[Tubby Isaacs]

I mean, fine in principle. But do we have the probation officers for this?

[kreuzberger]

Well, if you work on the proven principle that prison is usually a terrible idea, these ideas would look like a step in the right direction unless you are trying to sell newspapers.

If someone could have a word in the shell-like of the vase carriers, the country would be saved a fortune in tears. Has that Timpson chap been stepping to the fore yet?

[Tubby Isaacs]

I expect Timpson approves strongly of this, even though David Gauke did the original report.

Prison is an excellent idea for some people, it's just that actual prisons are usually bad, particularly what are called local prisons, which hoover up most of the criminals in an area. That includes some people for very serious offences, because few get sent to specialized high security prisons, but also lots of people who aren't particularly dangerous. It would be good maybe if these two groups could maybe be imprisoned in separate jails.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Advice for the government from this internet gobshite who thinks that Maurice Glasman is close to the government. Evidence that the Government are "breaking the law" is alas not forthcoming. It's pointed out BTL that this is similar to the system in France. Whoever wrote that headline can have a good laugh at people like Liz running with it. She retweets someone saying "this is like what's happening in the US".

[The Weeping Angel]

Responses are, on the whole, terrible.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah, there's a big market for this stuff on Bluesky now. When I first went on there, there wasn't. It was "law professor provides proper criticism of government proposal".

[The Weeping Angel]

Although someone on Bluesky did provide me with this interesting nugget of information.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn5wvgk1l6po

Save British Farming founder Liz Webster said: “This government has unleashed a really nasty culture war with their budget.

“Are they hoping to motivate envy to back destruction of our farms which produce healthy and sustainable food and care for our countryside to sign a deal with Trump which delivers chlorinated chicken and hormone-fed beef?”

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha ha ha. Here's another. Because if you wanted to open the door to US agribusiness, you'd do a deal with the EU on agriculture.

[The Weeping Angel]

I often see this sentiment expressed on Bluesky.



I would point out that what Ian and the article ignore is that the right are becoming more radicalised all by themselves, and the fact that even if Starmer got up and said we need immigrants, small boats would still be an issue.

[Tubby Isaacs]

The Government have been pretty clear about the practical problems they inherited and what they've done about them, but nobody seems to want to listen. Perhaps a more moral case would consolidate support for the Government, but it probably wouldn't shut the Right up.

Sunder Katwala says that the protests were actually smaller than before, so it's possible they fade but they'll still get media hyping.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I know "Warren" is Mr Positive, but sounds interesting.

One of the sites this plan is targeting is Worcestershire Parkway, which is a station built by the last government, at the intersection of two railway lines. 4,500 homes due. Hard to object to this, right? Apparently not.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I know "Warren" is Mr Positive, but sounds interesting.

One of the sites this plan is targeting is Worcestershire Parkway, which is a station built by the last government, at the intersection of two railway lines. 4,500 homes due. Hard to object to this, right? Apparently not.

[Tubby Isaacs]

More support for Grangemouth workers. The only argument against this approach is "na na na would have been kept open if it was in England", , Perhaps Brian Leishman could have spent more time supporting his Government than feeding lines to the SNP, who until they spotted an England angle were on board with this approach.

The Scottish Government have more money in real terms than the UK Government, and borrowing powers. Couldn't they have stumped up the money for this refinery that they now say has a great future?

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/supp ... th-workers

[Tubby Isaacs]

Starmer’s EU negotiator gives stronger backing to youth mobility scheme
Nick Thomas-Symonds indicates closer ties with Europe in future and promises to agree agriculture deal

Keir Starmer’s lead negotiator on Europe has enthused about how excited he is by the prospect of an EU youth mobility scheme, as he signalled a broader government shift towards embracing closer ties with the bloc.

Nick Thomas-Symonds, the Cabinet Office minister in charge of negotiating Britain’s relationship with the EU, said on Wednesday he was looking forward to signing a deal to let young people travel and work more freely across Europe.

His tone contrasted with that struck just a few months ago, when the government would not even say whether it was willing to enter negotiations over such a scheme.

Or perhaps "his tone contrasted with just a few months ago when we went off at half cock"

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2025/ ... ity-scheme

[Tubby Isaacs]

It's a few months since the big summit. The UK words on a visa scheme were fairly warm there, weren't they?

I get that lots of people criticize the comms, but a bit of media literacy among the actual... media might be useful.

[Abernathy]

We always knew this was how beginning to undo the damage of Brexit was going to progress once Labour was back in government. It was politically expedient to rule out any immediate prospect of a total Brexit reversal or re-joining the EU, but things like the realignment of the UK’s standards and regulations with those of the EU , new deals permitting younger Brits to travel freely throughout EU states, even the recent so-called “one in, one out” deal on asylum seekers with France, are all moving the UK gradually and steadily back towards a mutually productive and beneficial relationship with the EU that could, in time, see the UK’s EU membership recovered somewhere down the line.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Ha ha, been back on Bluesky.

Not that I think "refused to rule out immediately" is half as important as some people who are on the internet as much as me, but you don't get to phrase public debate in open ended ways like that. The question presented to the public will be something more like. "Germany has returned illegal immigrants to Afghanistan, including some with criminal records. Do you think the UK should consider the same?" See how the scores on the doors look then. I'd file this under "political understanding", but apparently Sam is the expert on that.

[Tubby Isaacs]

We always knew this was how beginning to undo the damage of Brexit was going to progress once Labour was back in government. It was politically expedient to rule out any immediate prospect of a total Brexit reversal or re-joining the EU, but things like the realignment of the UK’s standards and regulations with those of the EU , new deals permitting younger Brits to travel freely throughout EU states, even the recent so-called “one in, one out” deal on asylum seekers with France, are all moving the UK gradually and steadily back towards a mutually productive and beneficial relationship with the EU that could, in time, see the UK’s EU membership recovered somewhere down the line.

There's no evidence that the EU is interested in renegotiating UK membership. And it would be on worse terms than before, which would be much harder to sell than some "Remainers" think. I don't buy we'd be in the Euro, maybe not Schengen, but the rebate would be gone.

What people call the "Customs Union" would be a bad option, as you can see from the fact that Norway, Iceland and Switzerland don't bother with it even though they are effectively in the Single Market. Turkey did join it, but there's a lot of dissatisfaction. Is there another Customs Union available? Jez talked about negotiating one as the Leave option in a second referendum, but there wasn't much evidence one was available then (I'd have taken Bozo's deal as the Leave option). Is one available now? It's not as if the EU Customs Union has been much defence against Trump either.

It seems a mystery to some journalists that negotiators might not be saying exactly the same thing in private as in public. And that not all leaks from the other side are worth taking seriously.

[The Weeping Angel]

Also in contrast to the approach advocated by the FBPE crowd, which is to turn up and say you want to rejoin.

[Tubby Isaacs]

One of the funny things about them is that they've become exceptionalists in their own way. We're back, baby!

I can respect the position of joining the Single Market, but there are big political problems there, like the Remain side having said last time how bad an option it would be.