Thread 30 Starmer - Magic Roundabouts

[DuncinToffee]

Pull up a chair for some friendly chit chat about politics and beyond

Taxes optional but greatly appreciated.

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5395939-thread-29-starmer-paint-your-bandwagon?page=1

@cardibachthat is fabulous. We were in York recently and went to evensong at the Minster and it was beautiful. I am not at all religious but it was lovely.
Re chicken pox jab I am really happy this is now routine. My son caught chicken pox when in treatment for cancer which resulted in a very long isolated hospital stay and he was very poorly. My husband also got chickenpox at age 30 ish and was quite ill. We also know a friend’s child who was critically ill with CP ( who had no underlying conditions) this is such welcome news and not before time.
I am hoping the anti vax - it’s trackers, harvesting your DNA, chem trail and flat earth crew don’t compromise the uptake.

@BIossomtoes I think you recommended recent The Newsagents podcast on comms - listened to it this evening and it is spot on.

Angela Rayner is facing an ethics investigation over whether she paid the correct tax on her various homes.

The Deputy Prime Minister admitted on Friday night that she removed her name from the deeds of her family house before buying a seaside flat 250 miles away that saved her £40,000 in stamp duty.

At the same time, Ms Rayner, who is also Housing Secretary, insisted her old home in Greater Manchester remained her main residence. In doing so, she has been able to avoid paying £2,000 in council tax on a third property, a grace and favour apartment in central London.

On Friday night, the Tories referred Ms Rayner to Sir Laurie Magnus, the Prime Minister’s independent adviser on ministers’ interests, saying her behaviour had been “unethical”. They accused her of “hypocritical tax avoidance by a minister who supports higher taxes on family homes, high-value homes and second homes”.

Sir Laurie will decide in the coming days whether to launch an investigation.

forgot to credit this earlier - very good.

Oh bless X, you are very good at copying and pasting, just not the proper url's

Don't confuse them with facts. They're busy enjoying their sour grapes.

Some folk won't be happy until every Labour MP lives in a leaky garret under a railway bridge, because hey they're 'socialists' so they aren't allowed money. Or something.

I liked this bit particulary

In other words, she has chosen not to pay more tax than she has to. Given that most of The Telegraph’s money pages are devoted to providing advice to its readers on how they may do the same, the only difference must be that she is a Labour politician"

You only have to read threads on MN asking advice on this

Would anyone like a photo of a Canadian black squirrel ?

Thanks, sweetie.

I didn’t know black 🐿️ existed - although why wouldn’t they? Great photo.

It’s good, isn’t it? I hope someone from No 10 has heard it.

That is amazing, thank you!

Stealth squirrel. 🥷🐿️

There are black squirrels in Princeton, NJ - particularly around the university. I believe they are a mutation of the grey squirrel rather than a separate species.

Finally, someone in authority has come out and said it!

https://bsky.app/profile/implausibleblog.bsky.social/post/3lxl36wzgps23

@MyNameIsX

There's many a gorgeous church in London, St Brides being loved by me.

i did read they are a grey squirrel mutation. I also saw a red one further north but was too slow to take a photo.

I am in Canada for 4 weeks visiting DS who is working here on a visa ( as an immigrant!!! 😮 and his DF is an immigrant working in the UK).

lots of the same noise here from the Tory party & right wing, too many immigrants, too many work visas, Canadians leaving the country as it’s gone downhill - yet lots of people I have spoken with have picked up on the accent and proudly told me they are 5 or 6 generation Irish / Welsh / Scottish & 1 from Leicester )

They do also have a lot of Canadian flags!

You get black squirrels in Hertfordshire. They are indeed a great mutation.

I trap and humanely despatch grey squirrels, frequently.

DS2 spotted a red squirrel in a park in Tallinn yesterday. Apologies for the terrible photo - squirrel was apparently quite a distance away - I await better ones.

We use to see white squirrels in the cemetery when I grew up in the city.

Lovely to see Reds coming back in parts of the UK. Took this yesterday morning.

Just returned from Scotland and thoroughly enjoyed watching a red squirrel scampering in my BIL'sback back garden. Too quick to take a photo of though!

Whatever helps the red squirrels is fine by me. I'm told squirrel is quite nice to eat, so we should probably be doing that.