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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 9h

(Just reminded as I walked past it: there is a bar near me that has started advertising student offers with “textbooks closed, tabs open” and as it confuses even me I can only assume that was written by someone who was a student a very long time ago.)

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 10h

Thought this was absurd and then checked to find I have 67 open. Although this is mostly me just forgetting to close things as I go and then nuking the lot.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 10h

You can make a lot of implausible claims by invoking "properly costed", but it is the choice to use "or" instead of "and", committing himself to the bold statement that no political party in the world polling 16% has ever held a conference, that makes this art.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 16h

Very much appreciate how you were all angrily posting “and *this* is supposed to be the party of fiscal rectitude?” before Kemi Badenoch stepped up and said “stamp duty? yeah we’re abolishing that”.

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Reposted by James Chalmers

Ben Ansell @benansell.bsky.social · 17h

Spot on from @stephenkb.bsky.social. And the other aspect of this nasty turn is the eliding of British ‘culture’ with ‘white British’, which will shock anyone who has watched TV or football, or listened to music, or read a book, or indeed breathed since 1980.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 17h

(screenshot rather than quote of @stephenkb.bsky.social there solely so the original nested post remained visible rather than requiring clicking through)

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 17h

There is I think a sort of liberal comfort belief that the system is self-correcting; if the right does something bad then there will be an equal and opposite reaction restoring order. You see this a lot as a reaction to lots of things Trump does or proposes and… the belief just isn’t true!

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.

[quoting the post below]

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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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 1d

I don't think I noticed that part, but as an accented Scot my English remains in that category...

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 1d

I remember frantically trying to find out what the rules were a while back when I was on a delayed train and the consensus seemed pretty firm that you *could* get on the next train if it was with the same company. Whether that's an argument I'd want to have on board the train is another matter...

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Reposted by James Chalmers

Marie Le Conte @youngvulgarian.marieleconte.com · 1d

THE SECRET PROJECT I'VE BEEN WORKING ON FOR THE PAST FEW MONTHS IS FINALLY LIVE

CHECK IT OUT

outsidersartsclub.com

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 1d

"Ms Badenoch... said people had been complaining to her about having to queue to get in." OH COME ON

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Reposted by James Chalmers

Alan Beattie @alanbeattie.bsky.social · 1d

Henceforth the red robes will only be worn as an away kit when the Canadian Supreme Court is playing the US one.

Pwnallthethings @pwnallthethings.bsky.social · 2d

Tragic news from Canada where the Canadian Supreme Court has gone from the official dress on the left to the one on the right

Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in bright red wooly gowns, with a beige trim. It looks sort of like a Santa robe

The Canadian Supreme court. Everyone is dressed in black gowns with a bright white kravat, and two thin red vertical lines on the side of the robe

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d

"I said *for* one day."

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d

Congratulations!

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d

As you might expect, it's not really what he said (even if the headline here says it is...) www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/poli...

Lib Dems will ‘almost undoubtedly’ win more seats than Tories, says top pollster

Sir John Curtice made the stark warning at a fringe event at the Conservative party conference

www.independent.co.uk

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d

Once had a flatmate who insisted that was a nutritious breakfast and now I’m annoyed I can’t remember what his name was so that I could find out how things went from there.

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 2d

Have we considered the possibility that one of Macron’s negotiating tactics over the years has been to say “don’t tell anyone but if you do me this favour I’ll make you Prime Minister one day” and this is all working out very well for him?

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

This is how that sort of reasoning plays out on a smaller scale (admittedly with more constraints): administration comes in saying "we are going to work out what we can stop doing" and ends up going "yeah we have no choice about doing most of it, we need to raise more cash".

Financial Times @financialtimes.com · 3d

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters on.ft.com/4pTvJ62

Reform likely to raise Kent council tax after cost-cutting drive falters

Nigel Farage’s party promised to revive local authority finances by slashing wasteful spending

on.ft.com

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

Careful there, what is this "too many whiskies" heresy? :)

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

…what makes you think this post, written during the Conservative Party conference, is specifically about Reform?

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

Thinking about this again and if I were being charitable the question it asks is right: the problem is that if the Conservatives seriously think about whether they want the state to do everything it now does the answer is “more or less yes, actually” and that’s the hard conversation they can’t have.

James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 4d

I was really struck by this vacuous piece she wrote earlier in the year: the state is bloated and we have to ask "serious questions about what the government can and can’t do". Are any of those questions asked, identified, or even hinted at in the lowest of voices in the article? Of course not!

Katie Lam: Our bloated state has got Britain trapped in an ever-tightening debt vice | Conservative Home

If we want to get the UK growing again, we need to stop assuming that every challenge has a government solution.

conservativehome.com

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

The last time the right wing of British politics was behaving this way (and it wasn’t as bad as now) it was easy to be complacent about it, thinking “well I guess people will just keep voting for the more popular centre-left party until the right adopts a more moderate approach”. Now…

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

Fascinated as to just what she does in this situation. Truss is no longer in Parliament and easier to ignore, but Badenoch will still be there and doesn’t seem like she would return quietly to the backbenches and accept she failed?

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 3d

There is a Mitchell and Webb gameshow sketch where the aim is to be “the winner”; when contestants are asked about their strategy they say it is “to be the winner” and when they fail and have to try again they say what they will change is they will be the winner, and KB constantly reminds me of it.

Stephen Bush @stephenkb.bsky.social · 3d

Badenoch is the most compelling of the current party leaders because of the gulf between who she believes herself to be (she visibly thinks she is a bold thinker) and the reality (incredibly lazy and partisan).

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James Chalmers @jameschalmers.bsky.social · 4d

That was indeed a lot of fun!

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