Of Course You Will, Because You’re Responsible…

 

In the end, the vote to cut the winter fuel allowance passed easily. Hundreds of loyalist Labour MPs tramped through the lobbies to back the government’s controversial plan. No 10 will hope the heat has gone out of the issue.

Well, it's approaching panto season, so just let me say 'Oh no, it won't!'

Scores of MPs abstained in silent protest, fearful that they could be condemning vulnerable pensioners to a cold, hard winter.

Government sources argued that only a dozen of the 52 Labour MPs who were absent for the vote had not been authorised in advance. The others had legitimate reasons including medical appointments and official travel. But what they did not acknowledge was that many of those who had permission to abstain were bitterly opposed to the cut.

Then they should have done the decent thing and voted against it. Instead, they took the coward's way out.  

In the days running up to the vote, whips had been encouraging them to find urgent constituency business so they could legitimately be absent.

I'm no longer shocked at the perfidy of politicians... 

Almost all Labour MPs, however, also blamed the Tories for the difficult decisions that they left the chancellor to take. “None of us wanted to do this,” said one. “But we wouldn’t have to if they hadn’t left us with such a mess.” A number of them do not regard the fight as over – and are planning to push ministers to look at extra help for the most vulnerable as the months get colder, perhaps by expanding the warm homes discount or bringing in a cheaper social tariff for some pensioners.

How quickly they forget 'There's no money left'... 

"It was not suddenly bred. It will not swiftly abate. "

"Through the chilled years ahead, When Time shall count from the date That the Saxon began to hate." 

Better begin counting....

Aldershot has a Labour MP @Ms_Alex_Baker. In Rushmoor 340+ flats has been bought by the council, using taxpayer's cash for migrants. No Brits allowed.

She also voted to end winter fuel payments to pensioners.

Down the pub she is told she is not welcome, get out & is a traitor.… pic.twitter.com/iEqBKUS0uh

— David Atherton (@DaveAtherton20) September 15, 2024

Just like her boss getting booed by the crowd at Doncaster racecourse. People are finally having enough. Long may it continue!  

H/T: David Atherton via Twitter

Labour's Prison Release Scheme, Skewered!

Always knocking it out of the park, that Matt...

Pulls It Out Of A What?!

I think the word they were grasping for was 'sheath'.

Sunday Funnies...

Are we even allowed beauty anymore? Some days, it doesn't seem like it...

Maybe The Critics Are Heartless Morons?

Critics say the deaths are tragic but have been blown out of proportion.

This is the resurgence of predators like brown bears in Europe which are now so numerous, they pose a threat to human life and agriculture.  

In Romania, which is home to the most brown bears in Europe, the animals killed 26 people and injured 276 over 20 years, according to the environment ministry. Data from Eurostat shows that motorised vehicles killed 45,000 people in the country in that time.

We can't really do without motorised vehicles, they are intrinsic to our society. Large man-eating predators, not so much. 

But wait, Reader! That's not the daftest assertion they have to make, no, not by a long chalk.

Cultural associations are a problem for the wolf, which has long been portrayed as the villain of fairytales. Helmut Dammann-Tamke, president of the German hunting association and politician with the centre-right Christian Democrats, says the threat of wolf attacks on sheep is “like something on a serving platter” for the far right because it reaches people on an emotional level. “This issue is an incendiary force in the hands of populists.”

Those dastardly far right, errr, wolves. 

A 2022 study of German municipalities found that wolf attacks on livestock predict far-right support. After controlling for factors such as immigration and jobs, the researchers found wolf attacks were associated with far-right gains in municipal elections of between one and two percentage points.

And suddently, I'm in favour of 'rewilding' after all!  

Environmental activists question whether blanket policies to cull animals will do much to avoid conflicts with humans and have called for measures to promote peaceful coexistence that range from fences and guard dogs to awareness campaigns for visitors.

Sounds a lot like what they call for when they want to persuade us 'diversity is a strength not a threat', doesn't it? 

TfL Need To Beef Up Their Cyber Security

The news that TfL had suffered a cyber attack barely made headlines. I read it, but didn't think it would affect me, as they said it wasn't going to affect passengers. 

Until, of course, my Oyster card ran low, and I needed to top it up online. And found I couldn't.

Transport chiefs in London are restricting access to a photocard portal for Oyster 60+ and other travel concessions after a cyber attack. The incident, which first became public on Monday evening, has largely not affected people who use the transport system in the capital.

