Stop voting for fucking Tories

[Hal Jordan]

I like that a conversation about the Reform party is mixed up with a conversation about mental health.

From what I have seen of the candidates, serious intervention is required - chemtrail and general WTO and Net Zero conspiracy theories, out and out virulent racism, doth protest too much homophobic screeds and the like.

The fact that the Company also runs on an anti-corporate ticket would be hilarious if it didn't seem to fool so many people.

[Hal Jordan]

In that YouGov poll, the Tories have less than 10% of under 50s.

Interesting, due to the "people get more Tory as they get older" mantra. Apart from general malaise with the Tories, the support of people who have something and want to keep it just isn't there in the under 50s, why care about a party promising to help with buying a house, protect your savings and the State Pension when it's impossible to get on the housing ladder, you have no savings and the idea of a State Pension even existing when you die at your work desk in 30-40 years time is laughable.

Edit: Add in the culture war shit which most people either don't care about, or support the opposite viewpoint to the likes of the Cabinet.

[Biffer]

In that YouGov poll, the Tories have less than 10% of under 50s.

Interesting, due to the "people get more Tory as they get older" mantra. Apart from general malaise with the Tories, the support of people who have something and want to keep it just isn't there in the under 50s, why care about a party promising to help with buying a house, protect your savings and the State Pension when it's impossible to get on the housing ladder, you have no savings and the idea of a State Pension even existing when you die at your work desk in 30-40 years time is laughable.

Edit: Add in the culture war shit which most people either don't care about, or support the opposite viewpoint to the likes of the Cabinet.

Yeah, but the more tory as you get older thing used to kick in when people were in their thirties. It's being knocked two decades down the road.

[petej]

The latest culture war bollocks coming from the Tories: mental health has gone "too far"

This is an interesting topic, and I don't want to get dragged into the Tory culture wars. But I think there is a bit of truth in what is being said, like all good culture war topics.

My personal worry in this regard is that I sense some people are loosing the capacity to accepts feelings as part of the human condition. In my very simple world this used to be quite easy to demonstrate in language. For example if someone was sad, that was a usual emotion expected to be part of being human, if someone was depressed that was a mental health condition. Similar in a way to the term worry vs the term anxious.

I might be imagining things, but I hear the terms sad/worried being used almost never and depressed/anxious being used almost always.

What I'm trying to say is that as humans we will feel emotions which are not always a mental health condition. And I've got a slight concern, call it a feeling perhaps, that sometime we're loosing sight of that. I say this with the full knowledge that there are of course mental health conditions that are not this.

I also remember a friend of mine seeking counseling to help him deal with a breakup, and he was told one thing that particularly stuck with him. That was "Your mental health is your responsibility". Again, I'm sure this isn't a one size fits all approach, but he certainly took it as a good reminder to look after his own mental health.

Agree C T.

Firstly, it is mostly our own responsibility, all the research there is suggests mindfulness and connection are key to feeling mentally well. Sadly, we live in the UK where loneliness is rising exponentially at a time public areas have been shut down/left to rot. Spending time with friends doing things you enjoy are key really. Physical activity, green spaces, useful work etc etc. We've medicalised a lot of issues that aren't medical.

Where we're going wrong:

Everything is so expensive currently. It reduces the time and resource people have for leisure time. Also, any study will show you money worries = poor mental health. See also, housing worries.

Collapsing public spaces - you won't meet people at church anymore and the associated community activities. And austerity has tried to shut everything else. Sports participation is declining across the board. Work from home etc where do you meet people?

You go to the Doctor and instead of expensive counselling or talking therapies you get given meds because doctors lack the time to act in another way. There's very little compelling evidence they work more than a placebo, but they do create an addiction.

Counselling/CBT have outrageous waiting times/cost. It's prohibitive.

The government have outsourced mental health care to charities who then run services to KPIs that are designed to ensure they keep getting govt contracts not to improving mental health. Furthermore to increase funding you need to increase awareness. It's great to increase awareness if you also create awareness of how to feel better. See above.

Tiktok and the internet are making kids think that their feelings are a mental health issue and not just a part of life. Prevelance inflation it's called.

Physical health is crap for many reasons and that's related to poor mental health too.

