This guy is actually evil.

Yeah, we had a similar issue with plastic bags. Trouble is, when you ban one thing it creates a new demand, which isn’t always better.

You’re right we should produce less waste and we have been cutting plastic waste successfully, even under the Conservatives. Labour have already strengthened the existing single-use plastic bans brought in under the previous government. But while these things are coming into force, we still need to burn or bury some waste. Even if we ban all single use plastics, there will still be some waste that can’t be composted or recycled. So, what should we do with it?

Given that rubbish exists and has to be disposed of, incinerators are actually not a bad way to do it. The only alternative for many types of rubbish is landfill. So, really the question is: would you prefer a landfill near your home or an incinerator?

There’s no need to give £10 billion to people who don’t need it just because they say they weren’t told about something that they were in fact told about.

Even if the government had loads of money available — which they don’t — further enriching the wealthiest age cohort is not something they should do. As things stand, they would need to cut, tax or borrow to fund this. No one should be taken seriously unless they can say which of those things the government should do.

You’re not missing anything, they don’t have a leg to stand on.

This does say writers will be given an opt out, which is good, because it shows in principle that the government sees writers have valid concerns. But this doesn’t go far enough, in my view, because I cannot see how this will be enforced, however it functions.

For people implicitly or explicitly condoning abuse of MPs, it might be worth considering how much of this abuse is racist, sexist or otherwise bigoted before you do so. We know that ethnic minority and female MPs get more abuse and the idea that it’s somehow justified is false and wrong.

Feel free to explain what you actually meant.

I mean, it seems you were saying ‘Abuse isn’t abuse if it’s aimed at people who I think are abusive’ and that’s not true. You know that’s not true.

I think that, in fact, ‘They have it coming’ is not a great argument.

I mean, for one thing, it clearly isn’t working, by any definition. You seem to think (correct me if I’m wrong) that MPs deserve to get a lot of abuse. The fact is that they do. But I gather from the tone of your comment that you don’t believe it’s had the effect of correcting their behaviour. Abuse never does have this effect. That it’s not effective is itself a good reason not to do it.

They’re not super-friendly at PMQs but there are rules about what you’re allowed to say, which is not the case for emails.

I’ve found it varies, but I have had personal replies from MPs, including people who weren’t my own MP.

Possibly it will be bundled up with some other areas, like Greater Bristol or the West of England combined authority area.

Yeah, it’s good comms all round to keep a ‘Badenoch is mental’ story in the news. Makes her look bad and, as you say, means they talk less about anything unpopular they’ve done.

My dad also took the same kind of sandwich to work for about 40 years. If it ain’t broke…

Kemi Badenoch is the leader of the Conservative party, and Leader of the Opposition. Why she’s talking about sandwiches no one knows, though brain rot is a definite possibility.

It’s oddly relatable. Let the man enjoy his one sandwich!

Still less than Kemi hates moist sandwiches.

The ship flying out of the rift reminds me of the XCV-330 Enteprise from the 22nd Century, first seen as part of the Enterprise lineage of ships in a painting in TMP. The ring structure might be a coleopteric warp drive which the XCV-330 used, also used by Vulcan starships.

I think a similar ring design was also an early concept for the Enterprise, before they settled on the familiar saucer + nacelles look.

“I think my experience of 18 years of being an independent parish councillor and a district councillor has demonstrated that the system has utterly failed and government is absolutely incompetent for trying to deliver infrastructure services to local people.”

A typically coherent NIMBY comment, here. ‘The government is terrible at delivering infrastructure. That’s why I’m opposed to the government delivering infrastructure.’

Also notable that 14 of those 18 years were under a Conservative government dedicated to cutting government services and infrastructure.