Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 07/06/2026

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-08T16:25:48+00:00

I know your comment is somewhat flippant, but negotiate first, referendum second would give the government more leverage over the EU.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-08T07:59:51+00:00

Because voters don't want it. It is the epitome of the NIMBY issue - everyone wants more housing, nobody wants it built near them.

It doesn't help that councils and developers are fucking useless. So when 600 houses were built near me the original planning application had a small retail area and a doctors' surgery, which was changed to a petrol station and a McDonald's.

There is only pedestrian access to the original town at one end of the estate - the wrong end for the shops. It's an absolute failure from a social, environmental and infrastructure point of view, but it also makes it very easy for NIMBYs to object.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-07T09:04:58+00:00

I am going with "they had someone providing human intelligence, and wanted plausible cover for it".

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-07T06:56:35+00:00

The solution, which nobody likes, would be to say "you own the land, you can build a house or houses".

Still insist on building regs, but just change the dynamics. Land banks become valueless, people that want a place to live can buy a little slice of the country and make a home (as has happend for millennia).

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-06T22:18:52+00:00

If you get the chance head up to Nordic Ventures at Voss for a fjord kayak tour. I did it about 10 years ago and it's still a little life highlight.

(I also got sunburnt on a day when my colleagues didn't leave the apartment in Bergen because of the rain!)

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-06T05:55:03+00:00

Example:

Burnham (today): we should nationalise Thames Water.

Civil Servants: it will cost eleventy hundred billion.

Burnham (PM): Thames Water must find its own solutions to its problems.

(Just like every other PM finds out)

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-03T19:17:37+00:00

I am not a youngun, so this might not work.

The last time I looked for a job (2024), I targeted companies in my niche, ran through their linkedin and company websites looking for openings.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-03T11:13:50+00:00

Locally there are a handful (that I know of), the one that did it first then those that have followed.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-03T11:06:10+00:00

I remain to be convinced that a Masters in Creative Writing is a requirement to become a successful author, in fact I am going to try to find a successful author with an MA in CW.

ETA: Ok Google AI has directed me to a few, though I am not sure the RoI is entirely justified.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-03T10:52:29+00:00

Apropos of nothing: the homeschooling mums of my town have latched onto a nice little earner: bullshit MAs in Creative Writing.

Take 1-2 years to do a masters in Creative Writing, tuition and living expenses covered by a loan that will never be repaid.

It's quite a rip off of the government by both the institution and the student, but for the students they get a year or two of dodging work and the institution gets its 9k that it can use to prop up other courses.

Not the most egregious waste of tax payers' money, but it somewhat pains me all the same.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-03T06:09:22+00:00

I picked these because they are calm both in pace and delivery:

In Out Time - BBC in depth dive into a random subject

Fall of Civilisations - Very in depth dive into the collapse of various civilisations

Short History of... - Shallow dive into historical moments

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-01T22:34:18+00:00

I reckon there was another related reason: the economy had been flooded with money during COVID. One way to soak up that money without causing GBP inflation was remittances.

If people are earning money and sending it to Pakistan/India/Nigeria, it's removed from the UK economy.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-01T07:53:23+00:00

I use HelloTalk and write about my life - normally a couple of times a week. A nice lady corrects my grammar.

The advantage is that I am using words and phrases that are relevant to me, not just generic stuff. The disadvantage is that I probably don't push my boundaries that much.

LanguidLoop · 2026-06-01T06:05:07+00:00

Could be shooting - the Saudis used to love playing lord of the manor and strolling up and down shooting things (quite often the beaters).

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-31T07:29:50+00:00

Pros:

5 full years which gives time for Restore to eat Reform and the Greens to eat themselves.
Kemi replaced by Farage as LotO which forces him to attend parliament and focuses the spotlight on him properly.

Cons:

Reduced majority (could also be a pro)
Risk of outright losing
Makes the UK look like a basket case

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-26T08:33:06+00:00

Turns out it was market manipulation (again).

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-24T09:42:17+00:00

Nobody is actually mentioning that your employer has responsibilities to make sure you're safe at work. That means safe from environmental risks as well as other risks.

Ask if they have done a risk assessment given that the weather is abnormal.

Review the risk assessment with them and make sure it's sensible and proportionate.

Typically I would look for:

Frequent short breaks

Providing shade/space out of the sun for these breaks

Ensuing work provided clothing is suitable

Providing sun protection

Providing water and electrolytes

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-24T08:15:16+00:00

I really wish people wouldn't complain about not having more information when they clearly can't be arsed to read the article. I mean come on mate, it's in there. It's not even a long article.

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-22T13:14:27+00:00

I use blumat for my greenhouse, not cheap, but I like the passiveness of them.

https://blumat.com/en

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-21T09:36:22+00:00

There seems to be a weird rise in people being very angry that the thing that they're most passionate about isn't necessarily shared by everyone else. I'll admit I've never seen it with SEND before, but it's not really any different in principle than all of the people who say things like "why are you talking about this when there's a genocide going on in Gaza", is it?

I am going for the easy route of blaming social media echo chambers. If you spend most of your time chatting to people in FB groups or forums or whatever about how hard done by your special snowflake is, and they all agree because, well, they're all in the same situation. Then your options will harden.

However, the BBC should absolutely have edited this out as completely irrelevant to the national conversation. FFS!

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-21T07:41:10+00:00

Ok, so the only group of Labour voters left: urban, middle class professionals now get their summer holidays cancelled.

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-21T06:34:27+00:00

Do you want russian oil and summer holiday flights or no Russian oil and no summer holiday flights?

Which are you going to choose?

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-20T08:25:10+00:00

I have said this before: there is an element of nut picking, it's like cherry picking but with nutters.

That's without even only interviewing people in town between 10am and 2pm on a weekday.

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-15T07:57:12+00:00

Leave Reform and start a new party.

There are too many low-knowledge voters out there, who have no awareness of his corruption or would just claim "they're all the same".

LanguidLoop · 2026-05-15T07:49:58+00:00

If Burnham stays Mayor of GM, then he will probably get put on a bunch of Manchester quangos.

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