We have a labour shortage in this country.

Where is the cost benefit analysis on this? I’m happy to see why someone thinks it is a good idea and the reasons for it. It appealing to ****s isn’t a good reason.

Anyway, it’s good to see that scrapping with Reform over the insane imbecile tranche of voters is really bringing out the best from the Tory policy wonks.

Also rich parents will buy their kids' way out of it:

I saw a comment about the next logical step for them after this dross is proposing a referendum on the death penalty next and I can’t disagree with that.

Back in the 80s there was always a majority in the country in favour of the death penalty, but politicians were more liberal minded (even most of the Tory government), and it was a lunatic fringe issue restricted mainly to hardliners like the Monday Club and NF.

I’d assume now that all the flag shagging brexit voters would vote for it, plus a chunk of non flag shaggers, some abstainers and some remainers but I haven’t seen any polls. Im sure the far right pollster Matt Goodwin can help.

I don’t think the played football at Winchester. And if they did, they were shite. They were probably better at egg chasing, and also soggy biscuit.

Also pulling hot buttered crumpets from jacksies.

lol

The annual cheese-rolling races at Cooper's Hill, Glos, went off well. Winner of the first men's race was Tomas from Germany, wearing a hi-vis jacket (possibly to send up the health-and-safety hierarchy who frown on the event). Winner of the first women's race was Abby from North Carolina, who's won it before. There were British winners in later races, but That Internet has made the event a global phenomenon, with spectators and competitors from all over the world. There is a children's uphill event, but I'm not sure if it involves an adult pace-setter rolling the cheese up the hill by hand.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/uk-e...shire-69065807

Part of the alluring bonkersness must be Cooper's Hill itself, which is a strange landscape feature. You don't get inclines like that outside of mountain ranges. It looks like a man-made dam, but it inexplicably isn't.

Come up with a ludicrously expensive morally repugnant policy for changing light bulbs and then wait for KS to adopt it.

What is going on in London?
There are news of stabbings.

https://www.bbc.com/news/uk-england-london-59916035
LondonLondon set an unwelcome new record of 30 teenage stabbingstabbing

Article is two years old.

this article is 3 days old:

"Boy, 16, stabbed to death in broad daylight outside west London pub"

https://www.yahoo.com/news/boy-16-st...165042565.html

different case, article is 17 days old...

https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/world...nt/ar-BB1m9PK7

great quote from cabinet minister steve baker today

'The Prime Minister told everyone we could go on holiday and then called a snap election. So I've chosen to do my campaign work in Greece.'

10 million people in London.

Far too many stabbings but this is the result of the slow breakdown of what was once a more cohesive society but became a dog-eat-dog arena.

Can't imagine that Baker, a self-proclaimed libertarian, is very impressed with the idea of forcing adults into the armed forces and other types of weekend work.

https://www.theguardian.com/business...iminal-inquiry

yes that is a lot of people.

The rest of my post addressed that. Young people are under huge amounts of pressure and face miserable and uncertain futures, and see their parents often working two jobs just to pay the bills.

But if you're trolling with some kind of German supremacy line, wp.

Edi: Nice edit.

Hope people are laughing all the way to the polling station at this clueless entitled prick's difficulties:

Sunak's struggles 1

Sunak's struggles 2

Ok. It's not only London. Youth stabbings have been happening all over the country for years.

The UK is pretty much over as a credible country now, and these are the symptoms, as was Brexit. Starmer will do absolutely nothing to change anything about that, and probably doesn't even recognise the problems let alone show any ability or desire to think of solutions.

I've depressed chezlaw enough now, so I'll go to bed.

ok thanks.

Pretty sure it's largely done to very destructive policies on drugs.

We faught the war and the war won.

Meh. That’s a factor but other European countries have strict anti drugs laws but not the widespread knife crime, whereas the two countries that took the Monetarism route and abandoned social cohesion in favour of the cult of the individual have rampant drug related gang crime.

When teenagers are faced with a future of delivering wealthier people’s food for them or cleaning jobs some will be attracted by the lure of working for themselves by dealing drugs with the dream of becoming rich one day. Young people need to have a dream, even if it’s a lame one centered around Lambos.

This was my first question. I'm pretty ambivalent on it, but I wouldn't dismiss it out of hand as a bad idea if the social and economic arguments stacked up.

Obviously if Sunak has just pulled this out of his arse it's a bad idea (extremely likely), but in the (extremely unlikely) event this has been well thought through, I'd be interested in the details. Way too many 18yos waste their time going to university, and I'd like to see better/alterative options for young people.