In short - people need more money, more connection with others, more knowledge on wellness strategies.

It seems to be about treating the fallout from various things. Insecure jobs and housing would make anyone more anxious. Struggling to pay for food and heating/hot water same again. People being over weight and things related to that-the diet recommendations are mostly bollocks, food labelling is bollocks, mass consumption of food like substances/ultra processed food which is relentlessly marketed at us and decreased availability of real food and increased price of it all leads to obesity and as food has a large impact on mood so more mental health issues. We've got a government that knows all this but does fuck all. Stop treating the fallout and start treating the cause.

[Mahoney]

Y'our mental health is your responsibility is quite vague', what do you think is meant by that?

To me it means exactly things like recognising when your emotional state is consistently outside of what you would consider your norm and seeking counselling or having suspicions that your norm is not and has never been anyone else's and looking for some help in figuring out why that might be.

To me it means understanding that your behaviour affects your mental health. Things that I've seen affect me and people around me:

* Not having regular sleep pattern - e.g. at least 7 hours, in bed before midnight
* Not eating properly
* Not doing any physical activity
* Not getting enough fresh air / sunlight
* Not getting out and interacting with people in the flesh
* Not doing constructive stuff - could be cooking, DIY, volunteering, whatever. Work might be enough.

Those are things most of us have agency over, and can consciously choose to do even when we don't want to, because we know it will help make things better.

[robmatic]

In that YouGov poll, the Tories have less than 10% of under 50s.

Interesting, due to the "people get more Tory as they get older" mantra. Apart from general malaise with the Tories, the support of people who have something and want to keep it just isn't there in the under 50s, why care about a party promising to help with buying a house, protect your savings and the State Pension when it's impossible to get on the housing ladder, you have no savings and the idea of a State Pension even existing when you die at your work desk in 30-40 years time is laughable.

Edit: Add in the culture war shit which most people either don't care about, or support the opposite viewpoint to the likes of the Cabinet.

Yeah, but the more tory as you get older thing used to kick in when people were in their thirties. It's being knocked two decades down the road.

You used to be able to own a house and start a family by the time you were in your 30s. It's hard to see that trend reversing in favour of the Tories.

[I like neeps]

Y'our mental health is your responsibility is quite vague', what do you think is meant by that?

To me it means exactly things like recognising when your emotional state is consistently outside of what you would consider your norm and seeking counselling or having suspicions that your norm is not and has never been anyone else's and looking for some help in figuring out why that might be.

To me it means understanding that your behaviour affects your mental health. Things that I've seen affect me and people around me:

* Not having regular sleep pattern - e.g. at least 7 hours, in bed before midnight
* Not eating properly
* Not doing any physical activity
* Not getting enough fresh air / sunlight
* Not getting out and interacting with people in the flesh
* Not doing constructive stuff - could be cooking, DIY, volunteering, whatever. Work might be enough.

Those are things most of us have agency over, and can consciously choose to do even when we don't want to, because we know it will help make things better.

Yeah I agree with this and swat.

It's both recognising your feelings and know to ask for help. But it's also looking at activities as you've outlined above.

[yermum]

At the same time, there is also an epidemic of self-diagnosis of conditions like anxiety and ADHD.

an estimated 4% of folk have ADHD.

from the ADHDUK charity site:

Prescriptions information indicates that 8.2% of people who have ADHD are in receipt of ADHD medication. Research suggests between 55% and 62% of individuals who have an ADHD diagnosis are in receipt of ADHD medication. 8.2% have medication therefore suggests an Assessed percentage of around 15% and an undiagnosed percentage of 85%. As it is an extrapolation, we prefer to err on the side of caution and say “Over 80% undiagnosed” and “Over 2 million undiagnosed”.

I have ADHD my kids have ADHD.

The provision for diagnosis and treatment in the country is shocking. The waiting list for NHS CAMHS diagnosis and treatment was 8 years. My kids would be nearly leaving home.

Both now are being treated privatly which has cost a small fortune. But at least now they are getting the help they need.

Please don't buy into the latest push from the right that ADHD doesn't exist and it's just bad parenting. Matthew Parris was spouting off in the times recently. I can see this as the latest front in the war on "woke".

