middle doors and you do not need to tap in. When in the bus please use all available space, including the upper deck, if possible, to maintain social distancing.   We are doing everything we can to maintain the cleanliness of our network with regular cleaning using hospital grade antiviral disinfectant.   It is also important that you continue to follow the Government advice on hygiene. Please wash your hands before and after travel and carry hand sanitiser with you. We are also putting hand sanitiser dispensers in our stations in the coming weeks.   Please be considerate to our staff and follow their instructions. Everyone is doing their best in these difficult times.   Thank you for your help. I will write to you again with further information in the coming days.   Yours sincerely Vernon Everitt Managing Director, Customers, Communication & Technology

[philipsteak]

3 hours ago, gizmoman said:

They have also closed the public toilets in these places to put people off, just something to consider before you set off.

Not that I want to encourage anyone, but they have started to open up some of the car parks and toilets around here. The National Park really don't want to encourage people either, but figure it's better than people parking in stupid places and shitting everywhere

[shoptildrop]

2 hours ago, gizmoman said:

One of the things that does come up when people mention Starmer was his involvement with the Jimmy Saville case when at the CPS, i've just read this, written by a labour party member before his election,

https://medium.com/@lucynevitt/starmers-shambolic-cps-affabd38bb6d

it contains this bombshell,

"However, one of the most crucial cases is related to John Worboys, the black cab driver who spiked the drinks of scores of unsuspecting women before sexually assaulting them while they were unconscious in the back of his taxi. Worboys was convicted in 2009 of 19 charges against 12 women. It was suspected that there were over 100 more victims. But Sir Keir ruled not to pursue further charges. What is most interesting about the case is that Carrie Symonds, the current partner of Boris Johnson, was a victim of Worboys. If Sir Keir is elected Labour’s next leader elected, the party would face a situation where they would have not only failed to elect a woman leader, but they would also elected a man who oversaw the mishandling of a high-profile rape case involving the prime minister’s partner."

PMQ's will never be the same now!

There is a massive surge of "dismantle Keir on this" on social media at the moment, tory bots out enforce today on reminding people of his involvement on this and Jimmy Saville 

[gizmoman]

10 minutes ago, shoptildrop said:

There is a massive surge of "dismantle Keir on this" on social media at the moment, tory bots out enforce today on reminding people of his involvement on this and Jimmy Saville 

Yes it comes up a lot, that is how I got to see this article but it's not a tory expose, the author is pretty hard left, she didn't want Starmer elected, he's too far to the right/centre for her, and too male too I suspect! I knew about Saville but the Boris connection was a bit of a shocker.

[shoptildrop]

1 hour ago, gizmoman said:

Yes it comes up a lot, that is how I got to see this article but it's not a tory expose, the author is pretty hard left, she didn't want Starmer elected, he's too far to the right/centre for her, and too male too I suspect! I knew about Saville but the Boris connection was a bit of a shocker.

Is it actually true though??

They will play dirty tactics with this if it is...

[mcshed]

8 hours ago, gizmoman said:

What is most interesting about the case is that Carrie Symonds, the current partner of Boris Johnson, was a victim of Worboys. If Sir Keir is elected Labour’s next leader elected, the party would face a situation where they would have not only failed to elect a woman leader, but they would also elected a man who oversaw the mishandling of a high-profile rape case involving the prime minister’s partner."

I wouldn't worry too much about this re: the next election, that is 4 years away and Boris is sure to be shagging someone else by then.

[zahidf]

9 minutes ago, mcshed said:

I wouldn't worry too much about this re: the next election, that is 4 years away and Boris is sure to be shagging someone else by then.

Boris will probably have another kid born in the next couple of months 

[Neil]

8 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

The only people who seem to have really made their mind up about him are the die hard Corbynites, and what are they going to do, vote Lib Dem?  

Most of them used to, most of them will again. 

Fucking tourists.

 

[mattiloy]

8 hours ago, stuartbert two hats said:

Some of them won't, believe me.  Fucking mental, some of them. 
They know who their enemy is:

Hang on. I tend back the party with the best ideas, with the manifesto that I believe in most. I think its absurd to dogmatically back one party when their policy positions can change as drastically as they have with Labour in recent years. 

In my first vote, i voted for the lib dems in 2010. They wanted to scrap trident, tuition fees, mansion tax, break up banks, alternative vote. Based on their promises, they were the best choice at the time. Then they went into coalition.

And thats why I like Corbyn. He reflects my views and is honest and true as they come. I will not vote for Starmer unless he can convince me that he is not going to be another Nick Clegg. His 10 point plan during his leadership election was very strong. His shadow cabinet appointments, not so much. So we'll see. Otherwise I'll vote green. And make no apology for voting for whomsoever best reflects my own beliefs at the time. Is that not the point of democracy? It wouldn't even be a discussion if we didn't have this dogshut first past the post. 

[SwedgeAntilles]

The abject performance of Labour and work required to turn things around in Scotland cannot be understated. They've effectively gone from being the Alex Ferguson's Man Utd of Scottish politics (winning everything, seen as the immovable object, red) to, well, post-Alex Ferguson Man Utd (uninspired, constantly make the wrong decisions, numerous false dawns, a succession of below par new leaders/managers). As far as Scottish Labour goes I'd argue it's been well over a decade since they had anything resembling a competent leader that was viewed as electable (remember Wendy Alexander?), Richard Leonard is not the man to buck that trend.

If Starmer continues to impress down south it'll undoubtedly have a positive effect on Labour's polling in Scotland, much like the bounce it got when Corbyn was at the height of his popularity. But to actually make a dent in the SNP's commanding lead and (this should be the first priority) re-take 2nd place comprehensively from the Tories they need to be radical, much more radical than the Westminster party is likely to be over the next few years.