But the transport bosses have now decided to temporarily restrict access to the photocard portal, which allows customers to apply for travel concessions, including the Zip Photocard, 16+ and 18+ Photocard and the 60+ Oyster photocard, as the investigation continues into the cyber targeting.

It also prevents people wanting to top up their balance online from doing so. As I found out. The only way to do it is at a shop. They didn't exactly advertise this, I had to find out from Twitter. 

In an updated statement, Shashi Verma, TfL’s Chief Technology Officer, said: “There remains no impact to our public transport services and no evidence that any customer data has been compromised.

“However, as part of the measures implemented to deal with the ongoing cyber security incident, we have temporarily restricted access to customer journey history for pay as you go contactless customers, as well as limited access to some live travel data via apps, TfL Go and the TfL website, including next train information and the TfL JamCams.

“In addition, we have made the decision to temporarily restrict access to the photocard portal, which allows customers to apply for travel concessions, including the Zip Photocard, 16+ and 18+ Photocard and the 60+ Oyster photocard.

“We apologise for any inconvenience that these temporary changes will cause to some customers and are working to bring these back online as quickly as possible.”

All that money the London Mayor gives TfL and where does it go? Not on cyber security, it seems.  

And on Friday morning  I got an email. Ooh, I thought, they've fixed it! That is, until I opened it:

So much for 'no evidence that any customer data has been compromised' Shashi. Looks like you found some after all. Good job you kept looking, eh?

Who Knew They Still Had Any?

And presumably, it being 2024, the women's testicles too?

The arresting uniform has been narrowly cut in such a way that there is barely room to swing a baton, they say. Women officers meanwhile are unhappy about the lack of space given 'between waist and the crotch'.

Most of the female cops are practically dwarves anyway. 

The damning verdicts on their official issued uniform came about as part of the first ever police uniform and equipment survey run by Lancaster University and the Police Federation.

Benjamin Elk of the Taxpayers' Alliance dismissed the survey as a 'farce' and 'distraction' to officers fighting crime.

Ah, if only that's what they did, instead of harassing people wanting to film in public. Or critiquing a crime victim’s language while ignoring the crime she's trying to report. 

‘It could be a rock...'

Well, yes, it most likely is. It's not really going to be a 20ft tall Bigfoot, is it? 

Quite apart from anything else, it doesn't appear to be climbing as a living creature would. What we have here is a classic case of pareidolia.

They Aren’t Fleeing ‘War And Oppression’, Enver…

...not if they are coming from France. It's not that bad.

Labour will be at real risk of failing to reform the UK’s broken asylum system unless it challenges Tory rhetoric and stops focusing on the deportation of asylum seekers, the head of the Refugee Council has said.

Enver Solomon, the charity’s chief executive, said Keir Starmer must use the language of “compassion and humanity” in order to tackle the vilification of refugees.

That'll be hard, since he doesn't possess those qualities. 

The home secretary’s plans to expand detention without opening safe routes are “costly and unnecessary” and the government must instead accelerate grant rates for asylum claims to tackle the backlog and community tensions around asylum hotels, he said. There is growing concern from charities, unions and left-leaning MPs that the government is adopting the language and policies established by the Tories around asylum and immigration.

Yes, clearly, nothing will halt 'the vilification of refugees' like cramming even more of them into our towns against our wishes. 

Solomon said the Labour government had not yet challenged the political rhetoric that had contributed to the hatred and vilification of refugees. He said: “Angry talk of invasion, stopping the boats and labelling everyone as ‘illegal’ has raised the temperature and had the effect of stripping people fleeing war and oppression from the world’s trouble spots of their stories and humanity.

What 'stories'? The usual load of old flannel they tell the 'Guardian'? What 'humanity'? When they put their children's lives at risk by leaving a safe country? 

“The challenge now is to ensure that the language of compassion and humanity is adopted by all politicians, with government taking the lead.”

“The current private contractors have consistently failed to deliver and it’s now time to bite the bullet and end the contracts as soon as possible. The government must work hand in hand with councils to ensure they are fully equipped to house people in local communities in a safe and dignified way that ensures value for taxpayers’ money.

How will we ever know if we are getting that, when it becomes a state secret? 

“Following the riots, it is also vital that serious work is led by government on community cohesion, including a clear plan on refugee integration,” he said.

Stopping arresting them for protesting would be a good start.