[The Weeping Angel]

Starmer has spoken.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/202 ... ir-starmer

Britain will “never surrender” to far-right protesters who use the flag as cover for violence and to instil fear, Keir Starmer has said, condemning attacks against police officers and the racist intimidation of minorities.

Starmer said the St George’s flag “represents our diverse country” and that he would not tolerate people being “intimidated on our streets because of their background or the colour of their skin”.

The prime minister had been urged by MPs and anti-fascist groups to speak up against some of the rhetoric on the largest nationalist event protest in decades, organised by the far-right activist Tommy Robinson, whose real name is Stephen Yaxley-Lennon.

In his first comment on the march, Starmer said there was a right to peaceful protest but that violence and intimidation were unacceptable and condemned the appropriation of the St George’s flag by the far right, anti-immigration protesters.

[Oboogie]

Inevitably it's not enough for some on BSky, Starmer must dance to Robinson's tune, nothing less will prove he's not a Nazi.

[The Weeping Angel]

Inevitably it's not enough for some on BSky, Starmer must dance to Robinson's tune, nothing less will prove he's not a Nazi.

I saw that he also threw Peter Kyle under a bus.

[Oboogie]

Inevitably it's not enough for some on BSky, Starmer must dance to Robinson's tune, nothing less will prove he's not a Nazi.

I saw that he also threw Peter Kyle under a bus.

Who did?

[mattomac]

What Kyle said was codswallop though. The Home Secretary had gone further he only had to stick to that.

[The Weeping Angel]

Inevitably it's not enough for some on BSky, Starmer must dance to Robinson's tune, nothing less will prove he's not a Nazi.

I saw that he also threw Peter Kyle under a bus.

Who did?

Starmer.

[kreuzberger]

FFS, how difficult is it to refine a consistent message when Neanderthal fascists are fighting plod and pissing in the street?

[Tubby Isaacs]

He's just been promoted and all. Seems like he's probably good at talking to investors, but don't put him up for Sunday morning shows.

[Tubby Isaacs]

Article on skills here by Heather Stewart, one of the fairer commentators at this rag, about apprenticeships. It's another thing where the Government has inherited an absolute shitshow.

Government spending on adult education halved between 2011-12 and 2019-20. It then recovered somewhat as the worst years of austerity came to an end, but by last year it was still £1bn down in real terms.

Meanwhile, despite endless speeches by politicians of all stripes about how vocational skills should have the same status as university (I have sat through quite a few: it is compulsory to mention Germany), the numbers of people completing apprenticeships have collapsed.

Official figures show 178,220 people earned an apprenticeship in England in 2023-24, down by more than a third on 2017-18, when the apprenticeship levy was introduced.

So things have deteriorated since New Labour, who (we kept being told) only cared about universities?

She makes rather too much of the ministers still not having decided which department does exactly what with skills- the DWP and Education. It's been a week.

How much would the old age pension have to be reduced by to save £1bn to restore that skills funding to 2010 level? Probably not all that much seeing the total cost is £125bn. But that's unthinkable, apparently. I know we did Brexit and that didn't help, but Christ, seems like so much could be improved if we didn't tie ourselves in knots with promises not to raise the big taxes (I think all 3 main parties did that, Reform wanted to cut them) and triple locks and the like.