Bye bye Starmer

[mik]

That's far from being the reason to put an adapted house for a disabled person in trust. The reason is generally that it belongs to the disabled person but for whatever reason they are not able to deal with things themselves.

Interesting. I don't think any (reasonable) person would question the existence of the trust (set up in 2020 after the award). I'm not sure if your description above be equivalent to her situation or not - within the interview AR did for Sky she stated that the house was sold to the trust later in 2023 - it was their family home, and it's still their family home. She and her husband split the care between them and they each stay in the house when providing that care.

[dinny_g]

A more important quest is this…

While Jobbo and GG are discussing this, who are they billing???

[GG.]

A more important quest is this…

While Jobbo and GG are discussing this, who are they billing???

Who are we not billing that's the question. Best we both get back to work

[Mito Man]

Work sets you free...

Her conveyancing firm is accusing her of lying

[GG.]

Usually this hit job soundbite stuff is rubbish and falls flat but its almost eye watering for Labour in this case

[duncs500]

It always seems to surprise me when a public figure makes such a balls up. I don't know why. It's fairly common.

In my head I'm thinking if you're even considering being an MP, let alone a minister, just don't try anything remotely complicated. Always pay whatever the average person without access to advice would pay.

As a senior minister your post government career is probably going to deliver plenty of cash in any case, just suck it up until then.

I guess they all think they're vastly superior and will get away with anything!

[Nefarious]

This is yet another example of Labour being absolute rank amateurs at the PR game.

I hate to slip into whataboutism, but the hypocritical faux-pearl-clutching from some quarters is absolutely sickening. Cynically dish out billions of covid contracts to your mates, let party donors pay hundreds of thousands for the gaudy refurbishment of your personal flat, openly change parliamentary rules to get your mate off when he gets caught taking large brown envelopes for professional lobbying (just to name the ones that pop immediately into my head), and then play holier than thou over a highly technical infringement around arrangements for a disabled child. Get to fuck.

[integrale_evo]

If you’re going to spend 14 years slinging shit at the opposition every chance you get, don’t be surprised if you get it thrown back when positions are reversed.

Same bunch of cnuts in different colours.

Really wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Farage was our next pm.

[Rich B]

Worth remembering, this story was headline news for 2 days before any suggestions of any stamp duty issues. It was literally “Person buys second home”.

I can’t see the press letting it go until they have blood now - regardless of any intent or unawareness from Rayner

[Nefarious]

If you’re going to spend 14 years slinging shit at the opposition every chance you get, don’t be surprised if you get it thrown back when positions are reversed.

Same bunch of cnuts in different colours.

Really wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Farage was our next pm.

It is testament to the quality and experience of the Tory PR machine that they've managed to convert the general feeling of outrage fatigue into a public perception of "they're all just the same" when comparing professional, industrialised thievery to Susan from accounts keeping an office pen.

[ZedLeg]

Feeling smug as an og Starmer Labour hater

[Gavin]

If you’re going to spend 14 years slinging shit at the opposition every chance you get, don’t be surprised if you get it thrown back when positions are reversed.

Same bunch of cnuts in different colours.

Really wouldn’t surprise me in the slightest if Farage was our next pm.

It is testament to the quality and experience of the Tory PR machine that they've managed to convert the general feeling of outrage fatigue into a public perception of "they're all just the same" when comparing professional, industrialised thievery to Susan from accounts keeping an office pen.

Absolutely this. I am fed up hearing "they are bad as each other" because they are very clearly not. They may well be Tory lite in many areas but as Neil referenced above, it is sunday pub league v PSG.

[Beany]

It's not just the Tory PR machine - it's a general right wing tactic to make 'everyone seem as bad as each other'

That way people see politics as little more than changing the colour of the bedsheets. How bad can it be?

*looks over at America*

Oh, right. Yeah.

My, I'm quite sure, distinctly lukewarm take, is to forget educating people in finance - we really need to be educating people in politics and civics. Maybe then they won't consistently vote against their own (and society in generals) interests, and maybe politicians will be forced to actually behave like people with half a brain and a degree of self awareness, rather than just trusting divisive social media campaigns aimed at low information voters to get them in office.

quick edit: Obviously this extends to news coverage, social media etc too - modern news coverage is fucking atrocious surface level garbage that rarely gets into the weeds on these matters in a way that matters. And social media algorithms are their own basket case of division and soundbitery, etc.

[Nefarious]

Both Kemi personally and the Tories in general are absolute political vandals. She is nothing more than a night Watchman and the party is disgraced and politically dead for the foreseeable.

But by using their rather impressive spin machine and media puppet mastery purely to repeatedly try to smear anyone associated to labour, all they are actually achieving is further destroying public engagement with politics, validating Farages talking points, and ensuring we slide headlong into a US style populist distopia

[ZedLeg]

Labour have done a fair amount of that damage themselves tbh.

They’ve continued to hammer a wedge into the party support while chasing a demo that hates them.

[duncs500]

Seems pretty self inflicted to me. The media will quite happily roll with it if they think it'll attract clicks, and all the Tories need to do is jump on the bandwagon, I don't think any sort of advanced PR strategy is necessary.

[GG.]

She's gone... (or going) apparently.

[John]

Is that the world's smallest violin I can hear?

[Beany]

Is that the world's smallest violin I can hear?

Nah, sound waves don't propagate at the quantum level.

[MikeHunt]

You'd think it wouldn't be too difficult for MPs to manage the basics and follow your own rules, keep your personal life out of the office, and make sure your tax arrangements don't raise eyebrows. If they aren't squeaky clean, there are people actively searching for dirt to bring them down, if they don't understand this then god help us.