Watched PMQs, was pretty mundane. I do think the public may swallow this "new era of nice politics" thing eventually, but there is no way they'll buy repeated U-turning and the state of chaos that currently pertains.

Still tune in for Question Time every week although I'm not sure why exactly. Newsnight + This Week is an infinitely better option.

I'm watching QT just now but it's painful. All I see is arsholes creating distractions for the masses while the Tories keep finding new ways of moving public money into private pockets.

QT unwatchable and there really is little point in PMQs - although I still watch it every week, I guess I'm a sucker for routine.

Cameron is just too slippery and polished to ever be caught out or say anything interesting. I never previously thought he was particularly "prime ministerial" (yes, Diego, I'm aware this a bull**** media construct, but the masses do care) but he and the Tories are on such a bloody high right now he can't help but sound quite statesmanlike (curse this false consciousness).

Conversely I think Corbyn has been disappointing. He really needs to call Cameron out for his question dodging and hammer him on the effects of his callous cuts. We'll see if he grows into the role although ultimately it's all of little consequence.

totally agree. corbyn has more than enough ammunition to aim at him but he doesn't seem up to the task. it's all fine and well trying to be nice, but sometimes things have to get ugly in order to be noticed. For me, the problem wasn't that they weren't nice to each other; it was that they were all acting like ****in clowns showing a complete contempt for the democratic system the masses believe in.

With what is going on today, ie what I said earlier about public money in private pockets, parliament needs to be an ugly cage fight, not a ****in primary school debate.

We've got Hampstead Heath at the end of our street and I doubt Toryboy is from anywhere round here. At the last election we returned Sir Keir Starmer QC for Labour by a colossal majority. The constituency's the usual London chequerboard of private and public-sector housing. My next-door neighbours are the professor of cognitive neuropsychology at UCL and his psychotherapist wife, and the nearest council block is a hundred yards away. Toryboy strikes me as a bit more, Idunno, suburban.

There isn't any new era of nice politics if you look at the way Corbynistas behave on social media. The U-turning is, obviously, just politically incompetent. They should have decided at once whether to play Osborne's game or call him out, but they just couldn't get themselves organised. That is what the PLP is annoyed about. Although McDonnell did get surprisingly massive props on News at Tom (the new News at Ten) for ruefully admitting he'd screwed the whole thing up.

Yeah I'm sorry to say PMQ's was very forgettable this week. I initially felt that Corbyn had some kind of plan with this softly approach, but this appears to be it - just toss it up and let Cameron pat it back.

I think it's more interesting to see how Osbourne's image has been transformed over the last 5 years than Cameron. I don't even think Osbourne felt he would ever have a shot at PM 5 years ago, but he looks nailed on to take over from Cameron in 2020.

But there is Boris, who is currently the sanest voice in British politics which is an even more hilarious transformation over the past five years. He is 100% nailing it on topics like immigration, which Osborne can't express an opinion on given his position.

Osborne's career was always going to be tied directly to the economy and unemployment, so it's unsurprising he is moving into being the likely heir.

We now have record low unemployment and a booming economy with, as all of us who are smart knew would happen, wages rising now the slack of supply has been removed and it's now becoming a demand economy for labour. If it sustains he is a lock to be PM and not even close.

Because they don't stab soldiers in the street, because they don't blow up buses and trains, because they don't want to kill the jews and the infidels, because I didn't play football with one of the sons of the then head of their most powerful (supposedly) liberal organisation who still wanted to destroy Israel, because they don't want segregation and oppression of women, because they don't want to execute women and because they don't have a backward culture which doesn't assimilate to the superior, free, liberal tolerant culture of the West.

I couldn't give a monkey's what colour they are.

You do though, because you can only see race, not beliefs.


Makes a lot of sense.

That was where you began to form the helplessly racist views that you just can't shake. That's why you cross the street when you see a black man coming your way, and feel (rightly) ashamed.

Which race am I racist against?

What, the one where the entire Middle-East and the heart of Islam has overtly banned homosexuality and not a single Western Christian (or really atheist/enlighted) nation has not?

Thought you might not like that.

Well, its something you'll have to get used to. Labour don't have a prayer in 2020 and more and more people are beginning to see the miserable failures of the left in education, in managing immigration and social cohesion, in failing to be utter hypocrites by sending their kids to private schools whilst condemning the poor but intelligent kids to disgusting comps by taking away grammar schools and their one route of social mobility.

You're a racist with a sense of superiority and think that the world would only be right if people like yourself were in charge with absolute power and those pesky proles didn't have a vote in that awful thing you call democracy.

I'd be angry if it weren't for the fact that the facts and evidence have been dawning on the British public for quite some time now, and you'll have absolutely no power to act upon your hysterical, ideological nonsense for at least a generation.

So, you'll have to sit there and take it I'm afraid.

Oh, and by the way, I'm from Tooting, South London.

