Massive Mark Corrigan energy
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Minor politics JAG but my campaign/brexit pressure group has started up again. This time weâre specifically focused on seeking extension to the transition agreement and buying time to fight for workers rights, product and safety regulations and migrant rights.
I may or may not have written some of the posts on the facebook feed 
Iâm not a massive Starmer fan, I think his overall approach is poor, and I know PMQs doesnât really matter to most people.
But there is still pleasure to be found in watching him completely own shit-for-brains, who is hopelessly out of his depth and clearly rattled.
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And has an 80 seat majority and whose party can do what the fuck they like for at least another four years and possibly more.
Yeah of course, itâs completely shit. Iâve lived through 18 solid years of Tory rule and now weâre 10 years into another stretch - just trying to claw back a little pleasure where I can.
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So hopelessly inadequate and archaic isnât it, this medieval system of green benches, no first names and murmuring
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Sorry to report Kemi Badenoch is in the sunken place.
No idea where to put this mad bollix, I guess here?!
the letter Jamie Oliver has sent to prime minister has proper wound me up
Repeatedly calling him Boris like heâs a cuddly toy.
Trying to sit on the fence with all his âwe can do these trade dealsâ guff which is clearly bollocks.
argh
itâs quite long but you can read it here if you want to
Summary
Dear Boris Johnson,
I hope youâre well and your family is safe.
I write this letter because I believe youâre about to seriously undermine public health and unpick the delicate patchwork quilt of farmers and food producers that are the backbone of this country. While weâve all been focussed on the fallout of this dreadful pandemic, most people reading this probably wonât know that youâve whipped your MPs to vote down the Agriculture Bill amendments that would have maintained our British food and animal welfare standards for future trade deals and imports.
We could be about to open the floodgates to a whole raft of low-quality food that would normally be illegal in the UK. Chlorinated chicken is just the tip of the iceberg. Weâre talking about genetically modified food, stuffing animals full of hormones and antibiotics, banned pesticides that kill our bees, and an avalanche of foods that are high in fat, salt and sugar. Whatâs more, weâll be threatening the future of our farmers and food producers, who â despite extraordinary challenges â have worked so hard to keep us fed throughout the COVID crisis.
Boris, itâs in your power to map out an intelligent structure where we maintain our high standards but also retain the ability to strike trade deals that are good for the economy. In my opinion, some of the biggest emerging economies right now are hungry for a trusted and safe food supply, and this is where Britain can flourish. Brand Britain and its wealth of food producers are already perfectly placed to over deliver, but if food standards are weakened, a race to the bottom will ensue, and I believe thatâs a race we will lose. Public health will be compromised, and our ability to export quality, trusted product will diminish.
We shouldnât need reminding that COVID-19 most likely originated in the food chain. This crisis has definitely made us all stop and think a bit more about what we eat, where our food comes from and how it affects our bodies. The association between high standards, food safety, animal welfare, ethics, traceability and sustainability has never been more important. These matters affect us all, every day.
Boris, I know you need to lead in a way that allows your teams to do their job when it comes to trade deals. I presume that you voted down the amendment to give you a blank sheet of paper in order to get deals done quickly. Of course we want trade, but not at any cost. Having standards â in law â will actually strengthen your hand in negotiations as we move forward. I believe that you have it in you to find the right balance. What looks like a simple piece of legislation will mark you in history either as a guardian to the land and its prosperity - or as someone that opened Pandoraâs box to the quick erosion of the UK food and farming industries.
This is a pivotal moment, and an opportunity for us to rebuild a stronger and better food system. If it turns out that producers from other countries can make and sell us high-quality food to British standards at a cheaper price than we can produce it ourselves, then fair play to them. Of course we need to be flexible and we need to be open to trading with both old friends and new. But ultimately we should be striving to push trade partnersâ standards up, not negotiating our own down. As those critical trade negotiations heat up, we must ensure that weâve learned our lesson from this pandemic.
The COVID crisis has highlighted the need for us to simplify our food system so we can get to a place where we are less reliant on imports. The UK is blessed with some of the best food producers in the world, something we should value and protect. Yet we currently produce only 53% of our own veg and 16% of our own fresh fruit. Our climate is perfectly suited to growing produce, so we could easily grow more on our doorstep, not only for ourselves, but for export, too. And producing more fruit and veg here would of course be better for the planet too.
Boris â I urge you to take a fresh approach to the Agriculture Bill. Only you have the power to set us on the right path. Only you have the power to get all those MPs to vote for the amendment (and please press the right voting button this time, Rishi).
This Bill should be about championing the UKâs high standards in food safety and traceability, animal welfare and care for our environment. It should ensure that British farmers and food producers can continue to evolve and to deliver sustainable, healthy food without having to worry about being unfairly undercut.
I know you have Britainâs best interests at heart, Prime Minister, but true democracy cannot rely on one man or womanâs word â it requires the assurance of a lasting legal framework that interrogates and scrutinises the decisions that affect British businesses and public health.
We only have a few days to get this right ahead of the next critical debate in the House of Lords on the 10th of June. Hopefully the public will already be writing letters to their local MPs to voice their concerns.
This is a unique opportunity for you, as Prime Minister, to demonstrate real leadership and reshape our food system for the better. Itâs an opportunity to support all those key workers whoâve ensured we were able to put a meal on our tables throughout this crisis. An opportunity to allow the UK to set the standard for sustainable food production, and â crucially â to put public and child health at the true heart of government.
Good-quality food should be accessible to everyone, but having campaigned about child health for the best part of 20 years now, I am incredibly concerned about the impact that bad trade deals could have on our children. Our kids will be the most vulnerable if our markets are flooded with unhealthy foods high in fat, salt and sugar.
We need to put our childrenâs health first. Right now, more than ever, we need our kids to grow up strong and healthy, ready to face whatever life throws at them. Weâve just seen, for example, that having obesity or being overweight has made people more vulnerable to COVID-19. We absolutely must give our kids the best possible chance of making healthy choices.
Boris, as youâve rightly said yourself, we owe it to our future generations to build back better. One in eight jobs in the UK is in food supply. This Agriculture Bill is a critical first opportunity to help the British economy bounce back and to support thousands of small family businesses, while also protecting our health and our countryside. Prime Minister, please take that opportunity and reassure us that food standards wonât be compromised.
To be fair he does raise at least one good point which could be useful to gain some traction with the wider public.
Bowwis uwu
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Have absolutely nothing against a Scandi-style national insurance system, that pays 80% of your old income or whatever it is for a period of time. But I donât think thatâs what heâs advocating and the framing feels very⊠pre-Corbyn.
The actual prescription isnât particularly terrible in that it seems to be along the lines of removing obstacles to signing up to universal credit so things like, mortgages/savings donât count against you when youâre applying for aid.
Agree that the framing is a bit weird though specifically the focus on why current welfare policies are politically contentious for working people.
wtf
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Iâd be willing to allow that she was unaware of the racist stereotypes attached to the character, but itâs taken her 11 hours to delete it (literally just gone while I was typing this response) and sheâs already been posting on Twitter this morning before dealing with it. 
why are they like this
That outflanking Labour for the black/Asian communities is going well then.
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Have been telling my #LibDemMate that Moran was the candidate most likely to win votes back from young Corbynite voters lol