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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2h

One that’s been used?

Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 4h

Through a bunch of smaller measures that all in theory add up but in practice change behavior and lead to significant pockets of opposition and rage that then cause you to have to partially backtrack and some and realise you aren’t actually raising the projected income on others?

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 17h

‘Labour - let’s blame Farage and Brexit for productivity woes’. Finally! But what are you going to do about it? ‘Blame Farage and Brexit whilst refusing to do anything to reverse the damage and well, maybe a few things to make it a bit worse for good measure’. Oh….

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 1d

There are precedents of this happening on the centre and right but is there a precedent on the left?

Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 1d

Take heed, take heed of the Western winds…a song that makes me instantly sad every time I hear it no matter what. But there is beauty in its sadness.

Dylan Revisited @dylanrevisited.bsky.social · 1d

New track from the upcoming Bootleg v. 18 - posted recently by Bob Dylan's official YT channel.

Outtake of Boots of Spanish Leathers from the Times album sessions. Guitar sounds brighter and higher in the mix. Song is still glorious.

www.youtube.com/watch?v=1wep...

Bob Dylan - Boots of Spanish Leather (The Times They Are A-Changin' Alternate Take - Official Audio)

YouTube video by BobDylanVEVO

www.youtube.com

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Reposted by Ian Boucher

Neal Hudson @resi-analyst.bsky.social · 22d

As I wrote back in Feb, the government's focus on building homes with no apparent strategy beyond "planning reform" is dangerous and their ongoing failure to hit their stupid 1.5m target makes is more likely they'll be stuck with only the bad options to choose from.
builtplace.com/still-search...

The result of racing to meet the 1.5million target with no clear statement on what outcomes are desired comes with severe risks. It risks us ending up with a new build market that is focussed on delivering numbers as quickly as possible to the exclusion of all other metrics and is enabled by deregulation, tax cuts, and subsidies. That will inevitably lead to housing outcomes that compromise on quality, safety, environmental protections, and the needs of the actual residents. That doesn’t look like success to me, and it shouldn’t to this Government either.

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Reposted by Ian Boucher

Neal Hudson @resi-analyst.bsky.social · 1d

One of the many depressing things this year was realising that there is no clear strategy across the whole of government and not just with housing.
(1.5m new homes is a target, not a strategy)

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 1d

It's never the comms. Labour's comms is grey because in the absence of a clear strategy for what the government wants to achieve, no-one can defend or articulate what the government says in an interesting or exciting way.

Lewis Goodall @lewisgoodall.com · 1d

I do wonder if Labour might look at the sorts of people dominating the discourse and dominating the content wars and maybe, just maybe, rethink the sorts of grey figures they routinely put up for interviews, instructed at that to be as cautious as possible. Things have changed. Their comms hasn’t.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2d

The thing that would do for Starmer, and I think it’s the only thing that will, is a viable challenger who the PLP backs across a majority and who would win with the members - and has the credibility to convince both they should be PM. Until then I don’t think polls will make much difference.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2d

This argument the ‘new right’ makes is imo complete horlicks. You can’t divorce thatcher from Blair unless you ignore the Thatcherite willingness and almost glee at the destruction of non competitive British industry and manufacturing.

Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2d

Is it not simply that the most privileged generation ever (compared to their predecessors) are now retiring? They enjoyed the biggest improvements of standard of living ever seen and maybe that has created a set of expectations?

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2d

Isn’t though the fact that China (and others) can treat their workers poorly and pay them far less what both extremes of UK politics object to for different reasons when they blame globalisation or neoliberalism (depending which side they are on?)

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 2d

Plus there is the fact that a part of the play is ‘oh we are the only realists in the room’….

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Reposted by Ian Boucher

Rob Ford @robfordmancs.bsky.social · 3d

A reminder of how Mrs Thatcher's Conservative party in 1983, an era featuring much more widespread racial prejudice in the public, approached the issue of race and national identity:

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 3d

I think it’s both ways. The leadership needs to be more inclusive but the centre of the party also needs to get real and understand the realities of where we are as a country and what can and can’t be done. And ideally propose realistic alternative solutions.

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Reposted by Ian Boucher

Sam Freedman @samfr.bsky.social · 3d

All these people really want is to pay no taxes and be treated with floor scraping deference. Everything else is just bullshit in pursuit of that goal.

Sunder Katwala (sundersays) @sundersays.bsky.social · 3d

Party donor Nick Candy says "I cherish the values we grew up with here in the West. But today you are more likely to find the values we grew up with in Dubai and Abu Dhabi.’

Via Sam Leith in the Spectator
www.spectator.co.uk/article/the-...

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 3d

When you hear Heseltine being interviewed it really does hit home how poor many of today’s politicians are in comparison.

Reposted by Ian Boucher

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 3d

Jenrick being the loudest member of the Conservative party has already been a huge contributor to the poisoning of our politics. We really don't need any four-dimensional chess about him becoming leader. When it happens, it will be a terrible day for our country.

Paul Bernal @paulbernal.bsky.social · 4d

A Tory party under Jenrick might take a few of the racist votes from Reform, but they’d haemorrhage bucketloads to the Lib Dems.

So, on balance…

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 3d

Surely when it’s bad is when there should be briefings and rolling of the pitch and significant development of arguments?

Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 3d

Being a leader is very different to existing in an online activist bubble. I know Starmer essentially lives off that fact but it still is true.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 4d

Having a successful multicultural society?

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 4d

I dunno. Jenrick is on a path to a Reform pact of some sort isn’t he?

Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 5d

Might as well stand for magic money tree.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 5d

I think this ignores that for Farage like Trump it won’t matter that he’s unpopular as he will have media support and force it where he doesn’t and claim that any criticism is just anti British leftist wokery. He will also attempt to rig the system.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 5d

Calling it a theory - is incredibly generous.

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Ian Boucher @desolationrow5.bsky.social · 5d

Theresa May is still battling away.

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