UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[CumbrianLefty]

Have been offline for much of the day so missed this latest bit of hilarity.

He is truly a gift that keeps on giving whenever he tries to "do human".

[Torrain]

If his dad was a toolmaker, this would never have happened…

[brucejoel99]

https://twitter.com/lizziedearden/status/1728074623823012260

'If I had a hammer...'

Some are trying to explain it away by saying that the woman told Sunak to use the side of it. Not sure that helps at all.

Can't expect SpAds to have the power of real-time hindsight or else there'd never be any content 😩

[Filuwaúrdjan]

It's mostly funny because he's so awkward and hesitant using it, as if the concept of a hammer is an alien one. Would be amusing if he were using it 'normally', would not have been amusing if he had used it as instructed with even a slight degree of confidence.

[Torrain]

Has been silly season all round today. Went into a meeting at work, and emerged several hours later to find that:

Dorries had potentially slandered Dougie Smith, accusing him of rigging the Offcom appointments process.

Starmer had declared Ode to Joy his favourite classical piece, sending the usual suspects into a froth over his choice of a piece that’s also the EU anthem, as proof he’s a secret Remainer Trojan Horse. Richard Holden suggested he should have chosen an apolitical piece… from Wagner.  

And then there was the hammer.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

Of course in reality that piece is very much a labour_party_traditionalist.txt sort of choice, and used to be selected by so many Labour politicians and trade unionists on Desert Island Discs back in the old days that it was almost as much of a cliché as the inevitable recording (exactly what of varied) from the Grimethorpe Colliery Band. Starmer is also of the generation who will associate it with Bernstein performing the entire 9th Symphony on top of the ruins of the Berlin Wall.

[brucejoel99]

Has been silly season all round today. Went into a meeting at work, and emerged several hours later to find that:

Starmer had declared Ode to Joy his favourite classical piece, sending the usual suspects into a froth over his choice of a piece that’s also the EU anthem, as proof he’s a secret Remainer Trojan Horse. Richard Holden suggested he should have chosen an apolitical piece… from Wagner.  

https://twitter.com/RicHolden/status/1728017863494049990

"Simultaneously totally naff and completely telling"

the enemy is at the same time too weak and too strong

[Blair]

Hilarious that he seems to think that Greg Hands' endless tweeting was a good thing and a necessary requirement to be Chairman.

I recall there was a time when this (Conservative party chairman, yes always a man!) was seen as a high profile & prestigious role?

[Torrain]

"Simultaneously totally naff and completely telling"

the enemy is at the same time too weak and too strong

Holden’s always been a bit like this.

See his response to the ceasefire vote this week, which was a variation on - “10 frontbenchers resigned to side with Corbyn over Starmer… this isn’t surprising because Starmer backed Corbyn!” Two arguments that could work, mashed together into one that doesn’t.

You can’t really pull “Starmer is principled but weak” and “Starmer is unprincipled and dangerous” in the same press release/fundraiser, let alone the same sentence.

See also - beergate.

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I wonder which selection he will try to rig for himself using his new post.

[Okay, maybe Mike Johnson is a competent parliamentarian.]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

[Lord Halifax]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

choosing a piece written and composed by two Germans as the EU anthem was a bit too on the nose, they should have gone with something more neutral

[Lord Halifax]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

Ode to Joy was the tune to "Rise, O Voices of Rhodesia", the national anthem of Ian Smith's Rhodesia, so it might appeal to some British right wingers

[Zinneke]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

choosing a piece written and composed by two Germans as the EU anthem was a bit too on the nose, they should have gone with something more neutral

Dragostea din tei?

[afleitch]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

Ode to Joy was the tune to "Rise, O Voices of Rhodesia", the national anthem of Ian Smith's Rhodesia, so it might appeal to some British right wingers

Zizek comments on this, and it's use by the Third Reich etc.

If anything it demonstrates the universality of the piece that it can be used so egregiously.

[afleitch]

Good start

https://twitter.com/BBCJLandale/status/1728105949146288378

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I know it's the EU anthem, but even in a British context I have to imagine that attempting to make a culture war shibboleth out of "Ode to Joy," one of the most immediately recognizable and universally loved or at least liked pieces of music ever composed, with an extremely widely-known and compelling personal story behind it in the life of its similarly ubiquitous composer, comes across as at least a little bit tacky?

It's main British association is that it gets played at the Proms every year! This really is just end stage brain worms from a certain type of utter lunatic, though the motivation of one Conservative politician who weirdly tweeted about it would probably be more along the lines of 'desperately trying to get selected a new seat, so I must appeal to these lunatics'.

[Battista Minola 1616]

I know this is at least three tiers of digression from the main topic but the tweet Holden was replying to includes a glaring mistake - the Champions League theme is based on "Zadok the Priest" by Händel, not the Ode to Joy. Speaking of people who have apparently never watched the Proms...

[Filuwaúrdjan]

I know this is at least three tiers of digression from the main topic but the tweet Holden was replying to includes a glaring mistake - the Champions League theme is based on "Zadok the Priest" by Händel, not the Ode to Joy. Speaking of people who have apparently never watched the Proms...

Or the Coronation!

[CumbrianLefty]

Good start

Words are cheap, of course.

It has been pointed out that during his time as PM he whipped all Tory MPs to abstain on recognising Palestinian statehood - and more recently we had his party behaving in totally nakedly cynical fashion during the ceasefire votes the other week.

[Joe Republic]

Perhaps the reason for Tory antipathy towards Ode to Joy stems from the fact that they haven't felt it in at least 30 years?

[Torrain]

The SNP have opened an investigation into their Falkirk candidate, Toni Giugliano:

Critics claim Giugliano placed undue pressure on local members to support him, tried to persuade others not to stand and breached spending limits in the internal contest.

The claims have triggered a bitter local row and have pitted four local parliamentarians — Michael Matheson, Michelle Thomson, Martyn Day and John McNally — against Giugliano and his supporters.

Giugliano also mislead members, telling them he had the endorsement of former independent MSP Dennis Canavan, who represented the area, and played a leading role on the Yes side in 2014.

That this has happened twice, in Falkirk, exactly ten years apart, to two different incumbent parties resting on their laurels, is proof the writers are running very short on metaphors.

[Blair]

Are the briefings getting dumber or has polling always been covered this poorly?

The ST in their 'lets repeat what our sources at Downing Street' have told me have said that NO.10 is pleased at the budget autumn statement because their polling went up by 4% and was only 3% below the highest Sunak has ever gotten.

The disclaimer is the number rose to 25% and the highest was 28%. Not exactly ideal.

[TheTide]

Are the briefings getting dumber or has polling always been covered this poorly?

The ST in their 'lets repeat what our sources at Downing Street' have told me have said that NO.10 is pleased at the budget autumn statement because their polling went up by 4% and was only 3% below the highest Sunak has ever gotten.

The disclaimer is the number rose to 25% and the highest was 28%. Not exactly ideal.

If they are genuinely pleased with this then I think we might actually be looking at a May election.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

I doubt there will be an early election because they would have replaced Hunt by now, unless he's been pursuaded to stay.