the day after the deadline: can the union survive brexit and other deep questions

Myles na gCopaleen, King of the Hill and The Larry Sanders Show are good not bad but beyond that I accept your premise

Seinfeld, Simpsons seasons 3-9, Columbo

now we are become lex, the destroyer of lols

xp also otm

It’s an old (and bad) joke. The response to it seems really unnatural to me - though I’m not sure what anyone’s motives are. It was a terrible thing to say, but pretty low down on stuff he’s said. It seems like a distraction, but I don’t know what from.

I remember the letterbox thing coming up in columns by old (and bad) racist Julie burchill

Silly season?

it's a terrible thing to say but everybody seems fine repeating it, ffs.

and it's obvious BJ means niqab when he's saying burka.

probably not obvious to him tbf (or any of the other fuckwits who get exercised over the issue)

meanwhile, in 'jk rowling sucks' news

from the woman who created a race of secretive banking goblins https://t.co/6rlwliluQP

— raw milk truther (@dentristcad) August 9, 2018

New poll, 10 years on from Your favourite Tory

Viva hate: the worst Tory big beast

Brokenshire was given quite a rough ride on Today (by their shit standards) by Justin Webb over this hundred mill they've just found to alleviate their own homelessness epidemic by 2027 (bit of an earworm), which is obv a very "complex" issue, and nothing to do with housing benefit cuts, UC sanctions regime... etc. Interesting that Webb mentioned there are further housing benefit cuts to come to social housing as well, which will mean more evictions. The only realistic way they will end it by 2027 with a paltry hundred mill, will be by sending armed outreach workers onto the streets, rounding them up for the Soylent Green transports!

'Classy' - ITV

If you’re not going to answer questions this is the classy way to do it. https://t.co/T9sf3MRXRa

— Carl Dinnen (@carldinnen) August 12, 2018

I realize that the video is increasingly familiar, and unpleasant; I just note the fact that ITV's political correspondent comments on it this way.

Not convinced by this either. JC is always nice to people at least until they are nasty to him.

It would be a classy thing to do. But the best we usually get there is heavy sarcasm. Which from his point of view is a shame. https://t.co/QV3We3oRmu

— Carl Dinnen (@carldinnen) August 13, 2018

Thinking about BJ yet again -- his 'no comment' stance is part of his bold 'refusal to apologise'.

But no -- wait -- his column was, as it presumably always is, about boldly speaking his mind, sounding off, being himself. The fact that he is now reduced to (in effect) 'no comment' on the very issue that he was proud to sound off about, is itself a kind of defeat.

It's as though his column had been blank or had said 'I'm afraid I'm not going to comment on this issue as it might be controversial'. No longer being prepared to follow through and defend the same, supposedly strongly held, position invalidates the status that he has sought as a fearless maverick and shaper of public opinion.

Or, he prefers to get paid for his 'pinions

About £4800 per column, as it goes. After two or three weeks he’d have enough cash to pay for the moob reduction he so desperately needs.

good to have an estimate on that :(

Time to check in on how the Progress wing of Labour is doing and...

@stephenkb @AnthonyHorowitz Not to mention number of children lifted out of poverty is a far, far bigger number than died in Iraq.

— Conor Pope (@Conorpope) November 26, 2014

just WOW

wow yes but it's from four years ago, why is it suddenly doing the round again?

In fairness to the Pope dullard he was directly responding (four years ago) to Horowitz claiming the exact opposite but it does look a bit 'free TV licenses for Iraqi widows' in isolation.

stuff that could look like belonging to an Onion article, but it's some twat from Progress!

Boris Johnson: Tea anyone? pic.twitter.com/PoMdE9phlD

— Matthew Collings (@m_collings) August 13, 2018

Corbyn-Netanyahu is an ilx style flamewar

Dr Corbius.

I know, it's Sunny Hundal and everything but the fact that point #3 even needs to be explained to some people is extremely revealing about post-2010 politics.

So I think Corbyn is at that stage where he could literally shoot someone on Oxford Street and still maintain his base.

There are three main reasons for this, IMO:
1) Media
2) Brexit
3) Economy

— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) August 13, 2018

I mean specifically this:

3) I don't think Westminster appreciates how much anger at the economy and growing inequality drives Corbyn's support. Is anyone else talking about it? No. Not even Labour 'moderates'.

Meanwhile, Tories are hemmed in between their ideology and reality.

— Sunny Hundal (@sunny_hundal) August 13, 2018

he could literally shoot someone on Oxford Street and still maintain his base

If it was a Tory then sure of course.

Is Sunny Hundal bad? I do not know.

Well said xyzzzz.

Wonder if he was ranking them in which case Sunny is def part of the problem - economy is #1, and had a role in #2. The Media are 30 people howling on twitter in August. xps

yep, disillusionment with the media goes deeper than their treatment of corbyn, it's generational & unlikely to change imo

Corbyn could get away with shooting someone, but if the likes of Blair, Campbell, Darling .. started backing Corbyn and telling the electorate to vote for him with the usual levels of condescension they reserve for talking to children or household pets - he could be knackered.

Dr Corbius, I should said instead Corbyn twice in one sentence!

I actually think Mr Hundal seems OK on that thread.

This reply, on the other hand:

Oh, come on. Lots of people who find it impossible to align with Corbyn care deeply about, and talk about, and act on inequality. It's beneath you to suggest otherwise.

— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) August 13, 2018

they care deeply about inequality up to the point they have to take any action whatsoever to combat it

well come on, lip service is arguably a form of action.

It's beneath you to suggest otherwise.

he could literally shoot someone on Oxford Street and still maintain his base

Is he saying this is a good thing? I don't believe it anyway, I think Corbyn is already on the wane.

My feet are beneath me.

I don't see it like that either. I don't think it's about his policy platform, which is little more than condensed Milibandism. It's the sticky perception of authenticity, which is both his attraction to those who buy it and a repulsion to those who don't.

— Jo Maugham QC (@JolyonMaugham) August 13, 2018

It's the austerity, stupid.

Twitter has been good for exposing how poor the thinking really is among journos, but it also elevates these really silly individuals.

The only way we'll know if Corbyn is on the wane is if people were not turning up on any rallies and there was some serious internal opposition on Labour's Brexit position. Unfortunately for the press these attacks re-energise his base.

I think Corbyn support would get much stronger if an election was called, even amongst people that are not particularly into Corbynism but are seeing austerity affecting local services, schools etc

life through a Joylon tinted lens is generally like walking around on stilts, but tbf he hid campaign for the Garrick Club to accept female members.

for once I feel able to engage in the true spirit of this thread: people who proudly display their post-nominal letters are to be pushed into the pit

LOOOOOL

That's no way to talk about Matt DC !!!

bloody tankies!

I'm starting to think it's very doubtful that either party leader will fight the next election campaign, although that does depend on when it is and whether the government collapses before 2022 (which it surely must). Not a cat in hell's chance that May will.

There's not going to be an election for a while yet and, yes, I don't think Corbyn will be there to fight it.