I get why Starmer wanted to use the conference ahead of any potential election period to show he was getting the party into shape. They'd been comprehensively twatted by the country. You've got to show you listened to that and want to change
I also get why he wanted to change the rules. Corbyn's period was a betrayal of the party, a betrayal of the country and a betrayal of anti-racism. When it goes that badly wrong, you've got to reverse engineer a solution to prevent it happening again
The plan is fine. But you have to be able to time and deliver it.
The sight this week was of a government in a profound moment of weakness, on the brink of all-out crisis, overseeing a system-wide rise in the cost of living which will hit the poor hardest. And what the fuck was Labour doing? Trying to eat it's own hand.
Competence is rule number one, especially when it was your pitch to Labour members and your main attack on the government. I'm not seeing much of it at the moment.
The worst part is Labour has a really good package for workers rights which contrasts perfectly with the government-imposed crisis of living standards. But they're talking instead about internal election rules.
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There's three routes to solving the HGV issue, although none of them will work quickly. 1) streamlining training 2) opening up to European drivers 3) improving conditions. The first has been done badly, the second resentfully and the third not at all.
It's hard, long term work: sorting the sleeping arrangements, showers, toilets and food that drivers get. In some European countries, these are free and of good quality. In the UK they're charged and of very poor quality.
Ultimately it's about treating drivers with respect. And for all the government's efforts to dress up their anti-immigrant agenda by talking about a 'high skill high wage' domestic economy, they've shown fuck all interest in accomplishing that.
He goes off to run a populist right wing 'anti-woke' channel in which he'd capitalise on national division by railing against 'the elite' in between jetting off to his French and New York pads.
It turned out they can't find their arse for their fucking elbow. So he pretends it's all a matter of high principle, rather than the fact he took a punt on toxic right wing politics and ended up looking a bellend.
Quite apart from the silliness of the proposal, and it really is quite mind-meltingly silly, how exactly do you measure this? What precisely is British about Fleabag and in what quantities would it be needed to satisfy the criteria? inews.co.uk/news/john-whit…
I mean, I kind of agree that Fleabag is distinctly British. Something about the self-deprecation and lack of sentimentality. But we don't own those qualities. Why wouldn't that be very Danish? I would love to see the Excel spreadsheet where you get to turn that into units.
Also, it seems to solve a problem that doesn't exist. British telly is already really very fucking British. I show that stuff to my cousins overseas and they're usually baffled.
North London people: Pop London, our family's fashion boutique, is holding a fashion show in Wood Green tomorrow night. Free entry - drinks, gorgeous sustainable fashion, and me doing whatever I'm told.
I do not understand the fashion part. But I very much understand the bit where we all drink in the sun and listen to music.
Yeah so that was a fantastic night. @popldnboutique really does put on the best shows: London through and through. Just the thing after a day of relentless political horror.