General British politics discussion thread

L1011

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121898818#Comment_121898818

His salary is basically pocket money to him. Reynolds here was the nearest equivalent in being independently wealthy from legitimate sources; obviously CJH had piles of cash from other sources and Bertie had a bit...

Capt'n Midnight

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121896336#Comment_121896336

List here https://conservativehome.com/2024/03/15/our-list-of-conservative-mps-standing-down-at-the-next-election-timpson-the-latest-to-announce/

Here's someone looking for free publicity standing in the next election, Meet the Instagram influencer who wants to become a Norfolk Tory MP , and yes she's from Essex.

nachouser

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121898818#Comment_121898818

Ah yeah, I just like him being skewered by the Guardian as to how out of touch he is.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121896336#Comment_121896336

Brave James Heappey ran away.

Bravely ran away away.

When danger reared it's ugly head,

He bravely turned his tail and fled.

Bravest of the brave, brave James Heappey.

hotmail.com

Diane Abbott, who herself is a racist, making a lot of noise this week.

I suspect Keir Starmer won't readmit her to the party given her toxicity and dangerous comments over the years.

Randycove

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121890916#Comment_121890916

It was Lloyd George that threatened war, not Churchill.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121914531#Comment_121914531

Depends on who you believe. Churchill was at the table when that threat was made.

I remember it well.

Rjd2

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121899133#Comment_121899133

Her comments which lead to the suspension were absolutely dire but 10 month suspension and still no final judgment been made here?

I wouldn't be a major fan either, but think she has had a tough run of it, hammered by the right and treated like trash by Labour at times. A segment below from The Guardian.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

[quote]

Abbott had frequently been treated with the utmost disrespect by her own Labour colleagues. In the first parliamentary Labour party meeting after Jeremy Corbyn became leader, Jess Phillips, a newly elected MP, boasted that she told Abbott, the then shadow international development secretary and an MP of 28 years, to “**** off” in front of their colleagues. (Abbott denies this happened.) Phillips then invited a pile-on. “People said to me they had always wanted to say that to her, and I don’t know why they don’t as the opportunity presents itself every other minute,” she said. She later apologised.

A couple of years later, according to a leaked internal report, Labour officials hostile to Corbyn mocked Abbott for crying in the toilets and suggested telling a journalist where she was. One official called Abbott an “angry woman” (a clear racist trope) while another called her “repulsive”. To my knowledge, none of them have apologised.

The Forde report on factionalism in the Labour party, commissioned by Keir Starmer and conducted by the barrister Martin Forde KC, found that the criticisms of Abbott “are not simply a harsh response to perceived poor performance – they are expressions of visceral disgust, drawing (consciously or otherwise) on racist tropes, and they bear little resemblance to the criticisms of white male MPs elsewhere in the messages”.

Forde concluded that racism in the party is experienced through “hearing the particular disdain which colleagues reserve for (for example) ethnic minority MPs”, among other ways.

[/quote]

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2024/mar/15/britain-racism-tory-labour-diane-abbott

Tom Mann Centuria

I thought Labour appealing for funds on the back of what was said to Abbott particularly tacky.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/diane-abbot-frank-hester-racism-labour-b2512532.html

I hope she doesn't get readmitted and kicks their arse at the next election. Not sure she'd stand as an independent though.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121915710#Comment_121915710

Corbynistas trying to use a well-known racist and antisemite to try and attack Starmer isn't the genius tactic they seem to think it is.

hotmail.com

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121915384#Comment_121915384

Abbott is an identity politician that thrives off and survives by her race.

So proud of her race and background, she sent her son to a private school rather than mix with people of her own race in the local schools.

She has achieved nothing and just blundered and blustered through her career.

The Labour Party are sick of her.

Tom Mann Centuria

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121915729#Comment_121915729

Centrist Dads, Red Tories, Actual Tories, Melts, Starm-troopers (I thought we'd moved on from labelling other posters but mods think otherwise) missing the point.

Labour are on course for a landslide, a few dissenting voices won't do any harm.

I don't need Abbott to "attack" Starmer, posting the stuff that comes out of Reeves and Streeting's mouths would be enough for me.

If you don't think the email they sent out was crass then *shrugs shoulders* we can agree to disagree.

Brussels Sprout

Gas that rumours have been swirling about Sunak possibly resigning or being defenestrated for the past week and then, out of absolutely nowhere, Leo Varadkar resigns. He must have been chuckling away to himself watching the Sunak rumours knowing what he had planned himself.

serfboard

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121890883#Comment_121890883

When you say that the hard right are in the ascendant in the party right now, I'm not sure if you're talking about at the national level or not, but it's worth mentioning the influx of UKippers (some of whom were former BNP) into the Tory party at constituency level and voting for their preferred candidates at constituency nominations. Once your candidate gets the nomination, Tory voters will vote for them even if they don't agree with some or much of what they stand for.

