UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Zinneke]

Clearly not the most joyous of days, but the...'theatrics' of Police Scotland; the tent in the garden, the dozen officers to carry out a few small boxes hasn't gone unnoticed.

Who do you think is really responsible though, Alex Salmond or the Tories?

[Torrain]

Are these the small boxes? Because they seem pretty hefty to me.
https://mobile.twitter.com/LauraAlderman_/status/1643636006111805440

[Cassius]

Are these the ‘small’ boxes? Because they seem pretty hefty to me.
https://mobile.twitter.com/LauraAlderman_/status/1643636006111805440

Plot twist: Murrell and Sturgeon were actually running a cannabis farm and those boxes are full of bush.

[Torrain]

Are these the ‘small’ boxes? Because they seem pretty hefty to me.
https://mobile.twitter.com/LauraAlderman_/status/1643636006111805440

Plot twist: Murrell and Sturgeon were actually running a cannabis farm and those boxes are full of bush.

I'm trying not to make the lamest joke about the Scottish Green(s) right now.

[afleitch]

Are these the small boxes? Because they seem pretty hefty to me.
https://mobile.twitter.com/LauraAlderman_/status/1643636006111805440

Look how they struggled to carry them.

---

We can agree on this being a serious matter while at the same time being conscious of some of the theatrics of public police responses, the Home Office raid near me where twenty police guarded a transit van while locals handed out food and similar presences various football and march related events.

[Torrain]

Look how they struggled to carry them.

---

We can agree on this being a serious matter while at the same time being conscious of some of the theatrics of public police responses, the Home Office raid near me where twenty police guarded a transit van while locals handed out food and similar presences various football and march related events.

I hear what you're saying. But I'm trying to work out how you'd like the police to have handled this differently - smaller boxes? Less officers? No gazebo in Sturgeon's garden? With all respect, it just seems like splitting hairs, from where I'm sitting.

Sturgeon was our FM for 8 years, and the man who lived alongside her in Bute House, and (more importantly) ran the party's internal machinery from 1999-2023 is in police custody, following raids on their residence, and SNP HQ. I'm just struggling to see how the nuances of Police Scotland's approach is the thing to focus on today.

[Silent Hunter]

Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, has had the Tory whip suspended

[Torrain]

Police Scotland continuing the search at the Sturgeon-Murrell residence today. Upwards of 20 officers in attendance. No spades, so looks like the digging rumours were a miscommunication.

Murrell was released last night after 12 hours (as per the law), with no charges at this time.

Sturgeon was due this evening to give a speech, and then sit for a moderated Q&A at the Edinburgh Science Festival. That’s just been cancelled.

[CumbrianLefty]

Scott Benton, MP for Blackpool South, has had the Tory whip suspended

Truly couldn't happen to a nicer bloke.

[Cassius]

https://twitter.com/uklabour/status/1643973886311297028?s=46&t=NA2RMa2JtEERy...

Labour Party comms on an absolute mad one on hump day.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's like the old ads I did in Fantasyland back in the day; I unironically love it.

[Zinneke]

Why is it getting so much backlash? this is the hard hitting I want to see from the usually bland, arrogant center-left parties in Europe that just rest on their old workerism and not rocking the boat too hard. The message needs to be pummeled that right-wingers want to create a society of billionaire sex traffickers with lumpenproleteriat models giving them massages and some cryptobros enabling their lifestyle by getting excited about their high priest twattery from Jordan Peterson.

Center-right parties deliberately loosen paedo laws because their sponsors often are Epstein lite.

[morgieb]

Why is it getting so much backlash? this is the hard hitting I want to see from the usually bland, arrogant center-left parties in Europe that just rest on their old workerism and not rocking the boat too hard. The message needs to be pummeled that right-wingers want to create a society of billionaire sex traffickers with lumpenproleteriat models giving them massages and some cryptobros enabling their lifestyle by getting excited about their high priest twattery from Jordan Peterson.

Center-right parties deliberately loosen paedo laws because their sponsors often are Epstein lite.

I think the bottom line is that left-wingers think "law and order" is a dogwhistle for punitive punishment against non-white people while leaving rich white people alone.

Which I get, even if the poster suggests that isn't the case.

