Mailwatch(ed) Forum

Apparently one of the manchester Mps was quite ill unless this was just wishful thinking.

I remember when Andy Burnham was a centralist MP, I can't really put my finger on what Burnham would offer that Starmer wouldn't. Haven't both Phillipson and Powell suggested they would push for the removal of the 2 child tax cap. It's evidently going.

That was Andrew Gwynne, I think.

Illness amongst other things...

He was at one time rumoured to be standing down (due to ill health, not due to being suspended for sending grossly unprofessional WhatsApp messages, oh no) in favour of Andy Shithouse. He denied it, and even more convincing, hasn't done it. Yet.

Well might the Government be annoyed at this drivel. "PM being challenged by bloke who talks crap like this", might actually cost the government money.

Tubby Isaacs wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 9:44 am I can only hope this tripe puts a lot of potential supporters off. I see he’s floating tax cuts too. As Ian said, it’s Andy Truss.

More or less what Keir has called him

Like Rick Spleen in Lead Balloon, Liz has got a debacle named after her.

I've gone from feeling ambivalent about Burnham to him really pissing me off with his antics today.

He’s over reached. What does he do from here? Literally everything he says now will be interpreted as him pissing about.

A few people have remarked on the amount of homelessness in Manchester these days. Sounds like something a go-getting regional mayor might look to do something about.

Keir Starmer to announce plans for digital ID cards
As government looks for ways to tackle illegal immigration, move will spark battle with civil liberties campaigners

The worst thing about this is that it's been pushed by Tony Blair, which will set a load of people off whatever the merits or long term benefits. Every thing that the Government can't fund will get the "we spent the money on id cards instead".

Spain seems to be the latest "we should do everything like them" country for people who seem to need somewhere to talk about. That's had digital ID since 2006, when the Zapatero Government introduced it.

This is nicely below the radar. Patrick Valence is very worried about the row over drug pricing. This would probably not be the end of it, but it looks like a start of negotiations after the Government walked away. The Government would get it in the neck for being more open about what it's doing. Doubtless it would be down to "Streeting's donors" or Tony Blair if it was more outspoken about what it was doing. We'd get the insights of the usual crew on "corporate welfare", often the same people who moan about too much neoliberalism as well.

And behold, Corbyn’s knee has duly jerked :

Jeremy Corbyn

4h
·
I firmly oppose the government’s plans for compulsory digital ID cards.
This is an affront to our civil liberties, and will make the lives of minorities even more difficult and dangerous.
It is excessive state interference — and must be resisted.

I don’t really know how digital id cards are “an affront to our civil liberties”.

I don't have a problem with it in principle, but I worry about the amount of my personal data that'll end up in the hands of this twonk and his ilk.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 9:47 pm I don’t really know how digital id cards are “an affront to our civil liberties”.

In the same way your driving licence and Tesco Club card are...

Samanfur wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 10:03 pm I don't have a problem with it in principle, but I worry about the amount of my personal data that'll end up in the hands of this twonk and his ilk.

I can't speak for Apple, but if you have an Android phone and look up your timeline on Google Maps, it will tell you everywhere you have been on any particular day. So how different is a "digital ID card" from a smartphone, or a bank card, an Oyster Card in London, a store card, you name it? Even modern cars with their "telematic" systems will track you - a murderer was convicted thanks in part to the information provided by the car he used in the course of his crime.

Still, I'm sure it'll wake the "No2ID!" lot from their hibernation.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 9:45 pm And behold, Corbyn’s knee has duly jerked :

Jeremy Corbyn

4h
·
I firmly oppose the government’s plans for compulsory digital ID cards.
This is an affront to our civil liberties, and will make the lives of minorities even more difficult and dangerous.
It is excessive state interference — and must be resisted.

Does this happen in all the countries where they have it already, or is Britain uniquely evil and shit?

An audience member on QT just said that he’d been to Estonia, which has a digital ID card system implemented which works immaculately, with no problems, let only any affronts to civil liberty.

I look at digital ID cards in the same way as I do the TV licence fee. I used to be vehemently opposed to their introduction/abolition and still am on principle but they're increasingly unimportant/an anachronism in modern life. If that makes sense.

Abernathy wrote: ↑Thu Sep 25, 2025 9:47 pm I don’t really know how digital id cards are “an affront to our civil liberties”.

A racist copper can already disproportionately target ethnic minorities with requests for ID so not sure what Corbyn’s point is.
He’s something of a political outlier as most of the opposition will come from Farage supporting headbangers who obsess about illegal immigration. But won’t even accept a perceived minor inconvenience as a citizen to tackle the problem.

My only concern is that they seem to rely on you having a smartphone. I know people who have neither a smartphone or a passport, so what of them? In one individual's hands, a smartphone wouldn't last a week...