UK General Discussion: Rishecession

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Yep, Suella Braverman has been sacked.

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In case anyone here is wondering who R is in these cases, it's the King. All judicial reviews are brought in his name.

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https://twitter.com/TorstenBell/status/1725810524561043670

£250,000 is not an average price home in London. You're getting a one-bedroom flat for that at best.

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My view is that if the Greeks can look after the Marbles, they can have them back.

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As someone who doesn't have chickens or rabbits I wouldn't say it's weird: foxes are pests with a habit of killing pets

In urban areas, they will happily rip open bin bags in search for food.

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So, New Year's Honours List has dropped. Along the resignation list for Liz Truss.

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There are an awful lot of Tory MPs with knighthoods now.

36 to be exact going off the Parliament website, but I don't think that's been updated.

Five in Labour, one in the DUP and the Speaker.

11 Dames; five Tory, six Labour. Again, not updated.

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I'm sure it's just a reflection of how honourable Tory MPs are.

Well, they're all "Honourable". Some of them are even Right Honourable.

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Looks like potential military action against the Houthis.

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Indeed. Considering the late Queen's "mobility problems" and the fact that when they used "medical supervision" we knew the end was night, that's a good deal more open. They generally have to say something when engagements are being cancelled.

It's even more open than George VI, who was "in his usual health" when he died of a coronary thrombosis in his sleep. He had one lung and terminal cancer; he'd skipped the State Opening in 1951, while his last King's Speech on the radio was pre-recorded in bits and edited together.

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Kate Osamor has been suspended from Labour:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2024/jan/28/labour-suspends-kate-osamor-over-gaza-comments-in-holocaust-message

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He's 75. That's a common age to get it, sadly.

This is definitely a lot more open than it used to be - George VI himself wasn't even told he had cancer.

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They've now got a shortage of people to do all the work; all the working royals bar William and Catherine are over 50, with a majority over 70. Charles isn't even the oldest of them - there's Prince Edward of Kent i.e. one of the cousins, is 88.

With Charles and Catherine out of commission for months, it's made the problem even bigger.

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A "technical" recession has been followed by "technical" byelection reverses. Any coming GE defeat for the Tories will also be "technical" because of an insufficiency of enthusiasm for Starmer. Or something.

A lack of enthusiasm for Starmer - I'm definitely not hugely excited about his policies - won't cause Labour to lose this election. But it's a problem for government.

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In other local news, Transport for London have announced the names for the London Overground lines.

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2024/feb/15/london-overground-new-names-and-colours-for-six-lines-revealed

The Liberty line isn't actually that bad a name.

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Of course, he's Sir Keir. Not many PMs these days have their knighthood before entering Number 10. Last one would be Sir Anthony Eden - I'm not counting Douglas-Home, a hereditary peer.

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Anyone here watching Breathtaking, the Covid-19 drama, on ITV?

I'd highly recommend it, although be warned it isn't an easy watch.

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In other news, the Government website has changed its logo to reflect the change of monarch and his new royal cypher:

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-68341982

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In other news from Havering:

Council budget passed after applying for a loan from central government

One of the few remaining nightclubs in Romford, once very much known for that, closed last month.

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Andy McDonald has got the Labour whip back

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Havering Council featured prominently on tonight's Panorama about council finances.

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The probability of a Conservative victory is 50%. Either it happens, or it doesn’t.

The probability of me marrying Sydney Sweeney is 50%. Either it happens, or it doesn't.

Same for me, which means that statistically speaking, one of us will marry her.

That's not how probability works in that case. There's a 25% chance you both marry her and a 25% she'd be available for someone else to marry.

But not me. Too young for me.

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Matthew Parris: "I'm a sane moderate voice, the reasonable face of the Tories".
Also Matthew Parris: "We can't afford all these old people, let's do Logan's Run IRL".

It's stuff like this that hardens my skepticism about assisted dying. I just don't fully trust this country wouldn't head into a quasi-Canadian "euthanise grandma to save ✨our NHS✨" mode, somewhere down the line.

I've seen Logan's Run myself. The Senate chamber full of cats is a definite improvement.

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Sending asylum seekers TO Iraq? JFC, Tory logic is demented.
https://twitter.com/PolitlcsUK/status/1787407607738556908

Indeed, ignoring those FCDO warnings will invalidate most travel insurance policies.

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Parliament has voted by a majority of 1 to exclude MPs accused of serious offences from point of arrest rather than only when charged. The deciding vote was Natalie Elphicke, who presumably would have voted against if she had not defected.

With quite a few offences, arrest and charge tend to follow in quick succession due to the whole "custody clock" thing. You would probably interview an MP under caution for a historical sexual offence and only arrest when the CPS felt there was enough evidence for a conviction.