Talking of grifts. Good news that the Holiday in Rwanda grift has been immediately canned and is to be fully audited. Prosecutions no doubt to follow.
22 May 2024
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I'll bet no-one gets prosecuted.
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Me too.
Doesn't mean that they shouldn't be.
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Or maybe they were happy to support a centrist in order to get the Tories out, and are then concerned about non-progressive policies?
My hope is that, like Biden, Starmer is more forward-thinking than he appeared, and so far it looks encouraging. -
Nope. They’ve been sniping from the sidelines since he was elected leader. It really gets my goat. I’m sure the likes of Jones etc would have preferred to lube up and let the Tories win.
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Getting a touch of deja vu here.
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So they didn't turn on Starmer when he was about to win?
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Win what? The Labour leadership or the GE?
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I was replying to the comment about Leftists turning on Starmer as he was about to win. I presumed that meant the GE.
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The leftists/Momentum/Corbynistas turned on him as soon after he won the leadership. They are just as divisive and hate-filled as Cruella and the clan. What gets me is the politics of division and otherism.
As I have grown older (and admittedly wealthier), I have maintained my membership of the Labour Party but have become less of an ideologue and more pragmatic and have come to accept the term “Champagne Socialist” as a compliment. I accept that I am very fortunate so try and vote for the society I want to see not what specifically benefits me. Rich people voting against Labour because of VAT on private schools really pissed me off. I’ll happily pay more tax for better infrastructure but not to line the pockets of Tory donors.
That said I tactically voted LibDem here in the Shire to GTTO as it was supposed to be close. (Labour parachuted in a London candidate and did not really campaign)
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Cashed out my £5 bet on Jenrick to be next Tory leader (placed when he resigned as a minister) for a profit of £100.
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What's folks thoughts on the rail nationalisation?
Noone dislikes the current rail system more than me and EMR are a strong contender for the shittest.
But LNER already state owned and they simplified their fares, which was code for increasing them, did away with all the odf peaks and super off peaks to major destinations (you can still get them if you do a split ticket, but that's not really making things simpler).
So I fear we will end up with the same shit level of service across the board but it will cost more for the privilege.
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Isn't it just nationalisation of infrastructure (which makes total sense), with rolling stock and services remaining private? Hopefully scrutiny, oversight, price capping, and service targets with penalties will come in to sort the rest.
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I confess to not looking much at the detail, but thought they were taking back the franchises as they expire.
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Pretty much.
But speaking to a railwayman today, he said not much will change. Four franchises are already “run” by DfT, for example.
Essentially, as the franchises expire, the CEO will go and be replaced by someone from the DfT, but day to day won’t change.
Ticket simplification and rationalisation is on the cards, as the complexity is one of the commonest complaints from passengers. -
Simplification means higher prices will get the complaints rolling in.
