[The Weeping Angel]

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Destabilisation tactics, see also The Guardian.

[Boiler]

I hear the little shit Mason making noises about Starmer's future, or the lack of it...

Polanski. A Farage for the Left; minus the racism, but still with the snobbery.

[Tubby Isaacs]

So Polanski's line is that in a hung parliament, he treats Starmer and Farage the same? I find that pretty ridiculous. Surely his line should be something like "there's lots we don't like, but put this green stuff in, and we'll stop you getting kicked out by an unholy alliance to the likely benefit of Reform". Then again, I don't think green stuff is of much interest to him.

If Burnham did succeed Starmer, and the immigration stuff had reduced boat crossings and asylum applications massively, does Polanski think Burnham would scrap it all? I think that's incredibly unlikely.

This stuff is all easier than doing any proper work. In fairness, he has planned to get some economic advice in from experts rather than YouTube influencers. But how will he react to being told "wealth taxes bring in much less than you think" or "there actually is a problem with printing a load more money, most of the time"? He's going to look a lot more like Starmer than he probably anticipates (albeit with some extra growth from more immigration, but with less growth from less development).

[Tubby Isaacs]

Polanski's smart enough to know that this stuff gets him more publicity than a sensible line on working with Starmer.

He's lead UK story on The Guardian.

[Malcolm Armsteen]

Polanski's smart enough to know that this stuff gets him more publicity than a sensible line on working with Starmer.

He's lead UK story on The Guardian.

How amazing...

[Oboogie]

Has anyone explained to Polanski the difference between debt and deficit yet?
I've never heard a politician so economically illiterate, apart from maybe Liz Truss.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I see Zack's got another policy to pay for all the extra spending. Equalizing Capital Gains Tax and income tax rates. For which there's a fair bit to be said, though you'd have to have an inflation allowance. An argument against it is that no country sets the same rates because they are competing for investment.

But let's go with it. Capital Gains Tax in 2024/5 raised £13.3bn. If it were higher but with inflation allowance, what does that raise? Another £8bn, assuming no effect at all (unlikely) on investment?

That's not even paid for abolishing student fees, let alone everything else. Being very approximate, the Greens oppose the taxes Reeves-Starmer have brought in average people. I don't think the wealth tax and the extra CGT get them much past what we're raising in tax already, does it? And god knows how they raise the extra tax needed to pay for investment in water and energy, which I think they want to take off bills.

[Youngian]

Most recent YouGov polling saw the Greens slip a bit as its leader reveals himself to be an ingénue learning on the job. What’s Burnham got up his green sleeves that Miliband presently hasn’t?

[Boiler]

I suspect Miliband would show him up.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Most recent YouGov polling saw the Greens slip a bit as its leader reveals himself to be an ingénue learning on the job. What’s Burnham got up his green sleeves that Miliband presently hasn’t?

Green policy is increasingly too much work for the Greens. Just fire out misleading stats about how cheap renewables are (they're necessary but not cheap when you factor in the changes to the grid and back up), and oppose everything else that doesn't fit that (eg nuclear and carbon capture).

Who can say Zack's doing it wrong?

[Tubby Isaacs]

Here he is with another heavyweight intervention. "Detain without trial", FFS. Are there perhaps any broader implications of attacking Trump?

Vandalizing military planes, the sort of thing most states famously pass over with a "shucks".

[Boiler]

Reminder to self: stop reading Bluesky threads. No better than X.

[Tubby Isaacs]

It used to be full of experts. Then the left version of X goons showed up. Every issue is fixed by "Starmer growing a pair".

[Boiler]

So, just like X, it's a cunt farm then?

[Tubby Isaacs]

The world's oldest teenager has spoken.

Yeah, Trump's just like all the others. I am very clever.

[Youngian]

Noriega's capture was a similar cowboy operation but that and the botched attempts to assassinate Castro had some long term strategic purpose. This feels like another of Trump’s flood the zone brain farts. Those claiming this fiasco is about grabbing Venezuela's oil are giving Trump too much credit.

Surprising what a shitty presidential guard Maduro has. Maybe they haven't been paid for six months.

[The Weeping Angel]

We'll see more of this after May.

[Tubby Isaacs]

I see the Greens are keen on affordable homes now. I thought these were a con because these weren't really affordable.

(Which is a matter of opinion, of course. A friend of mine got an affordable flat in Hackney about 15 years ago, and it was good for her. But she's an architect, and was already quite well on with her career. That's not what the voters courted by the Greens regard as affordable)

[The Weeping Angel]

Well they'll probably end up with more money thanks to the government changing the funding formula.