the methodological assumptions behind polling people's opinions on a *single post* that was posted *nine hours ago* are insane

Again, this is not a “Jewish community” issue - this should be something that everyone finds abhorrent. But even Keir Starmer’s statement frames this as an issue that is because the Jews have been complaining again. Kanye puts the emphasis on making amends to Jews. It’s exhausting.

I can have empathy that psychosis is possible and that Kanye has a verifiable mental illness. But hundreds of people facilitated him, they manufactured swastika T-shirts, they were extras and backing singers and producers of his Heil Hitler single and music video. Don’t these people have any morals?

A lot has bothered me about the reporting of the Kanye West banned. Firstly how it has been framed as all about it the Jewish community - but we should all be against Nazism! This country fought Nazis. Songs called Heil Hitler should not just be for the Jewish community to object to. And secondly…

Relevant:

Freedom of Speech by Norman Rockwell

I don't think Kamala Harris would've threatened to commit genocide in Iran on a random Tuesday morning a month after starting an unwinnable war with them for no reason

the debasement of the one-prestigious FIFA Peace Price continues

Not specifying which civilization has big Monkey's Paw energy

This should always have been the end of it.

He's going to wipe out a civilisation but also help the people of Iran. And the regime is completely new and more reasonable but also need to be wiped out. He might as well be dribbling.

Yes Trump's posts are horrendous but they're also completely incoherent. It's pretty obvious he doesn't know what to do.

Also Labour didn't have a debate on trans rights! It awkwardly answered one way until it felt the politics had shifted, then it started awkwardly answering the other way. They never worked out what it wanted to do. Now Streeting's off doing his own thing whilst Philipson hides behind the sofa

McSweeney pressed for his mentor to get the job. One of the most bizarre shortlists of all time was drawn up: Mandelson, George Osborne and the rugged TV survivalist Bear Grylls, since it was believed he would appeal to Trump, also a star of reality TV. Starmer initially backed Osborne but McSweeney got his way.

This piece in The Spectator by @shippersunbound.bsky.social has an absolutely mad detail that I was not previously aware of spectator.com/article/auth...

This is exactly it. On essentially every issue, this Labour government is either too leftwing - a bunch of anti-business measures that nobody cares about, an infrastructure binge at a time when it should want downward pressure on rates, etc. etc. - or too rightwing (as set out below).

An equalisation of the minimum wage that will hit youth employment while at the same time sneering about how Gen Z's 'anxiety' is why Neets are going up - probably the ur-example of how this government is too rightwing, too leftwing, and at its core, just not serious enough about policy.

I’m aware this is months old, I think it just indicates the biggest issue this government has: its initial analysis of who and what it is for pre-2024 election was wrong, and it’s been doubling down ever since.

They’ve always had a dreadful idea of who the Labour Party is for and who actually votes for it. Politics 101 and they have never got past it.

We need a true Blairite in power. True Blairism hasn’t been tried. Sincerely.

If Starmer wants a reset - and not yet another U-turn when the parliamentary party balks at a policy - here is his chance.

Writing off of local government SEND debts and nationalising the whole program is genuinely a good thing Labour is doing. Should be doing the same thing with social care too.

It’s actually great we have such high turnover, at least we still have standards to boot out a crap leader.

This is quite dramatic but not without truth: his failures could condemn the Labour Party and the country. Complacency and cowardice are deeply dangerous.

I don’t think Starmer could articulate his difference in positions relative to that of the Blair government if he tried.

Lucy Powell caretaker fulfilling the David Lidington “what the fuck are you all on?” role in this governments slow collapse.

Not today's main point, but I do find it odd that ministers are signalling their support of Keir Starmer - pretty important as their silence is interpreted as a sign they might quit and force him to resign! - by... posting on X.

You know, the site condemned for being an AI porn hellscape last month

Everyone has their own very specific and unique revisionism of what the Blair government was/wasn’t, and we’ve never got the good kind.

Lucy Powell does inspire a particular eye rolling from me, she does just radiate the vibes that she could well be engaging in an elaborate role play of a The Thick Of It character.

People get very stuck on the “2019 was an irrecoverably bad defeat” line, when the real barometer for 2024 success for Labour wasn’t improving from 2019, it was making good on the level of support they had obtained in 2022/23! The circumstances were so different by then, 2019 comparison was moot.

He could limp on out of a strange pity like May did.