Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Headline versus story - Torygraph edition.

Cut benefits to boost defence spending, voters tell Starmer

Voters have urged Sir Keir Starmer to cut the benefits bill to fund a rise in defence spending.

More than a quarter of Britons said they would like to see Labour cut the welfare budget in the event that it needed to raid public services to pay for a boost to the military, a poll by Ipsos found...

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... l-starmer/

Hang on. What's this?

...Asked where the Government should find the money for defence, voters were most likely to say they would oppose cuts across the board.

However, those who did select a public service to cut were most likely to choose welfare, including Universal Credit and pensions...

Here it comes

...The findings will give Sir Keir an indication of which cuts are likely to be most palatable to the public...

Actually, dear Torygraph, 73% of voters have indicated that the cuts you're bigging-up are toxic. The correct headline should be something like "Only 27% of Ipsos poll responders are cunt enough to put the boot in to vulnerable people", but we'll never see a true headline from your shiterag, will we.

And in fairness to that 27%, some of those will be thinking that the Pensions Triple Lock should be restricted.

Hold the front page

Prince Harry and Meghan to stay at royal residence
The King offers security guarantees as the couple return with their children ahead of the Invictus Games

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/0 ... rn-sussex/

In a shocking revelation the Torygraph announces members of the royal family will be staying at a royal residence.

Well, colour me surprised.

Britain’s healthcare used to be excellent. Then the NHS arrived

Centuries of charitable and local authority hospitals formed the basis of a world-leading system before it became a wasteful monopoly

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2026/0 ... -nhs-came/

So excellent that people who couldn't afford the bills died of things the NHS has eradicated. This is why my dad grew up under a stepmother instead of his mum.

I fucking hate rose-tinted bullshit like this.

Another Telegraph article from another right wing weirdo for which the only response is "what the actual fuck".

In 1933 my grandmother's first born son died from pnumonia at the age of 7 in a hospital 20 miles from where he lived because there was nowhere nearer that could take him in. He was in there for 4 weeks but visiting wasn't allowed on the basis that it would 'upset the child' . This sick, terrified boy never saw his parents again from the day he was admitted. My grandmother often told me she and my grandad would stand at the hospital gate pleading to see their son. The golden days of healthcare indeed.

As I've stated on here before, neither of my grandfathers were considered fit enough to be conscripted into the forces during WWII, one had withered limbs due to childhood polio, and the other had damaged lungs due to TB.
Is this what the Telegraph seriously wants to return to? Maybe they've figured that AI in the workplace and drone technology on the battlefield means they no longer need fit and healthy cannon fodder for industry and war.

Rosvanian wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 7:18 am Another Telegraph article from another right wing weirdo for which the only response is "what the actual fuck".

In 1933 my grandmother's first born son died from pnumonia at the age of 7 in a hospital 20 miles from where he lived because there was nowhere nearer that could take him in. He was in there for 4 weeks but visiting wasn't allowed on the basis that it would 'upset the child' . This sick, terrified boy never saw his parents again from the day he was admitted. My grandmother often told me she and my grandad would stand at the hospital gate pleading to see their son. The golden days of healthcare indeed.

That's heartbreaking to read..

Awful. And there are some who would go back to those days because they were 'better'.

Regrettably there are those who think it'd be "better" because they're not paying for healthcare for fatties, cripples and other lesser forms of life in their view.

About ten years ago, I used to work in a branch library where one of the regular service users was 101.

She was a staunch defender of the NHS, She used to tell the story of when her sister needed a leg amputated, but her family didn't have much money.

The doctor herded all of the family except the patient into another room of their two up, two down, and told the parents to turn the gramophone up very, very, very, very loud.

Halcyon days indeed.

Boiler wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 9:38 am Regrettably there are those who think it'd be "better" because they're not paying for healthcare for fatties, cripples and other lesser forms of life in their view.

Let's be honest - when they say "better" they mean "whiter."

My grandmother (Ellen) was a 'laying-in lady' - an unofficial midwife in the working class streets. New mums gave her half-a-crown if they could afford it, much cheaper than the local maternity hospital.

I often think of her when readuing the exploits of Granny Weatherwax.

(Nan used to smoke perpetually, the cigarette never left her mouth and she exhaled through it, sending out sparks... apparently pretty much during births as well).

My nan was a layer-out. One day she'd just put pennies on the eyes of a corpse when he woke up.

Amazing what people will do for tuppence.

The good old days, eh? Fucking fantasy...

By the time we left junior school three of us had parents who'd died. Imagine that now?

I can only recall one instance of that locally: the children of my great-aunt's neighbour lost their father back in the early 70s. They'd have been about seven and nine IIRC.

A bit later, my sister was fifteen when our father died.

davidjay wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 7:23 pm By the time we left junior school three of us had parents who'd died. Imagine that now?

By the time I left junior school two of my classmates had died...

More excellent journalistic rigour from the 'Daily Express for people who can do joined-up writing'


Scrabbling around for ideas on how to lose votes

The Green Party is considering using the Equality Act to make it legally compulsory for certain organisations to provide vegan food options, The Telegraph can disclose.

Leaked documents show the party will debate a proposal at its October conference requiring “services” to offer “plant-based, vegan foods and cruelty-free products”.

While the party has not clarified the scope of “services”, it could potentially include private businesses that provide catering or serve food.

They also want to measure the average emissions per meal by introducing “legal sustainability standards for food procurement”, which would “ensure the prioritisation” of vegan foods, which produce fewer emissions than animal products.

If adopted, these motions would become official Green Party policy, meaning thousands of hospitality venues would need to adjust their menus if the party gained power.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... onference/

The businesses which don't routinely offer vogon food most probably haven't found it cost-effective to do so. If it were a money-spinner they'd already be doing it.


Aha. What's this?

The motion, which is being backed by at least one senior Green...

So probably not going to happen then.

Killer Whale wrote: ↑Wed Jul 08, 2026 7:32 am As I've stated on here before, neither of my grandfathers were considered fit enough to be conscripted into the forces during WWII, one had withered limbs due to childhood polio, and the other had damaged lungs due to TB.
Is this what the Telegraph seriously wants to return to? Maybe they've figured that AI in the workplace and drone technology on the battlefield means they no longer need fit and healthy cannon fodder for industry and war.

I read somewhere (sorry it was years ago and I can't cite my source) that shortly after conscription was introduced in 1916 the British army had to start ordering greater quantities of larger sized uniforms. The lads from the slums were putting on weight due to better diet and burning fewer calories than in their civilian lives.