New Tory Leader

[sonyc 5,539]

5 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/20/diane-abbott-apologises-for-drinking-mojito-on-public-transport

At least she wasn't doing a Diane Abbott, breaking the law drinking on the tube...

Who knows LYB Coffey and Abbott might both be quite nice people?

Coffey loves beer, football and music if you read a bit about her. Yet it's what she does that matters.

She didn't do a great job at Pensions. She came across as lacking empathy too. Not such a good trait for the health portfolio. But she has huge problems to solve. 1:9 people are on a waiting list for treatment whilst 1:8 in hospital occupy beds waiting for social care! The whole system is possibly breaking right now.

 

 

[Herman 9,796]

20 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/20/diane-abbott-apologises-for-drinking-mojito-on-public-transport

At least she wasn't doing a Diane Abbott, breaking the law drinking on the tube...

Funny how that got far more column inches than some of the rank behaviour by the former PM. Funny old country really.😐

[Well b back 3,238]

15 minutes ago, sonyc said:

Perhaps Liz has always believed that coffee is good for your health and that little thought has been a subconscious one in choosing ol' Therese. Yet for the rest of us of course she of course should carry a health warning!

On a serious note the NHS is one of Truss's 3 big priorities and it will be interesting what she is going to do about it. The reports are about a freeze on energy prices but the NHS is in a really poor way and desperately needs support. I mean people are actually dying waiting for ambulances. An interesting few weeks ahead as we learn what practical action is planned.

 

 

First big problem is dealing with the potential strike being voted on at present. The likes of Fabrigant and Mogg who mocked the NHS maybe left to wish they had kept their big mouths shut.

I know some very moderate people who have voted yes. Just like in the train drivers dispute they will wheel people out to say the pay deal is good, but this ( like the train drivers ) is not just about pay it’s about your safety.

[Well b back 3,238]

I see SKY have already opened books on the next PM and Conservative leader. Johnson 3rd favourite to be PM 2nd favourite to be leader.

 

 

Edited September 6, 2022 by Well b back

[littleyellowbirdie 2,562]

11 minutes ago, Herman said:

Funny how that got far more column inches than some of the rank behaviour by the former PM. Funny old country really.😐

The thing that made it difficult to knock Johnson off his high horse, as far as standards go, is that he never got on it in the first place. 

Edited September 6, 2022 by littleyellowbirdie

[Bort 34]

1 hour ago, Barbe bleu said:

It sounds really great in theory but does this storage capacity actually exist.?.

The technology exists; we just need the political will to increase investment, expand capacity and establish the necessary infrastructure.

The storage option that I find most interesting is the utilisation of excess renewable generation (at times of high wind/solar) to power electrolysis of water, generating hydrogen and oxygen. Then, when electricity demand is high, you can combust the hydrogen with oxygen, powering a turbine like a plant fired by natural gas but releasing water instead of carbon dioxide. The end-to-end process is around 40% efficient, which is workable if performed at a large enough scale. In comparison, natural gas plants are between 40% and 60% efficient.

If we generate enough hydrogen, we could look at adapting our current gas distribution network to accommodate hydrogen instead, and use it for heating, cooking, etc. The energy density of hydrogen is 2.5 times that of natural gas, so you'd obviously need to burn less of it to release the same energy.

There would certainly be technical challenges to overcome (hydrogen can be tricky to store and transport efficiently), but one of the main barriers historically has been high cost relative to natural gas. With gas prices elevated to where they are now, hydrogen looks more appealing than ever, and with further investment its cost would reduce - hopefully to the point where gas is phased out permanently as soon as possible. Once again though, this investment needs to be driven by government policy - if left to the market i.e. the fossil fuel giants, they won't want to curb their gas profits by ramping up hydrogen too quickly and cutting into gas demand, so we'd be left overpaying for high-carbon electricity for decades.

[Herman 9,796]

Sorry @Bort and others. I can't see any forward thinking or progressive policies towards this country's energy needs for a good while yet.

 

[Naturalcynic 641]

8 hours ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2019/apr/20/diane-abbott-apologises-for-drinking-mojito-on-public-transport

At least she wasn't doing a Diane Abbott, breaking the law drinking on the tube...

Just as well she wasn’t eating cake.  Imagine the outrage.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Naturalcynic

[Herman 9,796]

7 minutes ago, Naturalcynic said:

Just as well she wasn’t eating cake.  Imagine the outrage.

Just as well she didn't kill thousands of her fellow citizens with her incompetence. Imagine the silence. 

[Naturalcynic 641]

10 minutes ago, Herman said:

Just as well she didn't kill thousands of her fellow citizens with her incompetence. Imagine the silence. 

