Britain - The Official Thread

  • Thread starter Ross
  • 13,110 comments
  • 566,459 views

How will you vote in the 2024 UK General Election?

  • Conservative Party

    Votes: 2 6.9%
  • Green Party

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Labour Party

    Votes: 14 48.3%
  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 2 6.9%
  • Other (Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland)

    Votes: 1 3.4%
  • Other Independents

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Other Parties

    Votes: 2 6.9%
  • Spoiled Ballot

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • Will Not/Cannot Vote

    Votes: 8 27.6%

  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
This seemingly prescient New Statesman clip from 30 years ago was doing the rounds a couple or so months back:
 
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Suspended sentence for Huw Edwards seems... lenient.
Seems it got more and more horrible as it went along.

Originally it was exchanging pics with a 17yo which is... illegal but they could legally bone and it's one of those bizarre technicalities that doing the act is fine but filming or photographing the act is bad.

Then it was that he'd been exchanging messages with a guy who sent him pics that included CSAM after he'd said not to include CSAM - where the "making of" was simply the act of viewing them because the device created a local copy (which is how things work).

Now he actively agreed to seeing CSAM and commented on it and the request not to send more was later on.

Glasses No GIF by nounish ⌐◨-◨
 
Suspended sentence for Huw Edwards seems... lenient.
Par for the course. I had a friend who also was found guilty of three counts of 'making' Cat A porn against him, and he basically got the same, plus 100 hours community service. This was a couple of years ago. Like it or not, custodial sentences don't seem to be the favoured way of dealing with this.
 
Like it or not, custodial sentences don't seem to be the favoured way of dealing with this.
Prisons are also full at the moment - thanks to the recent imigrant riots and the subsquent ongoing rapid trials of those charged, so the courts are not sending people down who normally would be for this level of offence.
 
Par for the course. I had a friend who also was found guilty of three counts of 'making' Cat A porn against him, and he basically got the same, plus 100 hours community service. This was a couple of years ago. Like it or not, custodial sentences don't seem to be the favoured way of dealing with this.
Meanwhile the ecoterrorists get 3-5 years. Crimes against kids, ok. Crimes against the economy, PRISON.
Not to mention all those still stuck in jail for many years past their original sentences because of IPP.

The whole system is a complete mess. You'd hope the present government could do something about it with a former DPP in charge but I very much doubt it, to them it would not be worth anymore bad press about releasing people.
 
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Prisons are also full at the moment
As I said, my mates conviction was a couple of years ago, that had been delayed over the Pandemic, and at that point it was ongoing for 1-2 years already, and the offence was committed something like 18 months before that. I don't think Edwards's seemingly lenient sentence is anything to do with the current situation, beyond the fact that the Police and Judicial systems are under resourced and have been for years. I have another friend who worked for West Midlands Police catching online sex offenders, from what he said it likely wasn't even the UK police that original caught my mate - he reckoned it (my mates IP) was flagged up by the Americans and that was why it was a year and a half between him accessing the file and the Police turning up on his doorstep.

I have to say, having seen the process up close, knowing the person for 20 years, and having chatted to my police friend about it (who's seen some properly terrible stuff), we're terrible (as a society) at reacting to it in a sensible fashion, and that likely hampers prevention, detection, punishment and potential 'rehabilitation'.
 
Suspended sentence for Huw Edwards seems... lenient.
Yet he has still received a more sever punishment than the man who was supplying him with the images. Definitely lenient, to them both.

I think the judge in this case has followed the guidlines on sentencing based on the situation and case as it has been presented. I don't think overcrowded prisons are the reason for this, it's the current sentencing guidance for this type of offence married with the defence and guilty plea.
 
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Yet he has still received a more sever punishment than the man who was supplying him with the images.
6 month suspended sentence for Edwards (reduced from 12), 12 months for Alex Williams. Williams's sentence looks like it should have been more since it appears to qualify as distribution, for which 2-3 years is the recommended minimum. Perhaps he got a reduction for assisting the investigation into Edwards.
 