[C69]

Even if you bump them down 10% and give it all to the Tories, it’s a 200 seat majority. I don’t think that reform will poll that well in the actual election, I think they’ll be just under 10%. That could still have the Tories below 100 seats though.

I reckon the Reform Ltd will go all in at the GE and try to win as many votes as possible. They see this as their big big chance to scavenge at the dying corpse of the Tory Party and to transform it into a British version of the Republican Party post the GE defeat. They are desperate for the Tories to lose and lose badly and the only thing in their way of destroying the current tory party is their own ineptitude, narrow base and racist candidates, many of whom are being exposed now on Twitter for being utter cunts. They see a Reform/Conservative Party post GE being led by their winning team of Tice, Blonde Bumblecunt, Farage, JRM, Braverman, Patel, Truss et al and getting all the air time they need on GBabiesNews. There is enough of the right wing nutters, the likes of Clark, Jenkinson, Clark-Smith, Kruger, Longhi et al, the useless army of blackshirts, in the Tory Party to rally around a right wing coup to make it work and who will support whatever they do as they know this would be their only hope of ever getting back into political power. To be fair to them they are playing a long game well and have already hollowed out the Tories into a ramshackle, right wing shell of a Party led by a hopeless incompetent PM supported by a Cabinet filled with nutters and incompetents and who is all ready to shuffle off to US once he has lost the GE. Will the remaining one nation Tories be able to resurrect themselves into any semblance of a political party, will they fight to keep hold of the ghost of the Tory Party - hard to say given the lack of leadership to rally round. They know they have lost the party and they themselves have lost their fight to do anything and I suspect they will just give up and wander back to the shires and live out their lives as landowners or advisors to big businesses.

Reform don't have the resources to get anywhere. They've achieved little of note in the spate of by-elections, I doubt being spread more thinly in a general is going to help them. They can air some of the right's favourites on GBeebies all they like, barely anyone actually watches it.

Reform don't need resources they need to skim off a percentage of disaffected racist reactionary Tories who have no affinity with the Party to feck the Tories especially in the North.
The feeling is thy have abandoned red wall Northern voters.
As referenced by the Tory Mayoral candidate quoting the Tories and joining Reform today.
The red wall Tory voters lent their vote because of Boris Brexit and their hate of Corbyn.
None of the above are a factor now and they will either vote Reform or Labour now
They are fecked

[sockwithaticket]

At the same time, there is also an epidemic of self-diagnosis of conditions like anxiety and ADHD.

an estimated 4% of folk have ADHD.

from the ADHDUK charity site:

Prescriptions information indicates that 8.2% of people who have ADHD are in receipt of ADHD medication. Research suggests between 55% and 62% of individuals who have an ADHD diagnosis are in receipt of ADHD medication. 8.2% have medication therefore suggests an Assessed percentage of around 15% and an undiagnosed percentage of 85%. As it is an extrapolation, we prefer to err on the side of caution and say “Over 80% undiagnosed” and “Over 2 million undiagnosed”.

I have ADHD my kids have ADHD.

The provision for diagnosis and treatment in the country is shocking. The waiting list for NHS CAMHS diagnosis and treatment was 8 years. My kids would be nearly leaving home.

Both now are being treated privatly which has cost a small fortune. But at least now they are getting the help they need.

Please don't buy into the latest push from the right that ADHD doesn't exist and it's just bad parenting. Matthew Parris was spouting off in the times recently. I can see this as the latest front in the war on "woke".

Right, which leaves 96% without. Being sceptical of the numbers of people online self-diagnosing as ADHD because they've got a short attention span or tendency to procrastinate isn't the same as believing the condition doesn't exist.