And yet comparing all European countries the UK is very much mid-table in Covid deaths per million.

[Herman 9,796]

13 minutes ago, Naturalcynic said:

And yet comparing all European countries the UK is very much mid-table in Covid deaths per million.

So? Without your boy Johnson's dithering and dicking about our death rate would have been much lower. Not something to shill about really, is it? 

[littleyellowbirdie 2,562]

13 minutes ago, Herman said:

So? Without your boy Johnson's dithering and dicking about our death rate would have been much lower. Not something to shill about really, is it? 

Everything's so easy with the benefit of hindsight. With hindsight, every country should have had a hard lockdown early on that lasted many many months, as was popular in Asia. That's a tough sell in countries with liberal societies. We know for a fact that the lockdowns we had led to considerable suspicion of motives and even hysteria in some sections. 

Saying there 'could have been less deaths' for something that could have been a lot worse in an unprecedented situation where we know colleagues like Sunak would have done nothing is really cheap, but then most of the vitriol on here since yesterday has been cheap, non-policy based spite than anything of substance. 

Edited September 7, 2022 by littleyellowbirdie

[Herman 9,796]

It wasn't hindsight. Many people, from gob****es like me to actual medical experts, were saying his inaction would get people killed at the time. 

He showed that populism is useless during a crisis. That's all. 

[Mr Apples 1,324]

25 minutes ago, littleyellowbirdie said:

cheap, non-policy based spite (rather) than anything of substance. 

That's a good summary of the Johnson years and unlikely to change anytime soon. 😅

Apples

[Bort 34]

1 hour ago, Herman said:

Sorry @Bort and others. I can't see any forward thinking or progressive policies towards this country's energy needs for a good while yet.

 

It's a disaster isn't it? God knows what this climate-change-denying streak of Victorian p!ss has planned. Reopen the coal mines? Fracking?

The clearest indicator yet that we're going to need civil unrest to get this country moving in the right direction. Can't rely on corporate-backed politicians. 

A general strike would be a good start.

[Herman 9,796]

It'll be a lot of fracking. The right wing have been ramping up talk of it for the last few months. 

[Yellow Fever 3,807]

So all of Sunak's supporters are out - Truss's in.

Then we're told the Tory's have a deep pool of talent. A 'cabinet of all the talents'

It seems a very shallow puddle that has largely dried up to me. Selecting senior positions only from the Truss's ideological supporters as opposed to more broadly on experience and merit actually seem a sure fire recipe to compound  your own mistakes and will inevitably lead to division and disarray.

Truss's first fatal mistake.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Yellow Fever

[Yellow Fever 3,807]

9 hours ago, Bort said:

The technology exists; we just need the political will to increase investment, expand capacity and establish the necessary infrastructure.

The storage option that I find most interesting is the utilisation of excess renewable generation (at times of high wind/solar) to power electrolysis of water, generating hydrogen and oxygen. Then, when electricity demand is high, you can combust the hydrogen with oxygen, powering a turbine like a plant fired by natural gas but releasing water instead of carbon dioxide. The end-to-end process is around 40% efficient, which is workable if performed at a large enough scale. In comparison, natural gas plants are between 40% and 60% efficient.

If we generate enough hydrogen, we could look at adapting our current gas distribution network to accommodate hydrogen instead, and use it for heating, cooking, etc. The energy density of hydrogen is 2.5 times that of natural gas, so you'd obviously need to burn less of it to release the same energy.

There would certainly be technical challenges to overcome (hydrogen can be tricky to store and transport efficiently), but one of the main barriers historically has been high cost relative to natural gas. With gas prices elevated to where they are now, hydrogen looks more appealing than ever, and with further investment its cost would reduce - hopefully to the point where gas is phased out permanently as soon as possible. Once again though, this investment needs to be driven by government policy - if left to the market i.e. the fossil fuel giants, they won't want to curb their gas profits by ramping up hydrogen too quickly and cutting into gas demand, so we'd be left overpaying for high-carbon electricity for decades.

Hi Bort

My only comment on domestic hydrogen is one of safety. Hydrogen gas is spontaneously explosive  if it leaks into the ordinary atmosphere. If used as such I can see a very large number of house explosions and fires taking place (for the record I used to be responsible for industrial processes that used hydrogen and we had to make very sure we burnt it off with several safety interlocks). No hydrogen leaks or trapped volumes.

Edited September 7, 2022 by Yellow Fever

[Capt. Pants 4,262]

I bet Rees-Smugg was hoping for a cushy Minister For Eff-all gig. Instead he gets a high profile on trend appointment where he'll actually have to do some work, with massive accountability. This is a hugely depressing appointment.

