BRFR Cake Stop 'breaking news' miscellany

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Not breaking news, but if you like The Thick Of It, this is a really good piece about it today.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-...-armando-iannucci-peter-capaldi-rebecca-front

Armando Iannucci did a BBC 'Imagine' episode recently and in it he said they couldn't make TTOI today as politics and politicians are beyond satire (which I fully agree with). When you acknowledge this, it quickly hits home just had dire the political landscape has become across many countries. I know there are still lots of good politicians out there quietly doing actual work, but at a macro level, it seems to have just become a contest, politicians and political parties are forever in campaigning/spin mode, with very little actual governing. TBF, Labour at present are just as guilty of this as the last lot.

 

[Dorset Boy]

Mutually agreed rules. I reckon that's the real problem, large numbers of Brexiter types have no friends, so are unused to the negotiation and compromise that is a largely unnoticed part of every relationship.

The bolded bit - what a dumb comment that just makes you look stupid.

 

[briantrumpet]

Armando Iannucci did a BBC 'Imagine' episode recently and in it he said they couldn't make TTOI today as politics and politicians are beyond satire (which I fully agree with). When you acknowledge this, it quickly hits home just had dire the political landscape has become across many countries. I know there are still lots of good politicians out there quietly doing actual work, but at a macro level, it seems to have just become a contest, politicians and political parties are forever in campaigning/spin mode, with very little actual governing. TBF, Labour at present are just as guilty of this as the last lot.

This. It's all rather depressing. Starmer's never had any charisma or ability to enthuse, and even though I think he's probably competent and honest (so an improvement on what he followed), no deep convictions or the ability to communicate them. I'm wary of charismatic snake oil salesmen (after all, that's a fair description of Farage), but we've got no-one like Thatcher or Blair with the confidence of their convictions, right or wrong.

I think I'm turning into P Blakeney...

 

[bobzmyunkle]

The bolded bit - what a dumb comment that just makes you look stupid.

Thanks dude.

 

[secretsqirrel]

This. It's all rather depressing. Starmer's never had any charisma or ability to enthuse, and even though I think he's probably competent and honest (so an improvement on what he followed), no deep convictions or the ability to communicate them. I'm wary of charismatic snake oil salesmen (after all, that's a fair description of Farage), but we've got no-one like Thatcher or Blair with the confidence of their convictions, right or wrong.

I think I'm turning into P Blakeney...

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I think of all the politicians we have Rachel Reeves probably has some of those conviction qualities you mention. I find her weirdly Thatcher-like.

 

[briantrumpet]

I think of all the politicians we have Rachel Reeves probably has some of those conviction qualities you mention. I find her weirdly Thatcher-like.

Agree - she doesn't hide her roots, comes across as genuine, and has presence. I think she'd come across terribly if she traded that in for listening to the spin doctors and pollsters. You had to admire Thatcher for sticking to her guns on the 'poll tax', even when it had become clear that it was toxic: she believed it was right, and lost her leadership because of it.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Agree - she doesn't hide her roots, comes across as genuine, and has presence. I think she'd come across terribly if she traded that in for listening to the spin doctors and pollsters. You had to admire Thatcher for sticking to her guns on the 'poll tax', even when it had become clear that it was toxic: she believed it was right, and lost her leadership because of it.

I find Reeves a tricky one. On the one hand, like you and @secretsqirrel have said, she does does seem to have an actual position and sticks to it, which I am all for. On the other hand, I find her economic policy (in terms of her desire to achieve growth) to be badly flawed, so I would rather she changed it!

On a side note, I must now be getting older as I actually wrote to my MP (Labour) to complain about how underwhelming I have found govt policy and performance so far and that they need to stop listening to Morgan McSweeney and cease this constant campaigning for Reform votes. I doubt I will hear anything back!

 

[First Aspect]

Badenoch and Farage are furious that Labour have negotiated a better deal with the EU, by giving out the same fishing rights that haven't killed the UK industry but somehow now will, in exchange for fewer border checks for food and people.

The UK has totally given away the right to make a shjt deal.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

It's a betrayal of the thing we voted on that no-one knew what it was beyond the headline.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2025/may/19/uk-eu-brexit-reset-talks-starmer-summit

Pretty sure it will be modest, but better than nothing, being a small step in the right direction to mend the relationship.

Having slagged Labour off in the above. The one area where Starmer et al do seem to have performed well is international relations; Ukraine, handling Trump and the work they have been doing to repair UK/EU ties. I get the sense that Starmer is much better at this stuff where he is doing actual diplomacy and work behind the scenes away from the really glaring media spotlight. I also think the domestic stuff where he is battling Farage and the media is where he is weak and indecisive.

 

[midlandsgrimpeur]

Badenoch and Farage are furious that Labour have negotiated a better deal with the EU, by giving out the same fishing rights that haven't killed the UK industry but somehow now will, in exchange for fewer border checks for food and people.

The UK has totally given away the right to make a shjt deal.

But the right to negotiate as terrible a deal as possible was the position where we actually held all the cards (as David Davis liked to say).

 

[briantrumpet]

I wonder if it'll be projected to add more than the 0.08% GDP uplift over 10 years that the CTPTPPCCT deal is projected to add.

 

[First Aspect]

I wonder if it'll be projected to add more than the 0.08% GDP uplift over 10 years that the CTPTPPCCT deal is projected to add.

First guestimates are 0.5%.

John Redwood has just dismissed this as negligible in comparison to the 4% damage that he doesn't accept that leaving the EU has done over a corresponding length of time.

That criticism takes some admirable mental gymnastics.

 

[matticus]

Not breaking news, but if you like The Thick Of It, this is a really good piece about it today.

https://www.theguardian.com/tv-and-...-armando-iannucci-peter-capaldi-rebecca-front

(too good to be buried down here).
I like this comment from Rebecca Front: "You want at least one Tuckering per episode, but that can’t be the whole relationship."
Good life advice, thanks Bex.

This was also very good https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/m000j819 (it's been a very good series overall - I recommend the Derry Girls ep!)

 

[matticus]

Armando Iannucci did a BBC 'Imagine' episode recently and in it he said they couldn't make TTOI today as politics and politicians are beyond satire (which I fully agree with). When you acknowledge this, it quickly hits home just had dire the political landscape has become across many countries. I know there are still lots of good politicians out there quietly doing actual work, but at a macro level, it seems to have just become a contest, politicians and political parties are forever in campaigning/spin mode, with very little actual governing. TBF, Labour at present are just as guilty of this as the last lot.

Yes, that was really good too!

(I think he talks about Death of Stalin a fair bit, which is more the sort of thing you CAN make now, and seem relevant.)

 

[briantrumpet]

Given the context, I'm reasonably happy with the baby steps today: fücking fishing wasn't allowed to derail it, good news for young people (youth mobility and Erasmus), and at last public recognition from Starmer and Reeves that Brexit has cost a lot. And it's moving in a pragmatic direction. Restoring some trust between the UK and the EU is also positive, given the wreckers' agenda, which remains just that even now.