What Vladimir Putin Shows Us About Nationalism and Nostalgia, & By-Election Bedlam | Question Time

[@theolewis8948]

Immensely refreshing to hear Alastair speak so honestly and candidly about his experience at Cambridge. University can be one of the strangest and most turbulent times in one's life, and it could really help young people to hear these stories.

[@miltonfreeway1529]

Rory, just to clarify. It is only consultants and GPs who do private work to supplement their incomes. Junior doctors do not have this luxury.

[@adtastic1533]

I think the point is that Jnr Drs will eventually be able to supplement their income with private money. They're different than rail workers or post men. At the end of the day ,they are still trainees. Trainees with a limited license to make their own decisions but still under supervision.

[@miakeogh6844]

1529 agree also junior doctors ie with 10 years experience don’t have the time

[@mattpotter8725]

@@adtastic1533 This is bs, sorry to use this language but junior doctors aren't trainees, they are fully qualified doctors, they just haven't processed up the pay scale for whatever reason. I'm not a doctor and don't work in the NHS, but this is the biggest misnomer in the history of misnomers. Junior doctors aren't all newly qualified doctors, they are just doctors!!! You're wrong in everything you say here. And if I decided to supplement it income by working for another company in the same field I'm sure my boss would not be happy about it. Everything about this is wrong and is why the NHS isn't able to pay proper salaries to its staff and they are having to go abroad to get paid what they are worth, because public money is being syphoned off by private companies to pay shareholders and CEO salaries. But keep believing all these junior doctors are trainees if it makes you feel better.

[@swingmattuk]

@@adtastic1533 Saying that they will 'eventually' be able to supplement their incomes after 8-12 years experience isn't really helping them meet the cost of living crisis when they're paid less than someone in Starbucks. Also, they aren't 'trainees'. They've had their 5-6 years of student learning and they're qualified doctors recieving a salary from their trust, which they do for 8-12 years. When you say trainee, most people have a vastly shortly understanding of the term trainee, with most probably thinking up to 2 years or some kind of probationary period that is completed in a 6 month period or something similar. If you compare junior doctors salaries to where they were in 2008, they've gone down by 16-26%, depending on inflation measurements. Plus they've got to deal with a healthcare system in crisis, shortstaffing, had to deal with covid etc. No wonder something like a third of doctors surveyed by the BMA in 2023 were planning on leaving in the next 12 months.

[@astalavista_84]

@@swingmattuksomeone working in Starbucks would earn just over £20,000 a year, junior doctors are paid a lot more than that

[@philipmulville8218]

Another belter of an episode - tremendously informative, and very entertaining. Thank you both.

[@dianagrove5355]

Both my children went to a small private school, which we really struggled to afford. Our youngest, we now know, has Asperger's and was seriously bullied at his state school, and our elder child also struggled and possibly has ADHD though not confirmed. It was a life-saver to be able to get them into small classes within a school where academic achievement was not the main driver. It would be a tragedy if these schools were forced to close due to the measures you have been discussing. But I love your podcasts and never miss one!

[@AudeB87]

Herzlich willkommen in der Schweiz ! Welcome to Switzerland !

[@stevewilliams3087]

As a Kiwi who's been to Creiff, I have to say, what a stunning place.

[@DoriZuza]

“Interesting, very interesting. I don’t agree.” 😂 love this

[@iancoleman5555]

Private schools inherently create a tiered social system, promoting socio-economic disparities, that's not a mission that should be getting tax exemptions

[@WilliamKillick-zn7km]

I went to state school, but presumably educating your children privately saves the taxpayer money?

[@iancoleman5555]

@@WilliamKillick-zn7km good point

[@jackgill8847]

Not to mention the % of Chinese ownership in private schools.

[@scooby1992]

I also cant get past the thing that private schools are essentially businesses that charge fees / money for their services and not charities ( exactly the same as supermarkets or any other businesses ) . Yes , they give out some free places , but that hardly makes them charities .

[@alexfrye6]

@@WilliamKillick-zn7km Taking the charitable tax status away will more than pay for the children who then switch to state schools, that's kind of the point of it.

[@davidsteele8199]

It is a refection on our world that people base their comments on a few lines on social media rather than seriously looking into a subject.