Sam Russell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121918107#Comment_121918107

Well, Tory central office parachute candidates into safe seats. For non-safe seats, they are not so safe. That will give voters a choice to vote for other candidates - or not to vote.

I would expect that in the upcoming GE, strategic voting will be at play bigtime. That will be used against Tory candidates.

L1011

Rwanda bill suffered another defeat in the Lords

Tom Mann Centuria

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-68632034

The little George Cross (ish) on the back of England's shirt is not respecting the fleg as per Sir Kier. It does look a bit like a logo for a chemist or something but it's completely inoffensive and not surprising coming from Nike, who do shít football kit generally. He's right about the price though, a nice Chinese knock off for me, naff George Cross or not.

PommieBast

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121924493#Comment_121924493

This looks like a decision based on being unable to use any white on the collar. Don't blame Kier for the cheap shot as the Sun is not exactly normally friendly to him.

The same Chinese factory making the "real" stuff is probably already flogging them on Taobao.

Peregrinus

1. The price is absurd.
2. The argument about the cross is even more absurd. Traditionally the England football strip hasn't featured a cross at all; it carries the arms of the FA, three blue lions on a white field studded with Tudor roses. This shirt still features that. In addition, in the not exactly prominent location of the back of the collar it now carries a cross which isn't the St. George Cross.
3. So, a football strip which hasn't carried the St. George Cross up to now still doesn't carry the St. George Cross.
4. This cross is said to be inspired by, or a variation on, the St. George Cross. Is this something that anyone can reasonably work up into an insult? No. The coat of arms which has always featured on the strip is itself inspired by, or a variation of, the English coat of arms, which of course features three yellow lions on a red field. So the principle is well-established that the English national football time uses its own variants of the national symbols.
5. Anyone who gets upset about this cross is — and I'm putting this as charitably as I can — a drivelling idiot who is looking to be offended.

PommieBast

I'm a rugby person so [censored] about english football. But yes a lot of storm-in-teacup here..

pixelburp

This is an absurd issue to be upset about - so of course it's gonna blow up into a whole "thing", isn't it?

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121924606#Comment_121924606

The cross on the back of the collar has I think been a thing on a lot of the recent kits. The controversy is over the top but in no way surprising though.

A lot of the headlines seem to be pushing the idea that Starmer is leading this charge rather than it being a question about an already boiling controversy though which is unfair but again not surprising.

The usual sources are screaming about it being "woke" though which is hilarious.

blackwhite

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121924728#Comment_121924728

Bizarrely, it seems to be something that has united all parties in the Commons - over what should be a nonsense story.

VinLieger

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925694#Comment_121925694

Exactly why its united them, its populist and requires them to do no actual real work.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925699#Comment_121925699

It's not even that "populist" it's just the usual cretins are trying to make it out to be.

If the new Irish kit had a blue, red and purple tricolour I would say it was stupid if I was asked. It's a perfectly reasonable response. What makes it sound stupid is the likes of the Mail and it's usual trolls crying "woke"

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925804#Comment_121925804

To be truthful, when I saw the logo my very first instinct was that it was some variation of the flag using LGBTQ+ colours ... but then immediately realised nope when I looked properly, and also read the article of course. So with those spending their time on the Daily Mail comments section I severely doubt they took the time to either look for more than a second, or read the actual context. These people usually operate on a ludicrous emotional hair trigger.

breezy1985

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121925887#Comment_121925887

It does look very similar to the bisexual flag but I doubt many people even know that exists.

People should as Starmer pointed out be incensed about the price and also jaded with the bullshte "history invoking" corporate waffle used to sell kits.

But the English are just so insecure these days that any criticism or perceived slight is blown out of proportion. They are worse than we were pre 00's.

Sam Russell

The Rwanda gig is affecting stuff here.

Ireland’s declaration of UK as ‘safe third country’ is unlawful, rules High Court

https://www.irishtimes.com/crime-law/courts/2024/03/22/irelands-declaration-of-uk-as-safe-third-country-unlawful-rules-high-court/

Strazdas

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/121924646#Comment_121924646

More culture war nonsense. We're talking about a tiny flag on the back of the collar, not about the FA crest on the front or whatever - many national teams don't have a flag or any emblem on the back of the collar.

It's quite telling though that something so utterly trivial can become a national news story.

retalivity

Its a great lightning rod to deflect from any 'real' news which may paint the tories/labour in a bad light. See also, the incoming weeks of cancerwatch coverage.