[sockwithaticket]

I reckon the Reform Ltd will go all in at the GE and try to win as many votes as possible. They see this as their big big chance to scavenge at the dying corpse of the Tory Party and to transform it into a British version of the Republican Party post the GE defeat. They are desperate for the Tories to lose and lose badly and the only thing in their way of destroying the current tory party is their own ineptitude, narrow base and racist candidates, many of whom are being exposed now on Twitter for being utter cunts. They see a Reform/Conservative Party post GE being led by their winning team of Tice, Blonde Bumblecunt, Farage, JRM, Braverman, Patel, Truss et al and getting all the air time they need on GBabiesNews. There is enough of the right wing nutters, the likes of Clark, Jenkinson, Clark-Smith, Kruger, Longhi et al, the useless army of blackshirts, in the Tory Party to rally around a right wing coup to make it work and who will support whatever they do as they know this would be their only hope of ever getting back into political power. To be fair to them they are playing a long game well and have already hollowed out the Tories into a ramshackle, right wing shell of a Party led by a hopeless incompetent PM supported by a Cabinet filled with nutters and incompetents and who is all ready to shuffle off to US once he has lost the GE. Will the remaining one nation Tories be able to resurrect themselves into any semblance of a political party, will they fight to keep hold of the ghost of the Tory Party - hard to say given the lack of leadership to rally round. They know they have lost the party and they themselves have lost their fight to do anything and I suspect they will just give up and wander back to the shires and live out their lives as landowners or advisors to big businesses.

Reform don't have the resources to get anywhere. They've achieved little of note in the spate of by-elections, I doubt being spread more thinly in a general is going to help them. They can air some of the right's favourites on GBeebies all they like, barely anyone actually watches it.

Reform don't need resources they need to skim off a percentage of disaffected racist reactionary Tories who have no affinity with the Party to feck the Tories especially in the North.
The feeling is thy have abandoned red wall Northern voters.
As referenced by the Tory Mayoral candidate quoting the Tories and joining Reform today.
The red wall Tory voters lent their vote because of Boris Brexit and their hate of Corbyn.
None of the above are a factor now and they will either vote Reform or Labour now
They are fecked

I have no doubt the Tories are fucked (and good riddance), I just think Reform's electoral chances are being distinctly overblown. They receive a disproportionate amount of press coverage relative to their actual electoral threat, much like UKIP did, thanks to the barking right wing press.

[Insane_Homer]

Reform for this election is only a good thing with FPTP, it splits the Tory vote and weakens there bleak prospects even further.

[C69]

Reform don't have the resources to get anywhere. They've achieved little of note in the spate of by-elections, I doubt being spread more thinly in a general is going to help them. They can air some of the right's favourites on GBeebies all they like, barely anyone actually watches it.

Reform don't need resources they need to skim off a percentage of disaffected racist reactionary Tories who have no affinity with the Party to feck the Tories especially in the North.
The feeling is thy have abandoned red wall Northern voters.
As referenced by the Tory Mayoral candidate quoting the Tories and joining Reform today.
The red wall Tory voters lent their vote because of Boris Brexit and their hate of Corbyn.
None of the above are a factor now and they will either vote Reform or Labour now
They are fecked

I have no doubt the Tories are fucked (and good riddance), I just think Reform's electoral chances are being distinctly overblown. They receive a disproportionate amount of press coverage relative to their actual electoral threat, much like UKIP did, thanks to the barking right wing press.

I don't give fucks about their electoral chances.
It"s the damage to the red wall that is fucking the Tories ATM with rumours of red wall MPs contemplating going to reform.
Just like the Manchester Mayoral candidate mentioned today.

[Hal Jordan]

Reform exist to bilk money from idiots and push the political discourse ever to the right. Just like UKIP before them.

[fishfoodie]

Reform exist to bilk money from idiots and push the political discourse ever to the right. Just like UKIP before them.

This is the problem !

The probability is that the Tories get smashed in the GE, even after moving massively to the right, & despite them coming 3rd to the Lib Dems, they somehow decide that this means that they didn't move far enough to the Right, despite losing more votes to the Center, than to the Right.

[I like neeps]

