Coronavirus

[Renton 17628]

7 minutes ago, NJS said:

Can't believe all you four eyes haven't had them lasered yet - I think I've recommended it a few times. 

 

Okay might not be the best time to have minor surgery but still.... 

 

Almost everyone needs reading glasses from middle age onwards. Lasering seems like over medicalisation to me, especially since it's a deteriorating problem. 

 

My reading  glasses were from the pound shop, should really get a prescription but can't be chewed. 

[Tdansmith 2068]

13 minutes ago, Renton said:

 

 

 

My reading  glasses were from the pound shop, should really get a prescription but can't be chewed. 

How much did they cost ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Tdansmith 2068]

This is very encouraging...

 

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-53469839

 

A coronavirus vaccine developed by the University of Oxford appears safe and triggers an immune response.

[Meenzer 13983]

24 minutes ago, Tdansmith said:

How much did they cost ? 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dunno, couldn't read the price tag

[Gemmill 34184]

50 minutes ago, NJS said:

Can't believe all you four eyes haven't had them lasered yet - I think I've recommended it a few times. 

 

Okay might not be the best time to have minor surgery but still.... 

 

I looked into it but it's still an unregulated industry and there are some fucking horror stories of people that have had complications that are basically irreversible. I know the cast majority are fine, but if it goes wrong you're pretty much on your own. 

 

So it's a no from me! 

[Isegrim 8868]

Fanny.

[Monkeys Fist 38571]

3 minutes ago, Isegrim said:

Fanny.

[ewerk 26189]

 

 

I'm not a fan of Dawn Butler and I think it was a ham fisted way of asking this question but it was the right question to ask. We've ordered 30 billion pieces of PPE and received 2 billion. Hundreds of millions of pounds were given to companies that appear unqualified to supply the required items.

I know there was a massive panic on to get PPE at the time but there doesn't appear to be any admission that mistakes have been made and that there's been any effort to reclaim money from those who have failed to supply them. I feel there's a massive scandal brewing here.

[Gemmill 34184]

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get exercised about this stuff. There are scandals all over this government, but there are never any consequences. Like Jenrick is in front of the Housing Committee today. We all know what he's done, and we all know that this is basically the last thing that he has to ride out and then it'll all be forgotten. 

 

I'm fucking sick of it, but I'm even more sick of wasting energy being outraged by it. 

 

I'm sure getting people to this point is all part of the objective, so well done to whoever's plan it was, cos it's working. 

[Monkeys Fist 38571]

5 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

 

I'm sure getting people to this point is all part of the objective, so well done to whoever's plan it was, cos it's working. 

[ewerk 26189]

16 minutes ago, Gemmill said:

I'm finding it increasingly difficult to get exercised about this stuff. There are scandals all over this government, but there are never any consequences. Like Jenrick is in front of the Housing Committee today. We all know what he's done, and we all know that this is basically the last thing that he has to ride out and then it'll all be forgotten. 

 

I'm fucking sick of it, but I'm even more sick of wasting energy being outraged by it. 

 

I'm sure getting people to this point is all part of the objective, so well done to whoever's plan it was, cos it's working. 

It's following the Trump path of a scandal every other day where it gets to the point that people just don't care. But with Trump it has had a cumulative effect and with coronavirus thrown into the mix it looks like it's been enough to finish him.

 

I think Starmer recognised this which is why he doesn't go for full throated attacks at every opportunity. The public become immune to it if that's what you do.

Edited July 22, 2020 by ewerk

[Monkeys Fist 38571]

Only four years to go then… 

[ewerk 26189]

1 hour ago, Gemmill said:

 Like Jenrick is in front of the Housing Committee today. We all know what he's done, and we all know that this is basically the last thing that he has to ride out and then it'll all be forgotten. 

This one won't even register:

Quote

Ministers used a government regeneration scheme to target millions of pounds in grants at marginal Conservative seats before the last election, an analysis by The Times suggests.

Today a report by the National Audit Office (NAO) reveals the process by which ministers selected 101 towns in England to each benefit from a £25 million boost to their economies last September.

It shows 61 of the towns were chosen at the discretion of ministers led by Robert Jenrick, the housing and communities secretary. An analysis shows that all but one of them were either Conservative-held seats or Tory targets before the election.

Of those held by Conservative MPs, 80 per cent had majorities of less than 5,000. Only one Labour seat targeted for funding did not fall to the Conservatives.

Only two towns chosen had Tory majorities of more than 10,000 before the election, one of which was Mr Jenrick’s seat, Newark.

The revelation is likely to put pressure on Mr Jenrick after controversy over his approval of a housing development backed by a Tory donor against the advice of officials.

Last night Meg Hillier, who chairs the Commons public accounts committee, said it would look into the matter. “This NAO report shows that some of the most deprived towns in England will be left behind once again,” she said. “Taxpayers’ money is not other people’s money and if ministers were so closely involved it might be seen by some as political.”

She added: “Nine out of ten towns were ruled out with no explanation before they reached the starting line, while some affluent towns are still in the running. Ministers relied on flimsy, cherry-picked evidence to choose the lucky towns. Those that lost out have not yet had the chance to make their case.”

The NAO’s findings bear out Times research from November last year which found evidence of the fund being used to boost Tory target seats.