In my view the best way to achieve that is to support a 2nd independence referendum but with the proviso that 'devo-max' is on the ballot, then campaign alone (i.e. without the Tories and LDs) for that. I think they'd stand a good chance of winning and improving their fortunes in Scotland dramatically. 

[Ozanne]

Out of interest what would devo-max look like? I don’t know enough about Scottish devolution.

[SwedgeAntilles]

1 minute ago, Ozanne said:

Out of interest what would devo-max look like? I don’t know enough about Scottish devolution.

It's basically one-step short of independence. Full fiscal autonomy for Scotland but it remains part of the union. Effectively federalism. 

It raises the question of what happens to rUK in that scenario but whatever that looks like I'd imagine it's preferably to unionists than the breakup of the UK.

[Ozanne]

8 minutes ago, SwedgeAntilles said:

It's basically one-step short of independence. Full fiscal autonomy for Scotland but it remains part of the union. Effectively federalism. 

It raises the question of what happens to rUK in that scenario but whatever that looks like I'd imagine it's preferably to unionists than the breakup of the UK.

Sounds fair, I’ve never been too bothered but from the history aspect I’d like the Union to stay together. I also believe countries are better together than not.

[Doug85]

Great news about the antibody test being approved. Better news that it is 100% accurate. They need to get more than 100k ordered though, theres 60 odd million to test in this country alone. At least there could actually be some light at the end of the tunnel of shit. 

[Crazyfool01]

5 minutes ago, Doug85 said:

Great news about the antibody test being approved. Better news that it is 100% accurate. They need to get more than 100k ordered though, theres 60 odd million to test in this country alone. At least there could actually be some light at the end of the tunnel of shit. 

Total game changer for me ... to know if I’ve had it  ... and my family will ease so many worries ... especially if I have  ..if not I can make decisions based on that 

[Doug85]

1 minute ago, crazyfool1 said:

Total game changer for me ... to know if I’ve had it  ... and my family will ease so many worries ... especially if I have  ..if not I can make decisions based on that 

Yep I think it could end up being a big game changer in the track and trace testing too. I think more people in the country will have had it than estimated too without even knowing about it. Fingers crossed they can roll this out soon and in bulk. Will certainly help get back to some normality before they can get some form of drug treatment or vaccine

[Crazyfool01]

2 minutes ago, Doug85 said:

Yep I think it could end up being a big game changer in the track and trace testing too. I think more people in the country will have had it than estimated too without even knowing about it. Fingers crossed they can roll this out soon and in bulk. Will certainly help get back to some normality before they can get some form of drug treatment or vaccine

Totally ... so many of my familly have had an ongoing cough ... but is it whats been classed as persistent .? .. or has it just been a cough we have all caught from each other through meeting ? We need some kind of breakthrough to start giving some hope back to people ... 

[Homer]

1 hour ago, mattiloy said:

Hang on. I tend back the party with the best ideas, with the manifesto that I believe in most. I think its absurd to dogmatically back one party when their policy positions can change as drastically as they have with Labour in recent years. 

In my first vote, i voted for the lib dems in 2010. They wanted to scrap trident, tuition fees, mansion tax, break up banks, alternative vote. Based on their promises, they were the best choice at the time. Then they went into coalition.

And thats why I like Corbyn. He reflects my views and is honest and true as they come. I will not vote for Starmer unless he can convince me that he is not going to be another Nick Clegg. His 10 point plan during his leadership election was very strong. His shadow cabinet appointments, not so much. So we'll see. Otherwise I'll vote green. And make no apology for voting for whomsoever best reflects my own beliefs at the time. Is that not the point of democracy? It wouldn't even be a discussion if we didn't have this dogshut first past the post. 

That is of course perfectly your right (goes without saying) - but some people like to deploy tactical voting in the face of this apparently non-stop Tory rule.

[stuartbert two hats]

1 hour ago, mattiloy said:

Hang on. I tend back the party with the best ideas, with the manifesto that I believe in most. I think its absurd to dogmatically back one party when their policy positions can change as drastically as they have with Labour in recent years. 

In my first vote, i voted for the lib dems in 2010. They wanted to scrap trident, tuition fees, mansion tax, break up banks, alternative vote. Based on their promises, they were the best choice at the time. Then they went into coalition.

And thats why I like Corbyn. He reflects my views and is honest and true as they come. I will not vote for Starmer unless he can convince me that he is not going to be another Nick Clegg. His 10 point plan during his leadership election was very strong. His shadow cabinet appointments, not so much. So we'll see. Otherwise I'll vote green. And make no apology for voting for whomsoever best reflects my own beliefs at the time. Is that not the point of democracy? It wouldn't even be a discussion if we didn't have this dogshut first past the post. 

I'm talking about the kind who are much more concerned with attacking their own party than the Tories and will withhold their vote from Starmer because he's not Corbyn or his anointed successor. Even though there's no other party that actually represents their views better.

[Zoo Music Girl]

We're stuck with the Tories for another decade at least aren't we? So grim.

[Homer]

11 minutes ago, Zoo Music Girl said:

We're stuck with the Tories for another decade at least aren't we? So grim.

Seems that way. The right really seem to have everything stitched up and coordinated now. The press - even the working classes. Falling in line with the US model.

[steviewevie]

I wonder what the plan is with the antibody test? How are they going to distribute and record results. The result for each user is important of course, but also overall test results are important to show actual numbers instead of estimates and assumptions.