Thread 51 Starmer : pedo mellon a minno

[DuncinToffee]

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

for anyone who needs them

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5534682-thread-50-starmer-to-taksidi-inai-i-antamoivi?page=40&reply=152862844

Loving the tax pics. Mine is the cat checking out DDs dressing table, which I am reliably informed is now called a vanity because NOBODY uses the term dressing table unless they're over 50.
Thanks for the new thread.

A cynic might say that by punting a Labour victory, the MSM is trying to ensure Labour voters don't bother

Pre Raphaelite tax here. How I always visualised Blakes :

I went to the Garden of Love,
And saw what I never had seen:
A Chapel was built in the midst,
Where I used to play on the green.

And the gates of this Chapel were shut,
And 'Thou shalt not' writ over the door;
So I turn'd to the Garden of Love,
That so many sweet flowers bore.

And I saw it was filled with graves,
And tomb-stones where flowers should be:
And Priests in black gowns, were walking their rounds,
And binding with briars, my joys & desires.

MSM is finding themselves in a pickle, do they want a Reform win or a leadership contest.

I think it’s pretty clear that there will be a leadership contest regardless of the Makerfield outcome.

ETA I actually wonder if that’s part of the reason Carns resigned yesterday.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2026/jun/12/emergency-hospital-admissions-reduced-london-t-charge-ulez-air-quality

Emergency hospital admissions fell after introduction of London’s T-charge and Ulez, study suggests

Imperial College scientists analysed health records before and after introduction of air pollution reduction zones

I agree and I think you are right about Carns.

I suggest you repeatedly refer to it as her 'Vanity, vanity, all is vanity and a striving after wind table'. She may rapidly revert to refering to it as a dressing table.
(Oh the advantages of a theology degree 🤣)

So that's more NHS money that can be funnelled to the private sectror.

No wonder Reform are delighted !

Will we have riots over this stabbing? 🤔

www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/manchester-stabbing-blackley-school-teacher-police-b2994498.html

Be a shame not to, really. Waste of a summer otherwise.

A different take on Healey/Carns resignation

https://aoav.org.uk/2026/for-healey-and-carns-enough-was-never-enough-in-the-world-of-defence-spending/

Healey is in receipt of his national state pension.

Alright for some.

Oh. David Hockney’s dead. 😔

Jessica Elgot said something similar Duncin.

MOD procurement has been riddled with waste in the past - are there signs that checks and balances have been improved?

It's correct to say that the military have been damaged by decades of underspending - the same people that were happy to reduce spending on the military are now bellowing for more money to spent. Afterall they built 40 new hospitals! (but not really).

Right wing media love to platform retired military to demand more money - but they and the Opposition wont have to face where that money is taken from (either cuts or taxpayers).

And lastly Labour sticking with the Tory financial pledges in particular the 2x NI cuts was bloody ridiculous. It was ridiculous in July 2024 and even more so now.

Oh, I had postcards of his pictures all over my bedroom as a teenager. What a talent.

Just read about David Hockney. Loved his work.

Hockney did a black and white sketch for the Guardian. I bought the newspaper that day, cut it out and framed it. It's fallen down behind a bookcase that is tricky to move because it's in three parts. Going to retrieve it when I get a free day.

MOD procurement has been riddled with waste in the past - are there signs that checks and balances have been improved?

Cough - Nimrod - cough.

£6 billion (we know of) pissed away because the MoD knew better than the RAF (who wanted AWACS) and were going to spend taxpayers money and 15 years to prove it.

And if you believe all those deaths were "suicides" then I have a bridge for you.

(That'll pique some curiosity I hope).

Incidentally, I hope it's not too OT to point threadsters to the recent "Clarksons Farm" to see how farming has any hope of surviving. Which is autonomous vehicles and smart tech to extract the maximum yield from the land.

But I also liked the circular farm ecosystem in Rotterdam. In particular the genius idea of making cheese 3m underwater for free cooling.

It is beyond frustrating that all of these vital conversations that will affect many generations in the future are crowded out by a few simple minded idiots who feel their shouts actually help anyone.

I am so doing this!

😟

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/4vdO67YBmZ0

Flower tax, um, borrowed from a neighbour, as promised. Much easier to gather when out with DS1, who understands "hang on a minute" than with DS2!

I went recently to the Hockney exhibition at The Serpentine Gallery, where they were displaying the Normandy frieze, which was absolutely amazing.

https://www.theguardian.com/artanddesign/2025/aug/31/david-hockneys-90-metre-normandy-nature-frieze-to-be-shown-in-london

RIP :(