In todays news...

[gremlin]

True story, as told by my mum: when I was a baby, my old man worked in paper shredding place. To this place were bought the redeemed Co-op Green Shied Stamp books (Google it if you're too young to know). My old man realised that he could reach in and grab them from the conveyer, take them home* and he and my mum would steam the unstamped ones off with a kettle. Needless to say, the flat was decked out with stuff from the Co-op.

Then the Old Bill visited one day...luckily, my mum being a bit smarter than my dad, had hidden the stash awaiting steaming under my cot. As I was asleep at the time the cursory search revealed nothing, as the copper wouldn't want to wake asleeping baby, eh? No further action was taken although a few of his work mates got the Spanish archer. I'm not sure if this makes me an accessory to this crime or not.

I am aware that this most certainly doesn't come under the heading 'Today's News'.

*Just to add a steamier side, this was also wear the Plod used to send grott mags seized in raids up in Soho, which he would save for posterity and flog down the pub once quality control had taken place.

[Mr. Dazzle]

I remember the BP sticker books and I remember my parents getting a copy of Demolition Man on VHS via them

[KungFooBob]

My old man's job required him to do a lot of miles, I remember all our towels and glasses being purchased with tiger tokens.

[Pirahna]

Kier Starmer heaps praise on Mrs Thatcher.

It's a right wing, Tory newspaper. What did Kier Starmer actually say and when did he say it?

[v8-powered]

My old man's job required him to do a lot of miles, I remember all our towels and glasses being purchased with tiger tokens.

Yeah, can remember those too.

When I was driving a lot, I used to collect the BP / Mobil points that were redeemable at Argos. Everyone used to get Christmas pressies from Argos

[Dodgy69]

Green shield stamps wan it.

[Pirahna]

Kier Starmer heaps praise on Mrs Thatcher.

It's a right wing, Tory newspaper. What did Kier Starmer actually say and when did he say it?

Read the article.

Difficult on a phone.

[JamJar]

Read the article.

Difficult on a phone.

Ah, ok, well the article states that whilst writing for The Telegraph that KS praised Mrs Thatcher for "...setting loose our natural entrepreneurism..." etc.
I haven't read the whole article but it's available on the BBC webpage. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67604830

Mrs Thatcher was certainly a polarising figure, especially if you grew up when it was fashionable to go all in on identity politics, but even the leader of the Labour Party looks favourably on some of her contributions to the UK (whilst he's writing for that Tory newspaper ).

Only a few paragraphs appear to be on the BBC site and I think “piles on praise” is a slight exaggeration

"Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them," Sir Keir wrote.

"Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism.

"Tony Blair reimagined a stale, outdated Labour Party into one that could seize the optimism of the late 90s.

"A century ago, Clement Attlee wrote that Labour must be a party of duty and patriotism, not abstract theory."

[asmethurst99]

Interesting talking to my wise beyond his years child about politics when he was at sixth form college doing politics .
I was a bit Dave Spart Rik from the Young Ones when I was in my twenties and we were talking about British politics . We agreed Thatcher was problematical for any non conservatives as some of the things her government did would need to have been done anyway

[irie]

For the avoidance of doubt, this is a copy and paste of what Keir Starmer wrote in the Telegraph:

Voters have been betrayed on Brexit and immigration. I stand ready to deliver

My party extends the hand of friendship to those who voted for the Tories but feel let down by their failure to act

KEIR STARMER 2 December 2023 • 8:00pm

It is too easy to look at Britain today and throw your hands up in despair. Families across the country are bombarded with daily reminders of our current malaise: crumbling public services that no longer serve the public, families weighed down by the anxiety of spiralling mortgage bills and food prices, neighbourhoods plagued by crime and anti-social behaviour. Any one of these individually would be cause for outrage. Taken together they merge into something more insidious: the idea that our country no longer works for those it is supposed to.

That sense of a once great country now set on a path of decline has been sharpened by our political culture. The vast majority of the public don’t think about Westminster much. Why would they? At a time when people are looking for answers to the deep challenges of our age, they see a politics too large in its hectoring and interfering, too small in its ambition and ability. In these difficult conditions, the current Government resembles nothing so much as the sinking Mary Rose: overburdened, incompetently handled, plunging into the depths.

Every moment of meaningful change in modern British politics begins with the realisation that politics must act in service of the British people, rather than dictating to them. Margaret Thatcher sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism. Tony Blair reimagined a stale, outdated Labour Party into one that could seize the optimism of the late 90s. A century ago, Clement Attlee wrote that Labour must be a party of duty and patriotism, not abstract theory. To build a “New Jerusalem” meant first casting off the mind-forged manacles. That lesson is as true today as it was then.

It is in this sense of public service that Labour has changed dramatically in the last three years. The course of shock therapy we gave our party had one purpose: to ensure that we were once again rooted in the priorities, the concerns and the dreams of ordinary British people. To put country before party.

None of that was easy but it was necessary. Often, it meant taking the path of most resistance. It meant not just listening to those who felt unable to vote for us but understanding them and acting. The public do not have outlandish or unreasonable expectations. They expect taxpayer money to be spent wisely, our security and our borders to be prioritised and a politics that serves them rather than itself. On each of these, we are now ready to deliver.

While we were moving back towards voters, the Tory Party has been steadily drifting away. Years of sowing empty promises, cynical falsehoods and false dawns is now reaping inevitable consequence. The Tories have talked the talk on fiscal prudence while wasting untold billions, weighing the country down with debt and raising the tax burden to a record high. They have squandered economic opportunities and failed to realise the possibilities of Brexit.