I reckon the Reform Ltd will go all in at the GE and try to win as many votes as possible. They see this as their big big chance to scavenge at the dying corpse of the Tory Party and to transform it into a British version of the Republican Party post the GE defeat. They are desperate for the Tories to lose and lose badly and the only thing in their way of destroying the current tory party is their own ineptitude, narrow base and racist candidates, many of whom are being exposed now on Twitter for being utter cunts. They see a Reform/Conservative Party post GE being led by their winning team of Tice, Blonde Bumblecunt, Farage, JRM, Braverman, Patel, Truss et al and getting all the air time they need on GBabiesNews. There is enough of the right wing nutters, the likes of Clark, Jenkinson, Clark-Smith, Kruger, Longhi et al, the useless army of blackshirts, in the Tory Party to rally around a right wing coup to make it work and who will support whatever they do as they know this would be their only hope of ever getting back into political power. To be fair to them they are playing a long game well and have already hollowed out the Tories into a ramshackle, right wing shell of a Party led by a hopeless incompetent PM supported by a Cabinet filled with nutters and incompetents and who is all ready to shuffle off to US once he has lost the GE. Will the remaining one nation Tories be able to resurrect themselves into any semblance of a political party, will they fight to keep hold of the ghost of the Tory Party - hard to say given the lack of leadership to rally round. They know they have lost the party and they themselves have lost their fight to do anything and I suspect they will just give up and wander back to the shires and live out their lives as landowners or advisors to big businesses.

Reform don't have the resources to get anywhere. They've achieved little of note in the spate of by-elections, I doubt being spread more thinly in a general is going to help them. They can air some of the right's favourites on GBeebies all they like, barely anyone actually watches it.

Reform don't need resources they need to skim off a percentage of disaffected racist reactionary Tories who have no affinity with the Party to feck the Tories especially in the North.
The feeling is thy have abandoned red wall Northern voters.
As referenced by the Tory Mayoral candidate quoting the Tories and joining Reform today.
The red wall Tory voters lent their vote because of Boris Brexit and their hate of Corbyn.
None of the above are a factor now and they will either vote Reform or Labour now
They are fecked

Reform have the figureheads of Farage, Anderson and the backing of GB News. Which, yes, is a failing channel. But they're doing enough to influence debate in the mainstream press and conservative party. They're method of change isn't having the resource and machinery of a serious party. It's all media hectoring.

A good example is Farage and Anderson kicking off about the new England football shirt, guess who has joined them ... Keir Starmer. A fringe issue has enough mainstream coverage because of Reform politicians that it's affecting even Labour.

Reform will be fundamental to the next few years of politics sadly. Just like UKIP changed the UK without ever winning seats in parliament. Farage knows you don't need resources or a seat in the house. You just need to get your face on the telly and a very friendly press will do the rest.

[dpedin]

Reform don't have the resources to get anywhere. They've achieved little of note in the spate of by-elections, I doubt being spread more thinly in a general is going to help them. They can air some of the right's favourites on GBeebies all they like, barely anyone actually watches it.

Reform don't need resources they need to skim off a percentage of disaffected racist reactionary Tories who have no affinity with the Party to feck the Tories especially in the North.
The feeling is thy have abandoned red wall Northern voters.
As referenced by the Tory Mayoral candidate quoting the Tories and joining Reform today.
The red wall Tory voters lent their vote because of Boris Brexit and their hate of Corbyn.
None of the above are a factor now and they will either vote Reform or Labour now
They are fecked

Reform have the figureheads of Farage, Anderson and the backing of GB News. Which, yes, is a failing channel. But they're doing enough to influence debate in the mainstream press and conservative party. They're method of change isn't having the resource and machinery of a serious party. It's all media hectoring.

A good example is Farage and Anderson kicking off about the new England football shirt, guess who has joined them ... Keir Starmer. A fringe issue has enough mainstream coverage because of Reform politicians that it's affecting even Labour.

Reform will be fundamental to the next few years of politics sadly. Just like UKIP changed the UK without ever winning seats in parliament. Farage knows you don't need resources or a seat in the house. You just need to get your face on the telly and a very friendly press will do the rest.

This is my point. Reform dont need to win seats but they will look to take a large percentage of the Tory vote. They will not step back like they have in previous elections to help the Tories, this time they want to do as much damage as possible to them. They want to scare the shite out of the Tories in order to push them towards a 'merger' and the crowning of Farage et al as their leadership. In business terms it is a leveraged take over except in this case it isn't borrowed money but borrowed votes they are using. Reform Ltd is just a vehicle to be used as a stalking horse for them to take over the remnants of the Tory Party and to inherit the party structures, funding, etc and most of all they seek their legitimacy as a political party, something the Reform Ltd will never ever have.

[tabascoboy]

Why is that those MPs who seem to be credible candidates for senior government are those least likely to ever have a chance at getting a shot at it?

