Thread 46 Starmer: Meloj kaj kastoroj sur monbiletoj, arbaro de kolero

[DuncinToffee]

Welcome to our long running thread for political discussion, general chit chat, a friendly hug and taxes in kind

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5498919-thread-45-starmer-una-nacion-que-olvida-su-pasado-no-tiene-futuro?page=40&reply=151277405

I can call them stupid. And I will.

I have two more for you

https://bsky.app/profile/crowbar.wtf/post/3mivfcu3h2s24

And

https://bsky.app/profile/ottoenglish.bsky.social/post/3mivcaea23k2n

I like The News Agents, Political Currency and Electoral Dysfunction.

Meanwhile, a clear case of someone who didn't get the memo.

Of course a deeper question is what will happen when "AI" realises that it's best interests are served when it can use the clever, not the rich ?

https://tce.exchange/content/019d68b6-4641-7ac5-81b7-73ce11d4664b

Thanks for all the recommendations! I find audio books difficult as I tend to drift in and out of focus when it’s audio. Doesn’t matter so much with a podcast. I follow The News Agents on some SM and they’ve been annoying me lately but I may give them a go. Going to award Podyssey points for witty name and start with that maybe!

Loving those posts re people with limited information on the sun - good light relief after yesterday too.

The pictures are a bonus too

Lucy Worsley is my go to with BBC sounds. Plus all the dramatisations. Alfie Moore It's a Fair Cop is also good. I've been reading books from the Library again.

Today got new replacement radiators, just the two and a recommendation for an electrician. Spent most of the morning in the garden.

Gorgeous day. Thanks for all the suggestions for podcasts.

Lucy Worsley is my go to with BBC sounds

Not really the best medium to show off the dressing up box ....

Sigh. The MN benefits bashing machine has whirred into action again. A particular thread started by one of our recent ploppers is going great guns and is ticking all the boxes.

I have hidden everything except this thread for a little while.

I saw that one, doesn't take long for them to show their real colours again.

@cardibach As well as the pods mentioned, I enjoy Kermode & Mayo's film review. I'm not especially a film buff, but enjoy the banter between the two of them. Off Menu is generally good, although it does depend on the guest. (Jeff Goldblum and Robert De Niro were dire, despite being big celebs).

The Kitchen Cabinet is good too, if you like food - hosted by Jay Rayner, it's like Gardeners' Question Tiime, except about food.

It's a podcast, so not visible.

Good to see that during this Trump shit show, Badenoch found time to have a go at Starmer 😅

'all mouth and no trousers'

she can't even get that right

Small boat crossings are down but today 4 people (2 women, 2 men) died in the Channel trying to cross.

She sounds more and more like a petulant teenager.

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2026/apr/09/uk-navy-russian-submarines-undersea-cables-north-atlantic

UK navy foiled Russian submarines surveying undersea cables, defence minister says

John Healey says warship and aircraft forced Russia to abandon activity in North Sea in month-long operation

i feel like there’s been so much attention on the ME that the threat from Russia has been downplayed of late & the relationships between the US right - Orban - Russia are overlooked.
The US waiver on Russian oil has been extended and I suspect will be quietly dropped altogether in July.

Reform and the Telegraph are bigly upset with this

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/apr/08/britain-breaks-solar-energy-record-twice-uk-biggest-solar-farm-springwell-approval

Yes it's fantastic news. I'm not sure how this translates to cheaper energy for consumers who rent and home own.

However it's renewable energy that's produced in the UK.

The Green Party should focus on this as well. Instead they want to bad mouth the Government.

And yet they are keen to introduce fracking to the UK (benefiting their American friends).

The primary reason why fracking doesn't work in the UK is because of geology and seismic results which renders it economically inviable.

The second reason is nimbyism. That's going to win over everything else.

Because the UK is not the US (I realise I should not have to write that, however it is incredible the number of numpties who aren't aware of that fact) then the tricks that Trump was able to deploy to fool MAGA were much easier to enact.

As the Tories showed, the relatively small nature of Britain means you piss off your own side much much quicker.

Look at all the Reform councils ...

When companies frack in areas with high end properties, it would be an absolute no no, if I had a million squid to spare. Money down the drain.

Don't get me started on the privatisation of water. Foolish short termism that everyone acknowledges was an awful Conservative Government implementation. They secured the deals that would be impossible to get out of if anyone else, Labour, got in power.

The LibDems couldn't touch it when in coalition with Cameron who was leader of a Tory led government.