6 month suspended sentence for Edwards (reduced from 12), 12 months for Alex Williams. Williams's sentence looks like it should have been more since it appears to qualify as distribution, for which 2-3 years is the recommended minimum. Perhaps he got a reduction for assisting the investigation into Edwards.
I stand corrected, I mixed up it being suspended for 2 years as a 2 year suspended sentence.
 
Comment left in FT
Physician Assistants - as they were called until recently - were ‘sold’ to doctors 20 years ago as removing the administrative burden that junior (now resident) doctors face - scribing on ward rounds, routine tasks like catheters, cannulas, bloods, ‘chasing’ results, etc…

Instead we have a dystopian situation where qualified doctors are left doing the grunt work while PAs - unregulated, less qualified (60% are med school rejects) are doing surgery, running clinics, seeing you as a patient if your GP suspects cancer. In theatre we have anaesthetic associates giving you anaesthesia.

All at the same time as getting paid more than many of our junior doctors.

The GMC, DoH and medical colleges have been complicit in this lower of standards and safety in the NHS. some big whigs like the ex RCGP president - initials CG - have multisite practices built on employing cheap PAs rather than GPs. In fact - bizarrely- ARRS funding (some extra £ for general practice) - can with a specific note that you can employ PAs but not GPs with the £. So practices were in the bizarre situation of getting a ‘free’ PA from DoH funding vs paying for a salaried GP.

Thankfully there is a significant multipronged push back against this cosplaying by pseudo-doctors - and every survey undertaken shows the detrimental effect PAs are having on resistant doctors - who we all need as they will become consultants and GPs.

My own interactions with PAs - big chips on their shoulders about not being ‘doctors’ , too confident in their own (basic) knowledge, unable to think outside of the box and no appreciation of what the don’t know they don’t know. lots of near misses and harm that had to be subsequently rectified.

As a patient or a relative, I would keep a close eye if you encounter these individuals.

 
Sir Mark said: "With crime, it is less about the numbers than the severity. It was over 300 arrests, there were two murders at this year's carnival and I think there were six other stabbings, and 60-70 weapons recovered.

“This is a very different arrest profile to what you would see at even at the most difficult football matches or Glastonbury, or something like that,” he added.

"Crime control is much harder because it’s a poorly run event. It’s not run by experts in event management in the way that most big events are."


Khan's off to a good third term, but now's the time for action.
 
Accepting glasses/clothes/Arsenal tickets or just suitcases full of cash? They're all at it.


The list for the frontrunner for next Tory leader:

Name of donor: Quantum Pacific Corporation UK Limited (QP Corp) Address of donor: 5th Floor, 7 Clarges Street, London W1J 8AE Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £35,000 for campaign funding Date received: 3 April 2024 Date accepted: 3 April 2024 Donor status: company, registration 08322810
(Registered 24 April 2024)
Name of donor: Firefly Capital Limited Address of donor: 7th Floor, South Block, 55 Baker Street, London W1U 8EW Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,000 Date received: 30 April 2024 Date accepted: 30 April 2024 Donor status: company, registration 08831542
(Registered 13 May 2024; updated 17 May 2024)
Name of donor: Financial Recovery Technologies (UK) Ltd Address of donor: Suite 4, 7th Floor, 50 Broadway, London SW1H 0DB Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,000 Date received: 7 May 2024 Date accepted: 7 May 2024 Donor status: company, registration 11284563
(Registered 14 May 2024)
Name of donor: Mr James Sumsion Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £2,000 Date received: 17 June 2024 Date accepted: 17 June 2024 Donor status: individual
(Registered 11 July 2024)
Name of donor: The Spott Fitness Ltd Address of donor: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £25,000 Date received: 2 July 2024 Date accepted: 2 July 2024 Donor status: company, registration 13100371
(Registered 11 July 2024)
Name of donor: International Export Packers Limited Address of donor: Fosse Way, Newark, Nottinghamshire NG24 4SP Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £2,500 Date received: 25 June 2024 Date accepted: 25 June 2024 Donor status: company, registration 03666901
(Registered 11 July 2024)
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Name of donor: The Spott Fitness Ltd Address of donor: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £25,000 Date received: 22 July 2024 Date accepted: 22 July 2024 Donor status: company, registration 13100371
(Registered 25 July 2024)
Name of donor: Mr Paul Haggar Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,000 Date received: 25 June 2024 Date accepted: 25 June 2024 Donor status: individual
(Registered 29 July 2024)
Name of donor: Simon Atrill Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £2,500 Date received: 11 July 2024 Date accepted: 11 July 2024 Donor status: individual
(Registered 29 July 2024)
Name of donor: Joseph Jack Davidson Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £20,000 Date received: 16 July 2024 Date accepted: 16 July 2024 Donor status: individual
(Registered 29 July 2024)
Name of donor: The RH Group Limited Address of donor: Birbeck House, Colliers Way, Phoenix Centre Business Park, Nottingham NG8 6AT Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: for catering and pre-dinner drinks at an event, value £3,091.20 Date received: 14 June 2024 Date accepted: 14 June 2024 Donor status: company, registration 02276251
(Registered 31 July 2024)