Tim Farron for Home Sec or James Cleverly anyone...?

[inactionman]

Why is that those MPs who seem to be credible candidates for senior government are those least likely to ever have a chance at getting a shot at it?

Tim Farron for Home Sec or James Cleverly anyone...?

He looks like a 60s cartoon character but I like him.

Although making the case for decency is tragically quite wasted with this current government.

[Biffer]

Why is that those MPs who seem to be credible candidates for senior government are those least likely to ever have a chance at getting a shot at it?

Tim Farron for Home Sec or James Cleverly anyone...?

He looks like a 60s cartoon character but I like him.

Although making the case for decency is tragically quite wasted with this current government.

It’s also wasted with a proportion of the public.

[sockwithaticket]

Why is that those MPs who seem to be credible candidates for senior government are those least likely to ever have a chance at getting a shot at it?

Tim Farron for Home Sec or James Cleverly anyone...?

[Sandstorm]

Rwanda deal price keeps going up:

James Cleverly spent £165,000 on flight to Rwanda to sign deportation deal

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/20 ... ation-deal

[I like neeps]

https://www.msn.com/en-us/money/persona ... r-BB1khG82

UK sees biggest increase in poverty for 30 years

Glad the political establishment are busy talking about a football kit. Not much else they have to focus on these days.

[Hal Jordan]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

[inactionman]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

[I like neeps]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

[inactionman]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

Searches don't show as images, but I understand what you're posting.

I meant more when they were including the flag as a specific icon, for example when capped players have their nation's flags on club kits.

The whole idea behind it is pretty cryptic, it's apparently a nod to the training kit of the 1966 team.

[tabascoboy]

Why is that those MPs who seem to be credible candidates for senior government are those least likely to ever have a chance at getting a shot at it?

Tim Farron for Home Sec or James Cleverly anyone...?

Well, all things are relative - look at the Home Secs we've had under the Tories and despair...

Suella Braverman MP. 2022 to 2023.
Grant Shapps MP. 2022 to 2022.
Suella Braverman MP. 2022 to 2022.
Priti Patel MP. 2019 to 2022.
Sajid Javid MP. 2018 to 2019.
Amber Rudd. 2016 to 2018.
Theresa May MP. 2010 to 2016.

Could have been worse I guess if the likes of Gullis and Anderson had made the list

[fishfoodie]

It'd be nice if you had a Home Secretary for a few years that was focused on fixing the fact that the Justice system is fucked from end to end, rather than just trying to cram more people into it, by criminalizing protest, or just being poor

I mean lets look at the bits that are broken.

- The youth systems designed to stop kids becoming career criminals
- The Police, specifically the Met
- The Courts
- The Prisons
- The Probation systems
& yes, the immigration system that isn't processing immigrants & deciding if they have grounds for getting asylum.

[Slick]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

Agree, pretty silly thing to do and not fair to brand everyone who doesn't like it an idiot.

[SaintK]

It'd be nice if you had a Home Secretary for a few years that was focused on fixing the fact that the Justice system is fucked from end to end, rather than just trying to cram more people into it, by criminalizing protest, or just being poor

I mean lets look at the bits that are broken.

- The youth systems designed to stop kids becoming career criminals
- The Police, specifically the Met
- The Courts
- The Prisons
- The Probation systems
& yes, the immigration system that isn't processing immigrants & deciding if they have grounds for getting asylum.

The courts and probation service come under the Ministry of Justice. But after 14 years of austerity is as broken as the Home Office is.
11 Secretary's of State in 14 years with the longest serving at just over 2 and a bit years one Chris Grayling arguably one of the worst ministers ever to serve in cabinet.

[Hal Jordan]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

Except Umbro did it to THE SACRED FLAG , the Police do it TO THE UNION JACK, the Tories have done it, football fans adorn the St George's Cross with club crests and drawings of strippers and bags of coke, Team GB did it etc etc etc.

Culture war horseshit of the highest order.

[I like neeps]

Today's dead cat is a RAGE ABOUT THE FLAG COLOURS BEING CHANGED ON THE NEW ENGLAND FOOTBALL SHIRT!

Condemned by idiots everywhere, including the Tories, Labour and the Lib Dems.