Also worth remembering even Jeremy Corbyn ran on a law-and-order kind of message in 2017.

[JimJamUK]

Can’t help but feel there’s a slightly less crass way of putting that information across. Still, perhaps Labour have judged that the trade off (getting lots of attention vs charges of gutter politics and hypocrisy) is worth it.

[JimJamUK]

I think the bottom line is that left-wingers think "law and order" is a dogwhistle for punitive punishment against non-white people while leaving rich white people alone.

Which I get, even if the poster suggests that isn't the case.

Also worth remembering even Jeremy Corbyn ran on a law-and-order kind of message in 2017.

The share of the population that think this is grossly overestimated by many people on both sides of the argument. The vast majority of voters in the UK not only support ‘law and order’, they think that neither major party is anywhere close to properly implementing it. Theres a reason, as you alluded to, that Jeremy Corbyn of all people was naturally supportive of hiring 10000s more police officers after Conservative cuts.

[Cassius]

Whilst I’m very much in favour of rolling around in the gutter and whipping out the knuckle-dusters, probably more so than the next man, I still think accusing Rishi Sunak of casting a benign-eye on the sexual assault of children is perhaps a bit far. Still, exquisite banter from Labour, fair play.

[Conservatopia]

I don't typically believe in the concept of "dog whistles" and I don't think this is one.

Rather, it's just really silly:

• Rishi Sunak has only been an MP (let alone PM) for half of the period that was cited to back up that poster.
• Sentences are issued by judges, not Sunak.
• Just a year ago, Starmer was getting very upset about being accused of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile. This seems hypocritical.
• If the Tories had done the same thing with a minority MP it would definitely be seen as racist.

But honestly, who cares.

[Silent Hunter]

Furthermore, the sentencing guidelines are set by the Sentencing Council, on which the Director of Public Prosecutions sits as an ex-officio member. Starmer was present at the 2012 meeting where these guidelines were passed.

Also, the legislation that allows for sex offenders not to get jail sentences is the 2003 Sexual Offences Act - passed by a Labour government.

[JimJamUK]

I don't typically believe in the concept of "dog whistles" and I don't think this is one.

Rather, it's just really silly:

• Rishi Sunak has only been an MP (let alone PM) for half of the period that was cited to back up that poster.
• Sentences are issued by judges, not Sunak.
• Just a year ago, Starmer was getting very upset about being accused of failing to prosecute Jimmy Savile. This seems hypocritical.
• If the Tories had done the same thing with a minority MP it would definitely be seen as racist.

But honestly, who cares.

Tbf, he could change the law so more/all people convicted of child sex abuse go the prison, and he hasn’t. But otherwise agree.

[CumbrianLefty]

Increasingly think Labour should just say "the Tories started it, don't think you can put out the sort of dangerous rubbish Braverman did earlier in the week without any comeback".

[Torrain]

Per the BBC, the accounting firm Johnston Carmichael have quit as the SNP’s in-house accountants after more than a decade working for the party.

A party spokesperson has confirmed that: the firm withdrew their services this afternoon, that the SNP has informed the Electoral Commission, and that the SNP is now searching for an alternative auditing firm.

Obviously this *could* be something routine. But feels noteworthy, in light of the past 48 hours - and the fact that their last Treasurer (Douglas Chapman MP) resigned over a lack of internal transparency (said to be linked to the missing £600,000) that he said hindered his ability to do his job.

[Silent Hunter]

Increasingly think Labour should just say "the Tories started it, don't think you can put out the sort of dangerous rubbish Braverman did earlier in the week without any comeback".

"They started it" is not an excuse.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Sentencing guidelines are set very broadly, in accordance with the traditions of a Common Law system. It is not generally expected that judges should default towards the lower end, but this has often been happening (and for a wide range of offences) due to the damage austerity has caused to the criminal justice system: the prison estate is now too small and cases take far longer to come to court than they ought to, and the results are what they are.

[Torrain]

Reporting in the Times shows that 55 local authorities have halted housing targets - with the number doubling after Theresa Villier’s Commons amendment killed government enforcement of housing targets last year.

Estimates are that at least 77,000 fewer houses will be built each year.

[CumbrianLefty]

Vote Conservative for everlasting stagnation!