Early days as far as the local election results go (at the time of writing) but it’s obviously been a good for Labour, less so for the Conservatives. And it was a particularly bad night for Tory MP and Conservative deputy chair – lol – Jonathan Gullis. You remember. He was taking part in the BBC’s election coverage when the scale of the swing started to emerge and Labour MP Jonathan Ashwworth did a (brief) bit of arithmetic. Ashworth handing Gullis his ass on a plate pic.twitter.com/Se5p3Mg9CK — The Man of Hidden Shallows (@Richiemuso) May 3, 2024 His mouth opened but no words came out. ‘To ..read more

Thursday was a big day on the UK political calendar, with elections for some local councils, mayors, Police and Crime Commissioners and, in the case of Blackpool South – a new MP to replace disgraced former Tory MP Scott Benton. BREAKING: Labour has WON the Blackpool South by-election LAB: 10,825 (-1,732) CON: 3,218 (-13,029) REF: 3,101 (=) LDEM: 387 (-621) GRN: 368 (-195) Turnout: 32.5% Changes w/ 2019 — Politics UK (@PolitlcsUK) May 3, 2024 Ahead of polling, voters were repeatedly reminded that they now need photo ID to cast their ballot. The message didn’t get through to everyone. NEW: B ..read more

Just when you think the Co-op Live saga can’t possibly get any worse, they go and cancel another show. And another. And another. The latest to fall victim to the delayed opening of the ‘UK’s largest (theoretical) indoor entertainment arena’ is Olivia Rodrigo and her fans, whose shows this week have been postponed. Due to an on-going venue-related technical issue, the scheduled performances of Olivia Rodrigo’s GUTS World Tour on 3rd and 4th May are being postponed. Ticket holders can either hold onto their tickets or obtain a refund at point of purchase. — Co-op Live (@TheCoopLive) May 1, 2024 ..read more

A 46-year-old Florida man (we know!) became a real-life Two Ronnies joke when things spiralli-ed out of control on the road. Florida man arrested after ‘throwing pasta with sauce’ amid road rage incident https://t.co/kJritm1LRs pic.twitter.com/wLIhBPZsL0 — The Independent (@Independent) April 30, 2024 Nolan Goins threw the food out of the passenger window of his vehicle in frustration over glaring headlights, accidentally hitting another driver whose window was also open. The puns sort of wrote themselves. 1. Hope he’s ok. I’ve heard jail can be cannelloni. https://t.co/8pqGCUghbW — Kath ..read more

Over at Telegraph Towers, the genius behind the UK’s largest satirical publication has given the go-ahead for yet another column straight from the ‘flog the poor’ school of thought. This week’s frontperson for what can only be the work of Armando Iannucci or Chris Morris is ghost-writer extraordinaire (Pig’s head edition), and almost permanent fixture on the BBC’s political magazines, Isabel Oakeshott, who has a solution to the problem of litter and benefit claimants. Here’s a flavour of her think piece. “Not far off half a million young people aged 18 to 24 are on out-of-work benefits … Man ..read more

In case you were wondering when the next one would come along, there’s yet another Telegraph column on how dreadful the younger generation is. This one takes a particular swipe at ‘woke’ university students, partly in the wake of pro-Palestinian protests in the US. He may have a point. It’s a well-known fact that university students have never been keen on challenging the establishment and holding protests. What’s the world coming to? Menin Tights Careyelwes GIFfrom Menin Tights GIFs The piece is behind a paywall, but to give you a flavour, here’s a quote from Allister Heath‘s article that re ..read more

We sometimes suspect the Telegraph is running an extended programme of trolling, via the medium of increasingly bizarre column headings. Recent examples include – ‘Gen Z are an employer’s nightmare – my twenties put them to shame’ ‘I don’t need my sexuality affirmed at a railway station – I just want the trains to run on time’ ‘The NHS is killing us – it is an enemy of Britain’ In honour of St. George’s Day on Tuesday, former UKIP MEP Patrick O’Flynn had this public rant. There was a healthy amount of scepticism and scorn. 1. From Patrick O’Flynn’s prison diaries pic.twitter.com/z9Te4FNQcV ..read more

It’s not so long ago that St George’s Day used to pass without much comment, little more than a footnote on the page in your diary (which you don’t use anymore either). But now it’s become a rallying cry for proud Brits – from England, obviously – to take to the streets to celebrate their heritage and talk about how they’re no longer allowed to celebrate their heritage, that sort of thing. And these particular patriots were asked to explain by Times Radio exactly how their country had been taken away for them, and it’s hilarious and infuriating but most of all plain flabbergasting. “I’ve had ..read more

Campaign group Zero Hour is pushing to get support for the Climate and Nature Bill, which would see the creation of an Assembly to advise the Government on the best strategy to achieve crucial climate and nature targets. The Bill, sponsored by Labour’s Alex Sobel, is at the second reading stage in the Commons, with a long way to go. With the need for funding and public awareness in mind, Zero Hour has produced a very clever promo, with a nod to a very famous comedy clip. “What has nature ever done for us?” Apart from the air we breathe, the food we eat, making us healthier—what has #nature ev ..read more

Like several other transport companies across the world, Pittsburgh Regional Transit has a Pride-themed train, which was originally rolled out for LGBQT Pride Month. The Pride-liveried vehicle does exactly the same job as its plainer stable-mates, but as anyone could have predicted, some people aren’t happy about it, and that includes right-wing writer Josh Walkos, who aired his gripe on Twitter/X. CW. It contains offensive anti-LGBTQ language. A handful of people were also outraged by the rainbow. Most responses just utterly mocked his performative outrage. 1. “Sorry i’m late, Boss, i mi ..read more