Name of donor: John James Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £15,000 Date received: 5 August 2024 Date accepted: 5 August 2024 Donor status: individual (Registered 5 August 2024)
Name of donor: Andrew Brannon Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,000
Date received: 7 August 2024 Date accepted: 7 August 2024 Donor status: individual (Registered 8 August 2024)

Name of donor: The Spott Fitness Ltd Address of donor: 71-75 Shelton Street, Covent Garden, London WC2H 9JQ Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £25,000 Date received: 23 July 2024 Date accepted: 23 July 2024 Donor status: company, registration 13100371 (Registered 12 August 2024)

Name of donor: David Naylor-Leyland Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,000 Date received: 14 August 2024 Date accepted: 14 August 2024 Donor status: individual (Registered 14 August 2024)

Name of donor: Northcote Street Limited Address of donor: Highdale House, 7 Centre Court, Treforest India Estate, Pontypridd CF38 5YR Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £10,000 Date received: 20 August 2024 Date accepted: 20 August 2024 Donor status: company, registration 13332713 (Registered 21 August 2024)

Name of donor: Mary Lonsdale Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £25,000 Date received: 21 August 2024 Date accepted: 21 August 2024 Donor status: individual (Registered 22 August 2024)

Name of donor: Richard Girling Address of donor: private Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £5,000 Date received: 22 August 2024 Date accepted: 22 August 2024 Donor status: individual (Registered 22 August 2024)

Name of donor: Zahawi & Zahawi Limited Address of donor: 36 Wilton Crescent, London SW1X 8RX Amount of donation or nature and value if donation in kind: £20,000 Date received: 15 August 2024 Date accepted: 15 August 2024 Donor status: company, registration 07285998 (Registered 27 August 2024)
That's all just from April, by the way.
 

A lot of this comes down to the way tariffs for business are delivered to the end user.

The cost to the producers is the same as domestic, however where a domestic customer has a set tariff and all the levies, taxes and other charges are the same across the industry from customer to customer, it’s just how much the company want to cut into its own profit vs keeping that customer as a customer dictates the end cost.

Business however it’s much more complicated affair as the tariff is bespoke each and every time. Also when you’re out of your tariffs timeframe you’re opted into a standard which is very costly and based around higher users.

Think Café vs industrial steel producer costs. The cost is averaged out. While this is done on domestic energy pretty much everyone is in the same ballpark where companies vary quite a bit.

Also the levies and taxes are very much different. 20% on business vs 5% on domestic for VAT. Some suppliers have tried to help cut costs for small business by way of creating white label sub companies to offer better rates. However quite a few still don’t bother to switch across to these sub companies to get better rates and the companies themselves can’t force them to switch.