Steve Reed, the shadow communities secretary, said: “There are now serious concerns that ministers may have allocated funding for political gain at the 2019 election, something which breaks strict rules on impartiality.

“The secretary of state must explain as a matter of urgency how ministers decided where to spend this money and why so many communities lost out.”

The £3.6 billion towns fund was unveiled last summer shortly after Boris Johnson entered Downing Street as part of his early pledges to “rebalance growth” across England after Brexit.

Those towns selected to benefit from the scheme were announced by Mr Jenrick in September but his department refused to publish the selection criteria amid criticism that affluent towns had been prioritised over poorer communities. The NAO’s report reveals that officials attempted to create a set of seven criteria for deciding which towns should benefit, including income and skill deprivation, low productivity and exposure to Brexit.

But while ministers accepted a recommendation that all 40 high-priority towns identified be selected to bid for funding they retained discretion over the remaining 61 places allocated.

The NAO report shows that these towns were often less in need of assistance — 12 were officially classed as “low priority’” of which, The Times’s figures suggest, nine were in marginal seats.

A spokesman for the Ministry of Housing, Communities and Local Government said: “As set out in the report the department put in place a robust process to identify towns for Town Deals, which ministers followed throughout. The selection criteria was set by officials and took into account factors including income deprivation, skills, productivity and investment opportunities.”

 

[Toonpack 6766]

Fuck it, whats the point, we are so screwed and likely to be screwed permanently, may as well just get pissed and stay pissed.

four more years (at least) of this shit 😞

[Tom 13811]

It the “left” as they like to call themselves keep relentlessly attacking Starmer we get to have a Tory Government forever 

Juxtaposed to the current shower of shite in Government, Starmer is de facto extreme far left.

I think post Corbyn people get their kicks being in opposition. Let people starve as long as we get to complain about it on twitter.

[Alex 30248]

Think it was PL on here that referred to Corbynism as a cult whereby his followers were blind to his failings and seem more bothered about winning the philosophical argument instead of actually helping people. The irony was his policies weren’t exactly extreme Marxist. The problems were his lack of electability and his inability to tackle serious issues within his own party, whether they be anti-semitism (which was overplayed but still handled terribly) or being able to get his MPs to unite behind him. He was so out of his depth it was unbelievable 

[Toonpack 6766]

3 minutes ago, Alex said:

Think it was PL on here that referred to Corbynism as a cult whereby his followers were blind to his failings and seem more bothered about winning the philosophical argument instead of actually helping people. The irony was his policies weren’t exactly extreme Marxist. The problems were his lack of electability and his inability to tackle serious issues within his own party, whether they be anti-semitism (which was overplayed but still handled terribly) or being able to get his MPs to unite behind him. He was so out of his depth it was unbelievable 

Exactly this, he had an open goal opposite him for ages and just didn't have the wherewithall to take any sort of advantage, he was unelectable to loads of folks who could see/knew the Tories were utterly shit, but he managed to come over even shitter 

[Tom 13811]

I think I’ve definitely been in the wrong in that respect.

My friend reckons I’m the same with Mr 3 Series. Or “Starmer” as they call him.

[Rayvin 4949]

The fact that Starmer isn't climbing back above the Tories (or even anywhere near) does indicate that Brexit is a factor in all of this. Culturally, there are two dividing lines in society. Informed versus poor informed, probably about sums it up.

 

Unfortunately the 'informed' vote is split between 4 different parties, and in concentrated areas through the country, making them an inefficient voting bloc. 99% of the uninformed vote sits within a single party, and the voters are spread out far more efficiently.

 

Corbyn was a disaster, but Starmer is going to have considerable challenges with or without the left complaining at him from the sides. He is an out and out Remainer for one thing - firmly on one side of the most toxic issue this country has seen in my lifetime.

[Tom 13811]

That’s the problem. Anyone with half a brain is a remainer.

 

*camera pans across Great Britain*

[Meenzer 13983]

4 minutes ago, Tom said:

That’s the problem. Anyone with half a brain is a remainer.

 

*camera pans across Great Britain*

 

[fade to black] On a river where they used to build the boats...

[Meenzer 13983]

7 minutes ago, Meenzer said:

 

[fade to black] In a city where they used to build the cars...

 

FMP

[Rayvin 4949]

I will add for Starmer though, that he's probably the most competent party leader we've seen in either of the two main parties, since Brown. Maybe that'll count for something in a few years. I do think Renton is right to a point, that the landscape will change hugely when all the shit hits the fan. I just worry that people are too entrenched. 'Cutting your nose off to spite your face' should become a national slogan.

Edited July 22, 2020 by Rayvin

[Monkeys Fist 38571]

24 minutes ago, Tom said:

That’s the problem. Anyone with half a brain is a remainer.

 

*camera pans across Great Britain*

I know someone that fits- bet he voted Leave. 
 

[ewerk 26189]

32 minutes ago, Rayvin said:

 

Corbyn was a disaster, but Starmer is going to have considerable challenges with or without the left complaining at him from the sides. He is an out and out Remainer for one thing - firmly on one side of the most toxic issue this country has seen in my lifetime.

 
Starmer is on the right side of this. The election isn’t likely to be for four years. By which time the effects of Brexit will be coming clear and suddenly there will be a lot of Brexit voters who claim that Johnson fucked it up or that they were never in support of Brexit in the first place.