They will bequeath public finances more akin to a minefield than a solid foundation. Labour’s iron-clad fiscal rules will set this straight – but it will not be quick or easy. There will be many on my own side who will feel frustrated by the difficult choices we will have to make. This is non-negotiable: every penny must be accounted for. The public finances must be fixed so we can get Britain growing and make people feel better off.

Changing Labour has also meant ridding us of the nonsensical idea that some subjects are simply off limits for us. I profoundly disagree with the idea Labour should not be talking about immigration or small boats crossings. These are matters of serious public concern and deserve to be treated as such. This is a government that was elected on a promise that immigration would “come down” and the British people would “always [be] in control”. For immigration to then triple is more than just yet another failure – it is a betrayal of their promises.

When people see the Prime Minister allowing companies to pay workers from abroad 20 per cent less than those already here, they are right to conclude that the Tories are not just unserious about reducing immigration but actively driving it up. Labour would scrap this policy immediately. The Prime Minister should follow our lead.

Likewise, when people see government ministers wasting their time on gimmicks like Rwanda, they are right to conclude they are more interested in talking about small boat crossings than stopping them. Labour would use the full force of Britain’s intelligence and policing to smash the criminal gangs growing fat on the misery of human trafficking, destroying their evil business model. The Government should do the same.

Across Britain there are people who feel disillusioned, frustrated, angry, worried. Many of them have always voted Conservative but feel that their party has left them. I understand that. I saw that with my own party and acted to fix it. But I also understand that many will still be uncertain about Labour. I ask them to take a look at us again. If you believe that Britain needs stability, order, security then Labour is the party for you. If you believe there are precious things in our way of life, our communities and our environment that it is our responsibility to protect and preserve for future generations, Labour agrees with you. If you believe that this country needs change to get back to greatness, this Labour Party stands ready to deliver for you.

Britain’s priorities are once again Labour’s priorities. Delivering them is going to require all our efforts. That’s why we extend the hand of friendship to you, no matter where you are or who you have voted for in the past. National renewal demands it. It is only together that we will build the better future we all want.

Sir Keir Starmer is leader of the Labour Party 

[Dodgy69]

Who's his deputy, Harry Potter.

[irie]

Who's his deputy, Harry Potter.

[JamJar]

On the surface of it he appears balanced and complimentary about the people he spoke of, including Mrs Thatcher, but I think there is a little more to it than a sickly back-patting exercise.

He's an intelligent man, so he knew it would ruffle the feathers of the older identity politics Citizen Smith types, these outdated toxic elements are the people he's trying to distance the Labour Party from. They have no place in a modern broader based centre-ground political party, one that could win an election, he's trying to take this position from the Conservative Party, which appears to be making the mistake of edging further right, giving Labour the room to slip into that coveted centre ground slot and get elected.

It's straight from the textbooks of Mr Blair "How to get your party into No. 10" and KS wants a bit of the same.
Hopefully anyway, a centre-ground Labour Party without the toxics is what the UK needs to drag it somewhere near the right direction.

In the morning over my coffee I always look at the BBC webpage's reporting of front page news, they show the front page of most daily newspapers and it's always interesting looking at the contrast - anyway, the Mirror front page this morning reports on a backlash because Kier Starmer praised Mrs Thatcher and as I said yesterday my view is that this was carefully calculated, this is part of a strategy to very overtly take the centre ground and publicly take an opposing position to the toxic Corbynites that are holding the party back.

If KS can successfully shoo out these unelectable walking dead from a bygone era then he stands a chance of a decent middle ground party which (IMO) the working public would vote into power.

He has been purging the party of the "toxic left" ever since he got in, I don't think this is just about winning the next election, which to be honest is pretty easy, it's about positioning themselves to be able to win the one after this one and you are right that needs to be by being the party in the centre.

[irie]

He has been purging the party of the "toxic left" ever since he got in, I don't think this is just about winning the next election, which to be honest is pretty easy, it's about positioning themselves to be able to win the one after this one and you are right that needs to be by being the party in the centre.

Just popped to the shops and had R4 on in the car and this was the topic, I only caught one bit of it but they were saying it's been blown out of proportion - however I don't think it has, I think Starmer and his team knew exactly what they were doing and upset the old toxics on purpose to make a loud statement.

Flashy paint job on the front of the house which is still ultimately controlled by the 39 members of the NEC in the back room.

[cheb]

The Nats are having a Pavlovian field day up here. Say Thatcher and you'll get almost instant snarling and drooling.

[gremlin]

As you do....

Man arrested as swan dragged through park by neck

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67635462

Has the population of this country gone fucking mental?

[Mr. Dazzle]

And yet, he escaped with absolutely zero broken arms.

My parents lied!

[Cousin Jack]

[quote=gremlin post_id=282461 time=1701862703 user_id=342]
As you do....

[b]Man arrested as swan dragged through park by neck[/b]

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-wales-67635462

Has the population of this country gone fucking mental?
[/quote]

Don't know about swans, but holding their neck is a recognised way of catching geese. I have done it many times, and the geese were not harmed. At least not until just before Xmas.

[Mr. Dazzle]

Don't know about swans, but holding their neck is a recognised way of catching geese.

Whichever piece of research came to this conclusion must have taken a lot of work

[cheb]

And yet, he escaped with absolutely zero broken arms.

My parents lied!

They'll wait until they burn his house down. Swans are like that, vindictive.