[Tubby Isaacs]

Politicians weren't like kickball managers back then though.

I wonder how Sunny Jim would have dealt with the Falklands?

He'd have defended them properly in the first place.

[davidjay]

Politicians weren't like kickball managers back then though.

I wonder how Sunny Jim would have dealt with the Falklands?

He'd have defended them properly in the first place.

I believe there was a bit of sabre-rattling round about 1977 and he sent a gunboat.

[Tubby Isaacs]

This is typical of a lot of intelligent commentators on Starmer, and Higham is a policy heavyweight, on development. Getting irritated by a bland phrase that hardly anyone would have noticed as a sign of Starmer being something bad. I think he's noticed the problems with Putin and Trump, David.

[Andy McDandy]

If he said "We're stuck between two nuclear grade cunts and everything is fucking terrifying", he'd get stick for that, too.

Sometimes you have a shit hand and you need to play it the best you can.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Yeah. I think he's doing that reasonably well, but I can see why people might disagree. What I can't see is getting annoyed at a phrase that at worst barely means anything, and at best, might mean something he misunderstands- ie we have the power to control our what we do at this moment, rather than something about Brexit. And I'm surprised he takes "Customs Union" seriously.

[The Weeping Angel]

Perhaps some of these commentators might reflect on their own role. If all you do is tell people that the government is sat there all day upsetting liberals, it might have an effect on liberal support. Certainly it's reactionary on immigration but it's doing other stuff which liberals like.

I think few of them have any conception of the challenges of accommodating the population increases they call for. Easy to say "just build the homes FFS", but that upsets lots of people too. I hope the Government follows through (and to be fair to Elledge, he gives it credit for trying) but that'll be another stick to beat them with. Note how the Lib Dems (from the late 2010s and probably earlier) noted that this was a good way of taking down Tories, first in local government, then in lots of Westminster seats. Doubtless the reaction from these pundits will be "well the electorate are idiots", and we may or may not agree. So why are they so sure the government could have just put up income tax or whatever and not got killed?

tbh, the only thing that social liberals seem to care about is immigration, plus we get the deliberately alienating their core vote thrown in as well.

[Boiler]

If he said "We're stuck between two nuclear grade cunts and everything is fucking terrifying", he'd get stick for that, too.

Sometimes you have a shit hand and you need to play it the best you can.

With the largest USAF base in Europe at Lakenheath... (and trust me, it's fucking HUGE).

Starmer doesn't have so much a shit hand as a hand someone's shat in.

[Tubby Isaacs]

With the largest USAF base in Europe at Lakenheath... (and trust me, it's fucking HUGE).

Starmer doesn't have so much a shit hand as a hand someone's shat in.

Heck of a tangent here, but USAF bases...

Have you ever heard of this programme?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Space_Cadets_(TV_series)

Hilarious (if a bit cruel) reality tv hoax where some plucky volunteers are told they're going to be Russian cosmonauts and are flown to a disused base near Ipswich, which is kitted out like it's in Russia, and lectured by actors. Three "winners" are taken up into "space". They are incredibly good sports.

[Samanfur]

I remember that. An impressive look backstage at how the production team curated the most suggestible bunch of contestants they could get - that kind of BTS access was a novelty for the genre at the time.