Westminster Politics

FireballXL5 said:
Revealed: UK government keeping files on education critics’ social media activity

An Observer investigation finds DfE tried to cancel conference with ‘unsuitable’ speakers – and experts who criticised state education policy had online posts monitored

https://www.theguardian.com/educati...es-on-education-critics-social-media-activity
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How is that in any way legal? literal totalitarianism.

Ruth Swailes and Aaron Bradbury, co-authors of a bestselling book on early childhood, were told by the organisers of a government-sponsored event for childminders and nursery workers, which they were due to speak at in March, that the DfE planned to cancel the conference just days before it opened because they were deemed to be “unsuitable” headline speakers.

The event was eventually allowed to go ahead after Swailes and Bradbury threatened the department with legal action, although a senior government official was present to “monitor” what they said.

Speaking to the Observer, Bradbury, principal lecturer in early childhood studies at Nottingham Trent University, said: “I received a phone call from the organisers saying there were some concerns about us being speakers. The DfE had decided we were unsuitable because we had been critical of government policy.”

He said: “To be told that we couldn’t have this debate felt like we were living in a dictatorship, not a democracy.

“We were due to talk about nurturing and early child development. It wasn’t some covert stuff about infiltrating Russia.”

One modern languages expert, Carmel O’Hagan, uncovered an email from DfE officials accusing her of having “an axe to grind” on Twitter, now rebranded as X, and an Excel spreadsheet in which the department detailed who she interacted with. She described the emails among officials about her in her 37-page file as “puerile” and “spiteful”.
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4bars said:
That doesnt mean that certain projects make more sense from an economically an developing POV
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Of course it doesn't, it just a fact of life (well almost) that the seat(s) of government are places of power, and it has been for a long time, since medieval days when, kings, lords, etc. in their castles had the best armies, food, buildings, roads, livestock etc. Those who wield power tend to surround themselves with the 'best', and everything else gravitates (over time) towards such places..... this includes people.
 
Bert_ said:
Bills set to soar as water companies seek record £96bn spending
https://www.ft.com/content/f92df631-4bae-4995-81cc-66028c62edfb

Privatisation working as well as ever
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Honestly, the fecking temerity of water companies seeking to pass this onto the taxpayer/consumer after record profits have been dished out to the 'shareholders' post privatisation. It's so fecking infuriating.

Ofwat have been asked to greenlight the plans - I hope they come down on these cnuts like a hammer.
 
The Corinthian said:
Honestly, the fecking temerity of water companies seeking to pass this onto the taxpayer/consumer after record profits have been dished out to the 'shareholders' post privatisation. It's so fecking infuriating.

Ofwat have been asked to greenlight the plans - I hope they come down on these cnuts like a hammer.
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I'm sure Ofwat, like Ofgem and Ofcom, will do everything they can to protect consumers...
 
esmufc07 said:
Please, this cannot be allowed here. For gods sake someone has taken the thread off topic, this is not right mods. I know these posters have a longstanding history here, but this is not right. I can't be the only one that thinks this?
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Is the post accurate. Yes.
Fair. Yes.
A reasonable response. Yes.

You may be the only one.
 
Maticmaker said:
I think Sunak is already recognising this in his thinking, 'my God what will happen if those Northerners get a decent transport system, they will start to compete with the South... not on my watch, they already have the Trans-Pennine Link (posh name for M62), The Humber Bridge, for heaven's sake they even have a Ferry across the Mersey, what more do they want...? If HS2 went ahead 'up North' they might stop wearing flat caps and keeping coal in the bath... good gracious'. ;)
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He just doesn't care, I don't think he gives it much thought.

The Tories don't care about much. The North is just another topic they don't care about unless it benefits them politically or financially.
 
Badunk said:
HS2 not going to Manchester after all then.

What about the spades in the ground? Are they up for grabs now?
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I don't understand this one at all. Aren't there already huge pieces of infrastructure built for it along the way? Will they now just be monuments to tory rule from London to the Scottish border!?
 
Fluctuation0161 said:
He just doesn't care, I don't think he gives it much thought.

The Tories don't care about much. The North is just another topic they don't care about unless it benefits them politically or financially.
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Oh, but they do, but it's about their future prospects!
Sunak knows he won't win the next GE, but if he can stop Starmer getting a sizeable majority, he will have something to appeal to 'bedrock' Tories about, persuade them to 'hold fast', don't get swayed by the smiling Sir Keir.... and that will be achieved (he believes) by returning Tories to their old mantra/battle cry "We are the party of cutting Taxes".

The best Labour can do on this is to promise they wont put them up, it was what 'hamstrung' Blair and he wasn't facing the same economic issues we are at present.
Sunak will risk the wrath of the north/redwall etc.by cutting the HS2 link to Manchester (and beyond) because realistically by getting that HS2 (estimated) £100B 'monkey off his back', he can then do something on the tax cutting front, not as much as Truss would have done, but just enough to put her and her supporters back in their cage!

The nearer it gets to the GE the more the Sunak led Tories will start to play 'hard ball', they will sacrifice anybody but their own or at least threaten to, so Starmer will have to have 'steel mittens' on to catch and return to the Tories.... with interest if he can.
 
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Ekkie Thump said:
Isn't the idea behind the 15 minute city simply that most amenities should exist within a 15 minute bike ride of most residents?
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No. Well, yes, but in Tory Land they're a test to control the populace. If you can get anything you need within 15 minutes then before you know it the Government will set up blockades and prevent you from going into other "sectors" of your city. And then the bastards will ban you from driving cars anywhere. The bastards.

So fixing potholes (which councils should be fecking doing anyway), killing small children in quiet residential areas with your fast cars, bigotry and conspiracy theories. That's the New Tory way!
 
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Ekkie Thump said:
Isn't the idea behind the 15 minute city simply that most amenities should exist within a 15 minute bike ride of most residents?
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Apparently that is Stalinism.

Also:


Report claiming net zero will cost UK trillions retracted due to ‘factual errors’
Rightwing thinktank Civitas mistakenly cost onshore wind power 10,000 times higher than reality and claimed bill would be £4.5tn

A report that hugely overestimated the cost to the UK of reaching net zero emissions has been retracted by the rightwing thinktank that published it.

The Civitas pamphlet published on Thursday claimed to offer a “realistic” estimate of the cost – £4.5tn – and said “the government needs to be honest with the British people”.

https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-uk-trillions-retracted-due-to-factual-errors

This thread is excellent:

 
Ekkie Thump said:
Isn't the idea behind the 15 minute city simply that most amenities should exist within a 15 minute bike ride of most residents?
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Having easily accessible public services and amenities is a Stalinist plot, didn't you know?

And reducing asthma rates and other instances of lung conditions is pure communism.
 
Ekkie Thump said:
Isn't the idea behind the 15 minute city simply that most amenities should exist within a 15 minute bike ride of most residents?
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In Oxford the idea is being implemented alongside the introduction of traffic filters designed to limit access to the busiest city centre roads - the two things have been conflated by 15 minute city conspiracy theorists. Even in Oxford the filters won’t stop people accessing any location in the city at any time - they’d just have to go a different route.
 
Eric_the_Red99 said:
In Oxford the idea is being implemented alongside the introduction of traffic filters designed to limit access to the busiest city centre roads - the two things have been conflated by 15 minute city conspiracy theorists. Even in Oxford the filters won’t stop people accessing any location in the city at any time - they’d just have to go a different route.
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They just make city's a nicer place to live.

But now The Torries are appealing to conspiracy theorists. It's a sad place to find one of the world's oldest political parties.
 
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