Flagshagging twatriots, the lot of them.

It's a very weird old thing, not entirely sure what Nike were aiming at.

I do think they should leave national flags - especially on national team kits - alone though.

Agree, pretty silly thing to do and not fair to brand everyone who doesn't like it an idiot.

To engage in some whataboutery, diadora used a subverted Scotland flag in an away kit mid 2000s. Nobody seemed to mind when Faddy wore it for 'that goal' Vs France in Scotland's probably highlight in that disaster of a decade. And Umbro changed the England flags for years, one with different colours flags was actually 5th on The Sun's list of top England flags.

It's only an issue now because the UK is permanently furious about trivial issues. And this is a totally trivial issue.

The Scotland kit for the Euros is horrendous but it they'd done a solitaire with the fluorescent yellow instead of white would we be mad? No.

Edited to add that those swines at Adidas actually HAVE messed with our flag on the new kit: https://m.jdsports.co.uk/product/blue-a ... /19621308/. Quickly! To the confected outrage machine! I demand Hamza Yousef, Ana's Sarwar, Alex Salmond, Gordon Brown, all release statements.

[inactionman]

I'm not sure everyone is furious, some of us are just a bit nonplussed.

It's the national team kit, I just think the national flag - if it's going to be incorporated as an icon - should be unadulterated. It's not really any more complicated than that, and I really couldn't care that much one way or the other. It's just my personal preference.

I am, however, furious that its £125 - one hundred and twenty five quid - and £120 for kids. Just fuck off with that money-grubbing and exploitative pricing. There's just no justification whatsoever.

On a related note Germany are ditching Adidas for Nike come 2027, and many German politicians are not that happy:

And Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said the national team always plays in the three stripes of Adidas. "That was as clear as the fact that the ball is round and a game lasts 90 minutes," he said.

"The success story began in 1954 with the unforgettable World Cup victory, which gave our country self-confidence again. That's why it's wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible that this story should end now."

This bit could apply to pretty much every nation:

He said [German] football should not be "a pawn in international corporate battles" and that "commerce isn't everything".

Amen to that. £125. Utterly scandalous.



etra: link to article about German kit:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68634777

[I like neeps]

I'm not sure everyone is furious, some of us are just a bit nonplussed.

It's the national team kit, I just think the national flag - if it's going to be incorporated as an icon - should be unadulterated. It's not really any more complicated than that, and I really couldn't care that much one way or the other. It's just my personal preference.

I am, however, furious that its £125 - one hundred and twenty five quid - and £120 for kids. Just fuck off with that money-grubbing and exploitative pricing. There's just no justification whatsoever.

On a related note Germany are ditching Adidas for Nike come 2027, and many German politicians are not that happy:

And Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said the national team always plays in the three stripes of Adidas. "That was as clear as the fact that the ball is round and a game lasts 90 minutes," he said.

"The success story began in 1954 with the unforgettable World Cup victory, which gave our country self-confidence again. That's why it's wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible that this story should end now."

This bit could apply to pretty much every nation:

He said [German] football should not be "a pawn in international corporate battles" and that "commerce isn't everything".

Amen to that. £125. Utterly scandalous.



etra: link to article about German kit:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68634777

Germany in the same boat as the UK going through a pretty nasty time economically with the Russian gas taps turned off and their own populists to indulge/placate.

But no, I've now seen the Scotland kit and I too am very upset. I hope Sunak, Starmer, and Davey can also ask Adidas to fix it. It's a very important issue.

[inactionman]

I'm not sure everyone is furious, some of us are just a bit nonplussed.

It's the national team kit, I just think the national flag - if it's going to be incorporated as an icon - should be unadulterated. It's not really any more complicated than that, and I really couldn't care that much one way or the other. It's just my personal preference.

I am, however, furious that its £125 - one hundred and twenty five quid - and £120 for kids. Just fuck off with that money-grubbing and exploitative pricing. There's just no justification whatsoever.

On a related note Germany are ditching Adidas for Nike come 2027, and many German politicians are not that happy:

And Bavarian premier Markus Soeder said the national team always plays in the three stripes of Adidas. "That was as clear as the fact that the ball is round and a game lasts 90 minutes," he said.

