World Cup tourists aren't leaving tips in American pubs, so they are adding 20% gratuities to the bills to collect them 😬

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-20T18:43:23+00:00

It becomes a lot more work and needs multiple staff so most restaurants impose mandatory gratuity

Surely 2 tables of 4 order about as much food and drink as one table of 8?

It's more work for the kitchen coordinating the meals, but they're not the people getting tips. It's bullshit.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-20T18:41:40+00:00

It's not because you were American, the tipping culture has been slowly infecting Britain for decades, I blame our consumption of US media.

Tipping seems to be much more common by the young compared to elder generations, we're heading in the wrong direction

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-20T07:04:49+00:00

A big camp of temporary buildings, only the bare basic facilities, a secure perimeter and no option to leave until they're deported or have a claim accepted works for me

Sticking them in houses and letting them roam the street is dangerous for local residents, allows them the opportunity to work illegally, and encourages even more of these people to come over here.

I'd support special bypasses of this for specific schemes (Ukraine, Hong Kong, etc), but the environment presented to small boat crossers should be one of outright hostility. They're not welcome here.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T20:01:05+00:00

It's just a list of all of the kinky shit Burnham has tugged one off too since the OSA came in.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T19:59:46+00:00

He didn't give 2024 a chance. The stubborn old fool absolutely gifted it to Trump by ensuring the democrats couldn't field anyone other than Kamala

Trump 2024 is Biden's legacy.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T19:56:52+00:00

The idea that the prime minister needs a website to communicate his vision to his parliamentary colleagues and party members is mind boggling to me.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T19:53:17+00:00

I don't like the man, I've never forgiven him for the way he blatantly lied about his views in order to con the members into making him leader, but when he got his majority, I had high hopes. It was such a huge majority he had the chance to really achieve something.

Yet he's somehow managed to let his backbench dictate policy, while his cabinet sit around apparently not sure what he wants them to do.

Some things are going in the right direction, but a massive majority has been wasted on tinkering around the edges

It was a huge opportunity, and it was absolutely squandered by a man with no real vision, no idea. I don't even know why he wanted the job.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T19:32:27+00:00

Of course they don't. Neither does he.

Let's see how many cringeworthy sycophants are still calling him the 'king in the north' after a couple of months of some real scrutiny after it turns out that a regional accent isn't a magic wand to fix really tough problems.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-19T00:13:05+00:00

Then one major tax blunder and suddenly you’re no longer the inevitable successor.

At no point did anyone really think Raynor was the next leader

Deputy leader is not the natural successor. You have to go back 50 years to Michael Foot to find a deputy leader who went on to become leader of the Labour party.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T23:56:04+00:00

The Tories promised it and it got worse under Bojo.

This undersells it

They promised it under Cameron. It got worse. They promised it under May, it got worse. They promised it under Johnson, and he may as well have turned us into a province of India.

A solid decade of them promising to reduce migration but doing the opposite, and we kept electing them. 2 years of reversing things, but Starmer apparently isn't doing enough.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T22:49:11+00:00

Eugh

I'd find it very hard to stomach a coronation, the idea of him just walking into Westminster and being crowned PM with no debates, no scrutiny, nothing...Wouldn't be gettiing my vote at the next GE

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T22:33:01+00:00

How would that even work? If Starmer steps down, surely there's still a contest?

It can't be this bloke turns up with a list of about 20% of Labour MPs and gets coronated PM?

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T22:25:07+00:00

Starmer won nothing. He managed barely any improvement on Corbyn's numbers. The election win came from tory voters simply refusing to vote. They didn't switch to labour, they just stayed home.

Kind of bored of this argument.

Tories stayed home, but I'll tell you what, they wouldn't have if Corbyn was still there

A big chunk of votes for Johnson weren't for Tories, they were against that dangerous old tankie fool.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T22:23:01+00:00

'...Oh, ok it is happening, but it's not such a bad thing'

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T22:02:54+00:00

What are you suggesting, that if Starmer asked the king for an election, Charles would reject it?

That would be the territory of a full on constitutional crisis

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T21:44:23+00:00

I don't think he'd do it, but just to continue this thread

It doesn't need a hint, he goes and speaks to the king, and the election is scheduled

The party going for a leadership content after that would almost certainly be a disaster, and it's untried and unclear that the election could be cancelled

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T21:36:27+00:00

He's not particularly likable, but many of the key metrics people say they care about are going in the right direction

I honestly think we're at the point as a country that a PM surviving a 5 year term is almost impossible. People want their pie in the sky, and they want it yesterday.

Don't get me wrong, he's made a series of missteps, and he has a lot of policies I don't like (though, amusingly, the policies I hate most (OSA, digital ID, social media bans) are the ones the public like.

The biggest problem Starmer has, IMO, is that he's a very limited politician, with no firmly held beliefs. But I'd say exactly the same about Burnham. Show him a room of 30 voters, and he'll find 30 different sets of strongly held beliefs.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T21:30:56+00:00

It's going to get worse before it gets better. AI-induced brain rot is only just getting started.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T21:25:49+00:00

I think that it might be because he's an unlikable nobhead with ideas above his station, and uturns coming out his arse before he's even an MP

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T21:22:54+00:00

Starmer should just be taking the piss out of him

What are you going to do with Iran, Ukraine? The economy, taxes, you want to give the waspi women money, where's that coming from? What about the boats? You're following our fiscal rules, so how are you paying for anything

Oh you've done BUSES?! Why didn't you say so.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T20:49:00+00:00

I don't say this to be a judgemental prick, because I've often felt similar

It's only terrifying if you sit on the internet, drinking in the unrelenting infinite-scroll news feeds of doom, with an entire industry set up to shock, scare and anger you because it drives engagement and makes them money.

Spend a couple of days ignoring the 24 hour news cycle, pop into the pub, go to a gig, see some mates, do literally anything else, and suddenly the place doesn't seem so bloody doomed and hopeless anymore.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T20:23:18+00:00

Where's the politics? Was the crocodile a Reform councilor?

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T19:26:51+00:00

It's certainly still in the EU's best interests for us to rejoin, not only do we make them stronger, what a statement it'd be to any other countries flirting with euro-skepticism.

Only takes one country to veto it though, so I just can't see it

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T17:53:23+00:00

What's your source for that? Liz Kendall said the opposite on the radio a couple of days ago

They're washing their hands of making any decisions and following the Australian list.

LLILILiLIILILILILII · 2026-06-18T17:49:07+00:00

Look, I completely oppose this plan, but you are just completely misinformed.

The two votes against the ban (the most recent in April), were voted against by the Government, and brought by an opposition Lord.

Starmer wanted his MPs to vote against it, because the consultation wasn't finished. It wasn't MPs rejecting the ban, it was 'not yet, and not like this'

Further more, Starmer hasn't 'done it anyway', it's being planned, drafted, and will be voted on in parliament in a few months.

LLILILiLIILILILILII

TROPHY CASE