The whole 'jobs for the boys' thing is not surprising really and was always on the cards in the short term. More important than ever that we have a strong Opposition Party to make sure some don't have use of the Ministerial Limo for too long.

 

[sonyc 5,539]

57 minutes ago, Yellow Fever said:

So all of Sunak's supporters are out - Truss's in.

Then we're told the Tory's have a deep pool of talent. A 'cabinet of all the talents'

It seems a very shallow puddle that has largely dried up to me. Selecting senior positions only from the Truss's ideological supporters as opposed to more broadly on experience and merit actually seem a sure fire recipe to compound  your own mistakes and will inevitably lead to division and disarray.

Truss's first fatal mistake.

Yes YF. Then, I just don't know whether any of her cabinet are 'deep' thinkers or strategists because I've not really heard most of them talk to be honest. One always assumes they have more talent than a Pinkun poster! What I would say is that her cabinet is narrowly drawn. They are a group, it appears from the outside, who are supporters. A new PM will feel comfort in that. Yet if things don't go to plan then you've alienated a large number with different views. She is tying herself to her mast for sure.

Their abilities are going to be tested very severely aren't they? Events may well overtake this lot. By a combination of Johnson's legacy (and I won't go into much detail here...but it's the opposite of what he has said as you'd expect..."a great solid masonry" is what he says is his legacy) and global forces the UK is in a difficult position, not only with its essential institutions (public services) but also I'm really not sure it has much goodwill in the reservoir. The general population is far less blind-sided now. Many have seen how populism has played out. Slogans are seen as empty when you're trying to get your elderly mother into care, or your attending food banks because your £9.50 per hour just won't pay for all your needs. Or you feel the police are useless because they don't prioritise your problem. And so on.

If we had more trust it would help. Brexit has been a negative force in splitting people. It's created an Us versus Them narrative. It would help if the government of the day could simply say it's not working and in hindsight it was a mistake but this is our plan ahead. They don't though. Still beholden to the ultra ERG types? To hedge funders? Still they are setting out a stall to anger the EU and create tensions in Ireland. Still, we have a PM being abusive to Scotland's leader. We have a PM who is unsure of the leader of France. It just isn't the statesmanship we need.

It would have been helpful if the new incumbent had said that Johnson had indeed been a liar. She could have found an elegant way of saying it. It would have helped if there was some moral courage to simply say that a huge number of MPs had no faith in him and resigned. But Truss STILL mentions him in special terms. 

All these things mean that for the vast majority (in my opinion here) they have far less respect. People can see things for themselves. But a government is meant to lead. Leading means holding your hands up at times. Being wrong is not the end of the world. The country cannot move on when certain truths are avoided. 

So Truss is bringing together a group of people and it looks one-sided - and my feelings are based on what she has said already. We need far better leadership than that for the times coming. The pandemic has changed employer / worker relations (even before it was out of kilter) and there is little tolerance now for exploitation, along with actual destitution for some. 

My worries are that crime will go through the roof, that anger will spill on to the streets and that the health service will actually break. All the ingredients seem to be there and we don't have the leadership to handle it (because, in part, they've created the conditions in the last 12 years). Someone has to pick up the pieces later.

You know things are bad when even Rock the Boat states he may vote Labour next time. As a staunch Tory you know he will be a yardstick and there will be many hundreds of thousands like him. 

I'm guessing what I'm saying (typical of me to think I was going to make a simple reply but then my mind rushes away into other door openings!) is that I'm not (ultimately) sure whatever cabinet she chose would be much use! Events will overtake.

 

Edited September 7, 2022 by sonyc

[Bort 34]

1 hour ago, Yellow Fever said:

Hi Bort

My only comment on domestic hydrogen is one of safety. Hydrogen gas is spontaneously explosive  if it leaks into the ordinary atmosphere. If used as such I can see a very large number of house explosions and fires taking place (for the record I used to be responsible for industrial processes that used hydrogen and we had to make very sure we burnt it off with several safety interlocks). No hydrogen leaks or trapped volumes.

A good point - safety is another challenge alongside storage and transportation. We'd need very strict standards for the production and installation of domestic appliances which utilise hydrogen. 

In Wales, there's a site where they're trialling the use of a hydrogen-fired boiler alongside an electric air source heat pump, with smart controls which are able to react to electricity availability on the local grid. This kind of flexibility would be ideal in a renewable-dominated energy system, and is a pretty exciting view of what could be possible with the right focus and investment!

https://www.pembrokeshire.gov.uk/newsroom/world-first-smart-hydrogen-hybrid-heating-system-is-unveiled-in-pembrokeshire

Edited September 7, 2022 by Bort

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

"If I get trolled and I provoke a bad response on Twitter I know I'm doing the right thing. Twitter is a sewer of left-wing bile. The extreme left pile on is often a consequence of sound conservative values."