It’s a real mess and something better needs to be done. Personally switching dirty industries across to green / low carbon energy only and then helping them get solar and storage into facilities quicker would be a good start.

Also helping small business get solar and storage in along with more domestic style tariffs would be better for them. I’m glad I’m on the domestic side of energy and not commercial as their side is a real **** show and they really don’t care how their customers are treated or how to get a cleaner better run industry at large.
 
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Business however it’s much more complicated affair as the tariff is bespoke each and every time. Also when you’re out of your tariffs timeframe you’re opted into a standard which is very costly and based around higher users.

Think Café vs industrial steel producer costs. The cost is averaged out. While this is done on domestic energy pretty much everyone is in the same ballpark where companies vary quite a bit.
In fairness, it's not that hard as a business. There's a ridiculous amount of people acting as energy brokers at the moment, we just let them handle it and periodically check with different brokers to see if we're on a competitive rate. I spend far more time fending off energy brokers touting for business than I do actually looking into energy costs, personally. It used to be 3 year deals, but since Ukraine everything's 12 months so it does take up more time nowadays, but it's still not much. It is a bit all over the place though. Currently, at our factory we're paying about 31p, the Bar we also own is paying 26p, both with EON on essentially the same deal, just signed a couple of months apart.
 
In fairness, it's not that hard as a business. There's a ridiculous amount of people acting as energy brokers at the moment, we just let them handle it and periodically check with different brokers to see if we're on a competitive rate. I spend far more time fending off energy brokers touting for business than I do actually looking into energy costs, personally. It used to be 3 year deals, but since Ukraine everything's 12 months so it does take up more time nowadays, but it's still not much. It is a bit all over the place though. Currently, at our factory we're paying about 31p, the Bar we also own is paying 26p, both with EON on essentially the same deal, just signed a couple of months apart.
Brokers are another pain in my side as I deal directly with Join and Leave issues. They take residential supplies then claim it was their clients fault all the whole the Business Energy Supplier changes everything in National Databases making getting the supply back 10 slower and neigh on impossible sometimes.
 
Is there any coverage on this in the press over there? I know exactly nothing about this source and I can't find anything that doesn't lead back to it.

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Nothing she says is worth the neural degredation of actually paying attention to her. She's quadrupling down on being a no-talent, cringe-inducing, economy-destroying failure and embracing conspiracy theories because she has the stink of desperation that comes with NOTICE ME, REPUBLICANSSSSS! being your thing after you've busted out of UK politics.
 
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Is there any coverage on this in the press over there? I know exactly nothing about this source and I can't find anything that doesn't lead back to it.

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It was widely reported in February.
 
It was widely reported in February.
Thanks. So...accurate but ultimately regurgitating old events for rage clicks.
In front of a US audience.

Quelle surprise.
Yeah, it made me wonder if my comment regarding modern American conservatism should be so qualified, but it is an American sort of conservatism even if she's not American.
 

This is my part of London. I've never heard of this cause of death before:

'On the night in question, Natalie was out enjoying herself and was taken advantage of by this defendant,' said Ms Morgan.

'She was raped repeatedly by this defendant and it was the process of raping her, again and again, that caused her death.



I'm just tired....so tired.
 
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The UK has announced it is giving up sovereignty of a remote but strategically important cluster of islands in the Indian Ocean after more than half a century.

The deal – reached after years of negotiations - will see the UK hand over the Chagos Islands to Mauritius in a historic move.
This includes the tropical atoll of Diego Garcia, used by the US government as a military base for its navy ships and long-range bomber aircraft.
The announcement, made in a joint statement by the UK and Mauritian Prime Ministers, ends decades of often fractious negotiations between the two countries.
The US-UK base will remain on Diego Garcia – a key factor enabling the deal to go forward at a time of growing geopolitical rivalries in the region between Western countries, India, and China.
A sensible solution at long last. Won't erase the shameful actions of the Wilson/Heath governments and their American bosses, though. It's annoyed the current Tory twits so almost certainly a good thing.
 
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