How do Rishi and Keir manage to move house so quickly?

[Worried1987]

Did Rishi move his stuff out of number 10 before election day or did he do it today? I am moving house at the moment and I can’t imagine how they do it so quickly? I read Michelle Obama’s book and in America there is a long time between the election and the new president talking over and that gives them time to plan the move but it still went pretty quick.

You see the flat in The Crown and Maggie Thatcher cooking in a tiny kitchen.

We used a packing service when we moved, never do it myself again. Anyway I doubt the sunak’s had moved much in….

I wonder what Keir Starmer and his family will do practically. Presumably his kids are at school in London somewhere-so I doubt they’ll want to move school. You wouldn’t sell your family home as you might only be PM for a few years, would you-so need to keep that going. Would they move out completely and keep it empty? Is that an insurance issue? Or do they stay there as a family and he uses Downing Street as a flat for late nights, but they keep the family and cat and most of their ‘stuff’ back at home?

I was wondering this too @Shinyandnew1

He has secondary aged kids who I think are around 13 & 15 so you wouldn't want to disrupt their schooling. They presumably go somewhere in North London which you could do from Downing Street but would be about an extra 30-40 mins on their commute.

I think as Keir Starmer has said he wants the privacy of his family to be respected and I respect him for that, that the Starmer's should be allowed to manage their domestic life as they wish without prying eyes.

I would say "unloading" for what you're thinking of, which is a standard service.

Unpacking = remove (something) from a suitcase, bag, or package.

So for clarity, my friend had a company pack his belongings into boxes, transport them to the new house, then unpack and put away. That's what sounds like bliss to me! I had things packed once but never put away at the other end.

Mad, isn't it? This would be so very easily avoided by bringing in a simple common-sense rule that you have to have lived in an area for five years before you can claim to understand the local issues and concerns enough to consider seeking to represent the people of that area in Parliament.

More fool the people who roll over and accept a stranger parachuted in from hundreds of miles away - but as long as we have FPTP and the basic 'it'll be either this party or that one' system, it will continue.

Rishi lives in his London home most of the time

I wonder if Liz Truss had time to take the protective plastic off any of her new stuff that she got when moving in?!

One issue with 'we do it all' movers is that their efficiency comes at a price of care. I'm absolutely not saying that they aren't careful at all, but of course, they don't have the time or the emotional investment to treat your stuff with the kid gloves that you yourself might.

They will obviously have insurance and rely on that to 'make good' any damage at the market value, but they won't stress about making sure that Great Auntie Maud's treasured rose bowl simply cannot be allowed to get broken - especially when you have precious old family items with huge sentimental value to you, but to them it's just a case of giving you a voucher to buy a generic new replacement and all sorted.

They haven’t moved out yet and have other properties, however a packing service will come in and do it for them all. Inc unpacking, likely can pack it up in a day or so, depending on how many people and same for unpack. It’s no biggie.

We saw the moving lorry outside Downing Street the day after a new PM (think it was either Liz Truss moving in or out). It wasn't very discreet, you could see it from the gates.

I have only used the type of movers who pack everything for you on two occasions, when the dc were very young, but that wasn’t my experience of them at all. We had a briefing session before which included discussion of any precious or sentimental items and they were double wrapped and they took infinite care over th. They were also super energetic and efficient about the sequence and methods of carrying things.

That's absolutely not my experience.

They'll be using staffers to do it all for them. They come and pack for you then take everything to the location of choice either storage or if another property then unpack it for you.

Did it bother leaving afterwards, or just wait there with the engine running?

They'll have professional packers.

I moved a school in 2 days.

I'm sure that, like any business, you will get some who are much more thorough than others.

Maybe our friends who used such a service were just unfortunate, then, as they had a few pieces of furniture - not hugely valuable but in good condition - that got trashed; and the movers just told them they had insurance, so didn't seem that bothered.

Even so, however careful a professional mover tries to be, they are never going to be as invested in protecting YOUR treasured 'irreplaceable' items as you are - with the same sense of devastation if they were to get trashed.

An established firm will be very mindful of their reputation. They might not have loved our possessions as much as us but their expertise in wrapping, stacking and transporting was second to none.

I would love that rule.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/iplayer/episode/m0020gb8/the-list-7-times-larry-the-cat-caused-mischief

Some documented spats between Larry, Nova and Dylan.

Obviously Larry tended to win. Him and Dylan had to be separated, but then Dylan is a Russell and they can be the type that wants the last word.

But as you say, how much a pet is at No.10 vs their actual home is debatable.

It's a case of many hands make light work.

😜😂

I didn’t know the unpacking was standard! I’ve never had that part done, just the packing and then the boxes moved and unloaded into the right rooms. I’d love to be able to afford to pay someone to also unpack (under my direction) next time, it always takes me months (or years even!)

Because they e got dozens of gofers

The removals are ready even if they expect to stay. They don't live there full time either, Rishi has a lovely house in the country.