That is our new Home Secretary's opinion.Who couldn't win a seat in the London Assembly or two other GE constituencies but was fast tracked to Fareham with its massive Tory majority.

The same Lady who supports the Rwanda scheme, even if leaving aside the morality issue, it has been costed higher than keeping an illegal immigrant in this country for 12 years.

The Lady who agrees that torture is acceptable.

Who was Chair of the ERG.

A Climate Change sceptic.

She also thinks the British Empire was a force for good.

And also wants us to withdraw from the Human Rights convention so we can "get rid of all this woke rubbish".

Edited September 7, 2022 by keelansgrandad

[Herman 9,796]

My God, she's dull. 

[Naturalcynic 641]

4 hours ago, Bort said:

It's a disaster isn't it? God knows what this climate-change-denying streak of Victorian p!ss has planned. Reopen the coal mines? Fracking?

The clearest indicator yet that we're going to need civil unrest to get this country moving in the right direction. Can't rely on corporate-backed politicians. 

A general strike would be a good start.

Civil unrest?  General strike?  Foxtrot Oscar.

[Naturalcynic 641]

1 hour ago, keelansgrandad said:

"If I get trolled and I provoke a bad response on Twitter I know I'm doing the right thing. Twitter is a sewer of left-wing bile. The extreme left pile on is often a consequence of sound conservative values."

That is our new Home Secretary's opinion.Who couldn't win a seat in the London Assembly or two other GE constituencies but was fast tracked to Fareham with its massive Tory majority.

The same Lady who supports the Rwanda scheme, even if leaving aside the morality issue, it has been costed higher than keeping an illegal immigrant in this country for 12 years.

The Lady who agrees that torture is acceptable.

Who was Chair of the ERG.

A Climate Change sceptic.

She also thinks the British Empire was a force for good.

And also wants us to withdraw from the Human Rights convention so we can "get rid of all this woke rubbish".

In that case she gets my vote!

Edited September 7, 2022 by Naturalcynic

[GodlyOtsemobor 2,333]

38 minutes ago, Herman said:

My God, she's dull. 

Uh-huh but.... 

I struggle when people use this as a criticism, because alot of the time the same people would complain if she was 'out there' 

 

Not saying that's you Herman, was more thinking about the media etc. 

[nevermind, neoliberalism has had it 159]

Marvelous that nobody at all in the media saw this coming, they thought the sanctions are going to hurt Russia.Thanks again for someone that can add up and still, speak their mind, excellent journalism.

"Truss’s conversion to action on energy prices is not motivated by a sudden concern for poverty or the needs of ordinary people. I learnt of it on Sunday night, before her U turn was briefed, from senior Foreign Office (FCDO) sources. Government polling has indicated a substantial fall in public support for NATO’s proxy war in Ukraine, due to unsustainable energy prices at home.

This is rather comforting as it shows the public are not daft and understand cause and effect, even when the media try to hide it.

Liz Truss’s motivation for an energy price freeze is therefore to maintain public support for fueling the Ukraine War, the overwhelming neoliberal priority."

https://www.craigmurray.org.uk/archives/2022/09/caught-in-a-cycle-of-despair-and-exploitation/

Edited September 7, 2022 by nevermind, neoliberalism has had it

[Herman 9,796]

37 minutes ago, GodlyOtsemobor said:

Uh-huh but.... 

I struggle when people use this as a criticism, because alot of the time the same people would complain if she was 'out there' 

 

Not saying that's you Herman, was more thinking about the media etc. 

That’s a fair comment to be honest. I'm doing the same as those that criticise Starmer for his lack of charisma. I and others should focus on the substance or lack thereof. 

[keelansgrandad 6,679]

1 hour ago, Naturalcynic said:

In that case she gets my vote!

Are you still a member? 

[sonyc 5,539]

20 minutes ago, Herman said:

That’s a fair comment to be honest. I'm doing the same as those that criticise Starmer for his lack of charisma. I and others should focus on the substance or lack thereof. 

Yeh, I agree with that. Dull is a big improvement on the bluster of the narcissist. 

It's an odd thing to be sort of happy about Truss - but it's because she isn't Johnson. And like any new person coming in I always want them to do well, do a good job. Be effective. I would extend that to Truss.

The portents are less favourable though when in her opening speech yesterday she described her party as "the greatest political party on earth". I realise she is playing to her audience on front of her but it was a rather stupid thing to say to a watching nation. And given they've had 12 years already and definitely haven't covered themselves with glory.

Edited September 7, 2022 by sonyc