Thread 13 Starmer - facts are for lefties

[DuncinToffee]

Previous thread:

www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5214955-thread-12-starmer-from-prescott-to-rayner-working-class-grit?page=40&reply=140341929

I think o ruined my wokeness last night 🙄

Friend called me and chatting away I forgot to take my tablets. Got into bed 9.30 (late for me!) and thought I'd just leave the, as had to get up at 4 and worried about drowsiness. 10pm I was still awake so took them and promptly fell asleep. Woke at 1am with a (mild but still painful) cluster attack which was still going on at 4am so took a Triptan as needed to drive at 4.30am.

I think being up from 1am and working all day makes me full on hardcore - can I be hardcore woke?!

Maybe you're wide awoke?

Comments on Our Mate Phils video about sackings and reduced hours at GBNews are comedy gold ...

Rees-Mogg gets to learn about short term contracts.

Rees-Mogg replaced by someone cheaper? Surely philosophically he would approve?

I'm definitely not woke. 1am is good for me.

I've spent today mulling over Time magazines person of the year. They got that so wrong. Gisele Pelicot wins hands down for me. She is dignified and so strong.

I've also been trying to think through how I feel about the latest news. While I'm happy with some of the stuff they've announced, I'm not enamoured with how they dealt with the waspi women. Not necessarily because they aren't paying compensation, but because they stood by the women and said they would put this right.

They have lied, and that makes them as bad as the tories. Trust in our politicians is already at rock bottom, and this is not helping. People voted for Labour because they wanted different, not more of the same. This is another thing from the likes of reform to exploit, and that pisses me off.

My local Labour MP is openly cross as he was a vocal WASPI campaigner.

😂😂

It’s not the best decision maybe, but it’s not a lie. People seem to call any change of mind or policy a lie these days. Ages ago they supported the campaign. Now they can’t honour it because it’s a massive expense and has little impact on those involved - how does a payment between £1k and £3k make a difference? Seems to me the ombudsman was saying ‘well, ok, it wasn’t done fabulously well but it wasn’t terrible either’ otherwise the recommendation would have been restoration of lost pension. I didn’t get an individual letter saying mine was now 67 years and some change. Why are these women different? I’m not affected and I knew about the pension date equalisation.

Being generous, the perception of a lie then.
If they'd made the announcement as part of the budget, saying they would struggle to allocate money then I think it may be accepted, especially if the decision could be backed up with what they were doing instead to support those affected.

This just looks as though they've buttered up a particular demographic to get their vote, then said thanks, now fuck off. It's the perception. As @BIossomtoes has said, they need to sort out their comms

Paying it wasn’t in the manifesto.

I’m a WASPI woman and never thought I’d get any compensation. It was pretty obvious that as soon as we all got our pensions we’d care a lot less and calm down. I stopped being furious about the ineptitude of the 2011 changes years ago. The height of my fury was when one of my friends whose birthday is two weeks before mine got her pension and I had to wait another four months. I missed out on the WFA that year because of it. I’m over it now and there are more important things to spend the money on.

I think that’s a fair assessment @BIossomtoes
There are people a bit older than me who will get theirs earlier by months or years. It’s always going to be the way. Was it done well? No. Is there a way to fix it? Not really, and most things you do would raise questions about everyone else.

It a way, it's a shame Starmer isn't more Trump like. Because one option here is to say "well if we rejoined the single market, then compensation in full. After all the only reason we can't afford it is lost trade." and leave it at that.

If nothing else it would keep the right wing haters busy and unable to do harm elsewhere.

Yes, I would welcome this and whole heartedly agree it would give the r/w something to squabble about amongst themselves.

Really that should be the answer to everything. The £22billion black hole, for a start.

I would wager that even I - untrained in economics, international politics, international trade and hairstyling - could create a spreadsheet that shows the amount missing from the public finances is to a penny the amount lost due to Brexit. With no added pandemic. But given the modern distaste for facts, why bother ?

@SerendipityJane You are good!
Would you go to Downing street, if they asked ?
Such a clever statement, I salute you.
I'll be honest, I am a Waspi but never expected payouts just the fact to be heard , as they would never in a million years have accelerated the age for men's SP so rapidly.
Sir Keir said we couldn't afford billion pound payouts at the moment so what if you pitch your idea Jane?
Still a "Labour fan girl" though as some PP dubbed me !
I will be keeping eyes on the next few months but they have worked so flipping hard by preparing for government, I've never seen anything like it in all my years.

But given the modern distaste for facts, why bother ?

Well, you know facts are for lefties @SerendipityJane

New peerage nominations have been announced, 30 Labour incl Sue Gray, 6 Conservatives, incl Toby Young, 2 Lib Dems

https://www.gov.uk/government/news/political-peerages-december-2024

I’m a Waspi woman (just), and I was aware of the changes despite not receiving a letter. I thought it was because my late dad had the BBC news channel on whenever I visited him so I was surprised that the Ombudsman put the figure as high as 90% of affected women were aware of the changes.

18 men and 20 women. Contrast that with nominations over the last few years.

Toby Young, cocaine user at the Groucho Club, never mind his other views. Though not the first Tory to be rewarded who is unfit for office.

Badenoch's reasoning
https://conservativehome.com/2024/12/20/new-kemi-badenoch-my-appointments-to-the-lords-are-true-radicals-the-smart-and-the-very-brave/

so "smart and brave" is the euphemism for "massive donors" in 2025 then. Good to know.

Therese Coffey is smart and brave? Who knew?

Ugh, Toby Young. Horrible person.

Maybe it's a cryptic crossword clue ?

"Smart and brave ? No. Gathered together in uselessness !" (1,5,2,5)

Or rhyming slang:

"Merchant banker = young tory" (admittedly doesn't rhyme, but rather fits)

Pleased to see Berger nominated.

Assume Young was nominated to make noise.