Perhaps it would permit more cool-headed discussion if these people could spell out precisely what the "valid concerns" are about immigration, as distinct from the invalid ones. www.theguardian.com/politics/202...
overwhelmingly peaceful pro-Palestine protests with these antisemitic attacks, with serious repercussions for intra-community relationships and overall community safety.
Jewish communities here in the UK are put at heightened risk as a result and this is simply not acceptable.
Media and political narratives shape the way that people interpret global events and can contribute to fuelling misunderstanding and blame.
There is a false conflation of all Jewish people with the activities of the Israeli state, and there continues to be a misleading conflation of
We’re sending our solidarity and support to Jewish communities after a frightening series of targeted antisemitic attacks. Jewish people, like everyone else, have the right to safety and belonging where they worship, work and live.
Again, I'm not commenting on the scandal itself, because we're in a Pre-Election Period and I like my job, but I do note that the interviewer is sat next to the husband of the Foreign Secretary.
It seems very odd that everyone continues to pretend Ed Balls is just another interviewer/presenter.
AOC: In some ways, you kind of want this guy on a golf course more than you want him in the Oval Office. But that also calls into question the 25th Amendment, because if the determination is that Trump cannot be trusted in the Situation Room, then he's not fit to be president.
Starmer created this crisis by sacking a qualified and competent woman.
And when he sacked career diplomat Karen Pierce to give Mandelson her job, SIX other senior women diplomats left FCDO as their careers were doomed under his government.
He's done far worse, but I'm fine if this does for him.
Not sighing at you btw Peter!! I'm being snarky!!
"Sighs"
Allegation that Morgan McSweeney phoned previous FCDO Perm Sec Sir Phillip Barton, and told him "just fucking approve it" re: Mandelson's vetting ..!
The result is a political operation that was never tested and bore no scars upon election, and was expert in one thing: destroying the left. That's now coming back to haunt them, but was predictable from day one.
The media & political class don't insist on accountability from people like Starmer, to the extent they do for working class or left wingers. No-one cared Starmer dropped the pledges that got him elected leader of the Labour Party. The press never laid a finger on these him or his team in oppo.
Not convinced that "lack of judgement" is the reason Starmer and others made such bad decisions. It's partly just the fact that some people get to play politics on easy mode. Starmer was never tested in opposition. Men and many women, from establishment / middle class backgrounds are never tested.>>
Does promoting two friends of known paedophiles to senior diplomatic roles confirm the victims of those paedophiles were “foremost” in Starmer’s mind…?
Always fascinating when new jobs data drops, that no-one in the media (outside northern ireland) seems curious as to why it's consistently outperformed the rest of the UK for jobs (and pay) for at least the last 18 months, possibly longer.
I assume it's to do with proximity to single market?
Despite the fact politicians are apparently not vetted, this hasn;t stopped the regular smears trotted out to undermine mostly left wing politicians. Funny that
Basically politicians aren't vetted for office are they. Neither as MPs nor as Lords. Civil servants are though, at least that's my understanding. Which means Mandelson was never vetted in a public role. I wonder if he was vetted in his role at the EU?
Overall, broadly clear voters are divided on North Sea & instinctively pro renewables over oil/gas.
But also that opinion on both is fairly fluid and malleable. Aside from a core on both sides, energy systems are not a subject people are super invested in ideologically (!).
End of thread
Finally, as a side note, I showed people multiple different anti North Sea drilling arguments - you can see people stay broadly divided in all.
But of the best performing ones was climate change - people's concerns over this for their kids remains underrated by elites imo.
The other angle here is the broader renewables vs oil/gas debate.
Here, opinion is less ambiguous. A clear plurality of back renewables over fossil fuels (albeit the margin has narrowed 3-4pts since December). Even when you don't impose a binary, result is similar.
That said, even agreeability bias cannot help fracking be popular beyond core Reform votes - albeit YouGov do give more context in their tracker question wording here ('some people say X, some people say Y') than in the previous question. This hasn't moved post-Iran.
NEW: Where are voters landing on the North Sea oil debate post-Iran?
A quick thread on some of the fluidities and ambiguities, which I think can tell you something about polling/public opinion itself.
Includes some new polling and message testing via @yougov.co.uk for @persuasionuk.bsky.social 🧵
Robbins says no stipulation from No.10 that he should be vetted, and nothing said his appointment was subject to vetting - and FCDO had to insist, prior to Robbins appointment, that vetting took place (following row with Cabinet Office)
"Throughout January my office was under constant pressure"...from No10, Robbins says. "There was an atmosphere of constant chasing" over Mandelson's appointment.
"Never any interest in whether, only an interest in when" Mandelson would be appointed.
🔥NEW: Sir Olly Robbins says there was an expectation from No10 to get Mandelson in post "as quickly as humanly possible".
There was a "dismissive attitude to his vetting process", Robbins says.
Economics can either enable the slide toward fascism, or defend affordability, dignity, and democracy.
I wrote ANTI-FASCIST ECONOMICS with my baby by my side—a constant reminder that the future should be livable for all.
Out in October with Random House.
It's going to be even worse the next time they appoint Peter Mandelson
Trump says his allies never do anything for him, and here we are about to remove our Prime Minister because of Epstein
100% - if you have cash to spare at the median (spoiler: you likely don't) then you're putting it into a rainy day fund that pays you a bit of interest and is safe. If you can afford to gamble and not need the cash liquid, you're putting it in a cash ISA. If you have a safety net, it's in a pension