Nope. What happens is I post evidence that disproves the arguments of people who are used to discussing things in an echo chamber, and they invariably resort to ad-hominems because they haven't the intelligence, humility or intellectual integrity to say "y'know what, thanks Rasta, you've educated me a great deal "

Christ, what a tosser you are, Rastamouse. Still living with mummy and turning down small job promotions because your overblown ego and sense of entitlement won't allow you to accept the fact that you're really not very bright, even by the standards of the thicko-populated world of "digital marketing" (aka sending spam emails).

You're still defending your nonsensical map "evidence", this time by ignoring Africa because it blows a huge hole in your puerile theory about Islamic vs Christian countries.

You're still posting arrant nonsense about how Christians don't go around the UK killing civilians. How old are you? Have you even heard of the IRA?

If I was as ignorant as you I'd be reading and thinking a lot more, and posting horribly prejudiced opinions a lot less. Give it a try. Go back to school and learn about how to use the scientific method in your reasoning, instead of distorting and ignoring facts and evidence that disprove your emotion-based opinions.

Rugby was bang on, you should have been ignored. You're a waste of space here and in life in general, and a waste of Internet bandwidth.

I went to school down the road in Cricklewood with a lot of kids from Hampstead and spent quite a bit of time around South End Green. I'd move there tomorrow if we could.

/derail

Though you might dodge the question yet again, so lets have another try.

What race am I racist against?

Rastamouse, don't take this the wrong way. I don't want to engage in debate with you any more because your arguments are essentially trolling - circular in nature, illogical, based on ignorance and fear, and exist only to get the attention that you clearly crave - not because you're of a superior intelligence to anyone here. LOL and bye

Rasta, you've always been quite clear that you're against any race that isn't white, since allowing those non-whites into the UK has made it impossible for you to find a job.

Ah, Cricklewood. Coren Country. (Alan and, far's this site's concerned, Victoria.) And not a million miles from Zadie Smith's Willesden. Interesting place.

No, he's got a job, he's doing all right, but -- though I mostly scroll his posts -- I got the impression he thinks that the 'minorities' hired at the same time as him only got in because of PC dice-loading preferential treatment. And he doesn't like Muslims.

Indeed, and Smith went to my school, though a few years after me. By the standards of the day it was a true comprehensive - 50 different nationalities, some poor kids from Kilburn, some rich ones from Hampstead and some in between - and in extremely turbulent times I think largely a success story.

I can't see Boris has any shot at PM. He might be popular with the public, but he just isn't popular enough within the commons to really get enough traction to launch a leadership bid imo, although 5 years is a long time and he could step forward and directly challenge Cameron and Osbourne and lead the EU out campaign.

Contrast that with Osbourne who is popular with his own party, with centre Labour politicians, and he brokered the deal with the Lib Dems. As you say, if the economy holds together, and if he persuades a couple of Labour MP's to cross the floor, he's pretty much unbeatable.

Boris is positioned perfectly as the centre right figure who is economically moderate and sane on policy who also has executive experience and is a proven winner. He is also softening his negatives quite a lot.

He is the contrast to Therevil May. So short of a soul or two being sold he is positioned to pick up the leadership if Osborne falls. Moving towards Therevil just opens the door for another to move into the gap.

Fighting Cameron and Osborne on Europe is dumb. He needs to prove his ability to unite the party. He'll express his views and keep his name out there but nothing more.

Boris will be hampered by the fact he is a psychopath with a mountain of skeletons in his closet.

Don't sleep on Theresa May, at the end of the day Tories are still Tories and if she manages to get into the final two I could see many of the grassroots tempted to go full(er) Tory, especially if Corbyn is still leading Labour.

I'm pretty sure Theresa May's moment has come and gone. She'll be 64 next election, so I just don't see it.

it will certainly be "Osbourne and ....." in the final two. Boris can certainly beat him at that point, but I just don't see him getting to that stage. However, I think an Osbourne/Javid ticket will be just too solid for members to turn down.

Therevil May can't get elected. She won't even be in the conversation if labour can field even the barest of fight in the next general.

She might hit her ceiling of ~20% early and do well if there is a large group but when the field narrows she will be left behind.

Terrible news for you pal but I actually got onto a grad scheme which started in August. I just didn't bring it up here because I like watching people resort to ad-hominems and I'm more than happy to give them plenty of material.

There are some completely unqualified minorities who got the job though. At the assessment day there were several white (women as it happens) who were infinitely better than the black and brown women who were among the 6 of us selected. And like I say its a proper grad scheme so there were ~300-odd applicants with 30 or so at the assessment day for 6 positions. The AD was 9-4.30 so they had plenty of time to see that the people I'm referring to were clearly better candidates.

I'm not against black or brown people (or, if you like we can say that I am, you can call me a racist, paedophile, rapist and murderer if you like), but there are evidently quotas playing a factor here to the point that it is a handicap to be a white man when it comes to applying for serious jobs.

Still, its a handicap I overcame.

Let's try again. What race am I racist against?

The morally righteous thing for you to do here is to admit that you've leveled a false accusation against me.

Will you do that? Or will you reveal that you're happy to smear people with lies if you disagree with them politically?