"The success story began in 1954 with the unforgettable World Cup victory, which gave our country self-confidence again. That's why it's wrong, a shame and also incomprehensible that this story should end now."

This bit could apply to pretty much every nation:

He said [German] football should not be "a pawn in international corporate battles" and that "commerce isn't everything".

Amen to that. £125. Utterly scandalous.



etra: link to article about German kit:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68634777

Germany in the same boat as the UK going through a pretty nasty time economically with the Russian gas taps turned off and their own populists to indulge/placate.

But no, I've now seen the Scotland kit and I too am very upset. I hope Sunak, Starmer, and Davey can also ask Adidas to fix it. It's a very important issue.

You do seem a bit exercised about something.

[I like neeps]

I'm not sure everyone is furious, some of us are just a bit nonplussed.

It's the national team kit, I just think the national flag - if it's going to be incorporated as an icon - should be unadulterated. It's not really any more complicated than that, and I really couldn't care that much one way or the other. It's just my personal preference.

I am, however, furious that its £125 - one hundred and twenty five quid - and £120 for kids. Just fuck off with that money-grubbing and exploitative pricing. There's just no justification whatsoever.

On a related note Germany are ditching Adidas for Nike come 2027, and many German politicians are not that happy:



This bit could apply to pretty much every nation:



Amen to that. £125. Utterly scandalous.



etra: link to article about German kit:
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-68634777

Germany in the same boat as the UK going through a pretty nasty time economically with the Russian gas taps turned off and their own populists to indulge/placate.

But no, I've now seen the Scotland kit and I too am very upset. I hope Sunak, Starmer, and Davey can also ask Adidas to fix it. It's a very important issue.

You do seem a bit exercised about something.

Quite exercised that in the week when the figures on UK poverty increase and having today volunteered for a charity that it's involved in combatting poverty the charlatans we have in politics are talking about a flag. And the English one and not the Scottish flag at that. Yes.

[inactionman]

Germany in the same boat as the UK going through a pretty nasty time economically with the Russian gas taps turned off and their own populists to indulge/placate.

But no, I've now seen the Scotland kit and I too am very upset. I hope Sunak, Starmer, and Davey can also ask Adidas to fix it. It's a very important issue.

You do seem a bit exercised about something.

Quite exercised that in the week when the figures on UK poverty increase and having today volunteered for a charity that it's involved in combatting poverty the charlatans we have in politics are talking about a flag. And the English one and not the Scottish flag at that. Yes.

They've hardly convened Cobra over it. It's a few soundbites.


Your final point is a bit puzzling.. MPs can't discuss anything to do with England as it doesn't concern Scottish people. Eh? Is that really what you meant?

[Slick]

You do seem a bit exercised about something.

Quite exercised that in the week when the figures on UK poverty increase and having today volunteered for a charity that it's involved in combatting poverty the charlatans we have in politics are talking about a flag. And the English one and not the Scottish flag at that. Yes.

They've hardly convened Cobra over it. It's a few soundbites.


Your final point is a bit puzzling.. MPs can't discuss anything to do with England as it doesn't concern Scottish people. Eh? Is that really what you meant?

To be perfectly honest, there is a fair bit of irony about a Scotsman telling anyone not to get upset over a flag

[Tichtheid]

Quite exercised that in the week when the figures on UK poverty increase and having today volunteered for a charity that it's involved in combatting poverty the charlatans we have in politics are talking about a flag. And the English one and not the Scottish flag at that. Yes.

They've hardly convened Cobra over it. It's a few soundbites.


Your final point is a bit puzzling.. MPs can't discuss anything to do with England as it doesn't concern Scottish people. Eh? Is that really what you meant?

To be perfectly honest, there is a fair bit of irony about a Scotsman telling anyone not to get upset over a flag

Nah, Neeps is talking about poverty and media coverage, not flags

I know of a charity which deals with the people who slip though all of the nets, the government and local council won't help them and they are the absolute last resort for people facing destitution and starvation. They're really up against it because the economy is fucked and everyone (every charity) is chasing an ever-decreasing pot of funding - this is not the big "sexy" charities like Greenpeace or Shelter or donkey sanctuaries (all of which do great work), this is tiny charities which help a tiny number of people who have been turned away by everyone else