I saw such a headline and ingress today and skimmed through. Forgive me please, i do not remember who it was and I am, I admit, not certain of their power within the party. Sorry.
Anonymous party source to the telegraph
. https://x.com/shashj/status/1891493426245329395
I know many donât take anonymous sources seriously and I know many loath the publication, but its how it works in politics (anonymous sources leaking), as you know Redfanman and the Economist journalist highlighting this knows. i think itâs useful for gauging the temperature in the party at least
An aircraft carrier in the current technological environment is just a big expensive target⊠The only property they still offer is force projection, and I donât think the need to project power outside the European theatre is high on the list for either the UK or France.
Unlikely as it is to actually happen, if you or anyone else for that matter is happy (as in dont have a problem with) British troops potentially in combat with Russian troops, in a foreign country, then I fucking despair
Sure however it has knock on effects. Fewer planes and surface ships for example.
I obviously shouldnât have added that bit as the policy changed soo much more. Armed forces cuts and much more. It was also a long time ago and my comment wasnât about âtodayâ but back then.
So youre happy to sit back and let Putin invade Poland next?
I presume your answer to the question is to say ânoâ, and basically give Russia a green light to carry on?
Iâd also be telling Trump that parts of Europe and Ukraine need to be at the table with Russia.
As unpleasant a thought it is, nations need to really start standing up to Russia. Putin is not backing down otherwise.
For the record if any previous UK prime minister said that, even the weed Cameron, but excluding Johnson, Truss or Sunak, my reaction would be the same.
Yes, the alternative is rather worse. A lot worse.
Not that I think any such troop deployment will happen any time soon. For that to happen, first there must be the magical Cease Fire. And right now, itâs illusive. Russiaâs terms are super harsh. Full Ukrainian withdrawal from Kherson and Zaporizhzhia Oblasts, where they control little.
Then Ukraine must fully withdraw from Donetsk and what little remains of Lugansk.
This is not going to happen very soon, unless we in Europe fuck up and donât seriously get out act together and increase military aid substantially. And even if we donât, Ukaraine will still fight a brutal fighting withdrawal for many months to come. What many donât realise is that the Ukrainian army is far from broken. Russiaâs monthly advances are miniscule and seriously slowed down. But we can like the US betray them against our own interest, in time they must then capitulate. Because while RU attacks now with floods on non-mechanised attacks, they are bulding a huge army in the rear. So in time, they will have significant reinforcements. There is not much time. The RU economy is falling apart, but it is not falling apart fast enough if we stymy aid to Ukraine.
Whoever in Europe who thinks a Russian victory will not affect them, well, you are quite wrong. Trump Admin + Russian victory. Oh, lol. Geopolitical Nightmare Scenario from the lowest pit of hellâŠ
It was @redalways who suggested that Anti-establishment may be a reason for Labour potentially (suggested by a recent YouGov poll) losing its Birmingham seat to Reform.
Yeah it was me. I didnât say he was anti-establishment though, I said that support for Reform was in part due to support for the âanti-establishmentâ. I think @Mascot neatly highlighted how stupendously daft the media is with their coverage of him, which is another point that Iâm making.
I donât think it will be a significant driver, and itâs unlikely we will see another big jump in public sector pay this year. The big part of the pay growth is the private sector. Back in November the Bank of England held back on cutting interest rates because they had been surprised by how strong private sector growth had been. And, for all the talk by businesses on the impact from the tax rises in the budget, they are still paying existing staff increases well above inflation.