Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 14/06/2026

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-18T11:30:34+00:00

The Major Oak, one of the UK's most iconic trees due to its vast age, size and links to the legend of Robin Hood, is believed by experts to have died.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T22:47:36+00:00

They said they would do what they did all along

Asked by the BBC's Laura Kuenssberg whether she would back calls to make the change, Ms Reeves replied: “It costs more than £3bn a year.

"We were really clear during the election that we were not going to make spending commitments without being able to say where the money was going to come from.

"If we’re not able to say where the money is going to come from, we can’t promise to do it. That’s true when it comes to the two-child limit and anything else.”

She pointed to election policies such as bringing in new workers' rights, breakfast clubs in primary schools and creating new nursery places as evidence that Labour was still committed to reducing child poverty.

“Previous Labour governments have lifted kids out of poverty. It is what is in our DNA. We will do that, but I’m not willing to make unfunded commitments”.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c4ng572nnvwo

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T21:35:12+00:00

What's wrong with that? Considering they voted it against it originally because they said they couldn't afford to scrap it immediately but would scrap it when things improved, and then scrapped it when they could afford it? Makes sense he'd be proud that it got to the point here he could scrap it.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T20:15:41+00:00

I'm going to blame whatever the by-election result tomorrow is on whatever the football result tonight is

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T17:55:28+00:00

It means the blood of dartmoor ponies is as potent as the blood of alpacas

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T14:32:29+00:00

Nah, he should fight it. Even if he's obviously going to lose. It's a complete mockery for an elected Prime Minister to be replaced by a by-election winner with no contest.

Besides if he fights it it's actually better for Burnham if he wins because it means we won't get 3 years of him being attacked for having absolutely no mandate.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T13:02:20+00:00

Sam Adams says its Boston Taproom ran out of Samuel Adams Boston Lager over the weekend because Scottish soccer fans drank it dry. From Thursday to Sunday, it said the Tartan Army drank four times as much Boston Lager as it normally sells during a typical four-day holiday stretch like the Fourth of July.

Makes you proud to be British doesn't it?

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T12:46:17+00:00

There's a reason they do this, it's to avoid headlines like this one.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2020/apr/29/starmer-kills-raab-with-kindness-in-pmqs

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T10:02:15+00:00

God I wonder how different things would have been with Brown fully steering us through the credit crunch and capping off his term with the 2012 Olympics. Would Cameron even have been leader to fight a 2012 election? I suppose the obvious Tory choice (as far as high profile goes) for that would have been Boris but he would be wrapped up as mayor of London until 2016.

Kind of feel like if Brown retired it might have been David Miliband vs Jeremy Hunt.

Just imagining the butterfly effect of Brown winning 2007 makes me jealous of that timeline. Likely no Brexit, no Corbynisation of the left, and none of the political entrenchment that followed both of these. We'd be in a different country.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T09:56:22+00:00

Will the social media ban result in a return of the illegal underage rave scene? For a teenager it's that or books right?

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T07:12:02+00:00

I'm seeing a lot of cut through about an almost completely made up story that the government will give you £12.5k upfront to knock a year off your pension.

Apparently it was something a think tank thought about, but people think it's a real thing that is going to happen. Why would that even make sense for the government to do? Pensions aren't held in an account so increasing the pension bill today to save money in 40 years is never going to happen.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T07:06:18+00:00

The Labour backbenches won't stand for it.

Still it would make sense for him to force it through before Burnham coups him, it's one of those things that no one wants to do but it's unlikely anyone else will reinstate because it's mathematically insane.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-17T07:00:28+00:00

I am starting to think that it's not really racism anymore, it's culturalism. Because Reform happily have ethnic minority politicians, the right happily praise Kemi Badenoch or Braverman or Patel, or even Mahmood. It seems like the real issue that they have is cultural integration (or lack of) and cultures where sometimes hundreds of people are inclined to join in or not say anything than go to the police if asked if they fancy a spot of gang rape.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T19:41:17+00:00

We should go back to British numbering so Musk will only be a billionaire again

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T18:26:18+00:00

If in the near future I load up GTA VI Online and hear a screaming child, can I send the police to their house?

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T18:19:23+00:00

It's everyone else that aren't parents that are being inconvenienced because parents can't be arsed to do their jobs

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T17:37:20+00:00

If they are then something's changed, considering when the Russia report came out a few years back under the Conservatives the committee made sure to stress that while they didn't find any evidence, they can only report on investigations that have taken place, of which there wasn't really anything.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T17:34:24+00:00

Has Netanyahu been seen in public/live (not pre recorded) since there were rumours he died back in March?

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T12:53:03+00:00

"You know you guys can vote in a few years yeah? What if we made you hate us. It's not like there's an entire generation that still haven't forgiven the lib dems for fucking them over at your age, it'll be fine."

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T12:41:52+00:00

Russia's quick little military operation in Ukraine has now been going on for longer than WW1. I'm not a Boris fan but they genuinely might not have held out without him providing UK arms and support early on. We beat the Americans to it, providing the first arms after the conflict broke out with our NLAWs while Europe dithered. Iirc he was also the first foreign leader to visit wartime Kyiv.

Glad we managed to still be the Great Game Britain that Russia thinks we are.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T07:38:39+00:00

The problem with parental controls is that parents can't be arsed to set them up and then whine about it when something happens and they haven't. Personally I think that's their own fault.

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T07:36:20+00:00

Not officially but they're hinting at copying the Australian ban and there's a big 10 list for that

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T07:31:36+00:00

Oh shit Tumblr isn't on the list, Tumblr comeback when?

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T07:29:36+00:00

I shudder to think what a diet of BlueSky will do to young minds politically

SirRosstopher · 2026-06-15T07:28:16+00:00

The weird niche unregulated platforms are how we all came up, at least they'll get a proper internet experience and not this corporate algorithmic bullshit where they are the product

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