[@JelMain]

They've been trained in school not to think, just regurgitate dogma.

[@jimb9063]

Yes that's true. There's a tendency to simply find out and echo what your "team" thinks of a particular thing, rather than bother to delve too deeply. Most of us could really only confidently talk about a tiny number of things we have a deep understanding of, and should try to remember having opinions on things we don't actually know too well is fine, but are probably flawed.

[@jimb9063]

@@JelMain Yes there's pressure to simply get kids to pass tests and exams by remembering facts. That's what the teachers are judged on. It's better than my experience of school, and it probably does depend on the school/teacher. I'd never heard of critical thinking for example until college/Uni, but my daughters did learn about it to some extent in school.

[@JelMain]

@@jimb9063 Good. It still doesn't answer the needs of my kind, but it's a start.

[@JelMain]

@@jimb9063 I was identified as a 163 aged 9, but nobody told me. You're normal - but you're on MI5's books aged 11, have no teenage years because you're carrying adult weight running the country's largest CCF Battalion, yada yada. The SAS bid for me aged 21, but I said no, and then matched them on pure intel. What Greta Thunberg did, I think, was build a good basic knowledge across the board just below doctoral level. I had to go into psychological trauma, sitting in on the top conference in 2020, first pass was to identify what I didn't know, second to get the gist, then I matched Stephen Porges by identifying a new form of perception. Not a big leap. What I'm working on, slowly, is the spooky side of inspiration.

[@tesserakt54]

Gentlemen, private healthcare isn't. Private insurers apply pre-existing condition waivers that let patients die in a ditch for lack of care. If you want that sort of situation by all means continue to fool yourselves, after all, 'it's just business'.

[@yannickmaseke3574]

I'm in Ireland and I avoid buying anything from the UK because of the extra charges and delays.

[@neilthreadgold1090]

My friend and next door farmer who died last June at 89, used to tell me when he first skiing in the late 40s all about using skins. Walk up ski down have lunch, walk up ski down have dinner. He said you came home unbelievably fit.

[@SAHanson]

The thing that gets forgotten about the private vs state school debate is that we only care so much about what our children actually know. Do we care if students can do calculus or know how an ox-bow lake is formed? Not really. These things will be retaught if they go on and study the subject at university. What we care about is having a level playing field for students so that they show their potential, and that requires having at least similar investment in all students.

[@thecrankster]

I think what you really want to say is that students who start school advanced due to factors related to family circumstances should have fewer resources given to them to bring their results back to the average level of FSM students. Only fair right?

[@JelMain]

Those who can't, teach. What hopes are there for those with potential, then? None. I did it the hard way.

[@brekerr]

@@JelMain I presume you mean that comment to be massively insulting to those who have chosen to work in education?

[@JelMain]

@@brekerr I'm actually quoting Professor Craig Wright, Head of the Yale Genius School, in The Hidden Habits of Genius. It's at the heart of the Dabrowsky con, which is an insult to every kid with brains. You may not like it, but ask yourself this: how many clever kids have you trashed trying to do something, anything, with the hopeless cases? Every bright adult I know carries childhood trauma caused by their education. So I really don't give a monkey's about your self-image, as you've used it to trash a generation. Get over it, you narcissistic horror, and actually care for ALL your kids.

[@sally-annkane3201]

Would you consider interviewing Yanis Varoufakis on Leading. I would really appreciate your analysis of his views on economics and politics as I find them very pessimistic and I am not knowledgeable enough to understand myself

[@laogong52]

Michael Hudson, Prof Jeffery Sachs, would set this forum alight with insights that would be very uncomfortable for these two.

[@AS_HE_IS_SO_R_WE]

GR8 idea to discuss local government Rory!

[@tommonk7651]

I would love to take Rory's Yale course....

[@mateobravo9212]

So funny listening to Alistair Campbell describe Galloway as a nasty piece of work. You might be a reformed nice old man now, but back in the day.....

[@timed3618]

Re. private schools. My youngest child has a scholarship to an international private school. Influenced by 'The Rest is Politics', she saw this as her best opportumity to study global politics and diplomacy. As a single parent I struggled to pay the application fee of £150 let alone the parental contribution. The addition of VAT would likely have made it impossible and yet another restriction inflicted on education and social mobility.

[@brekerr]

What's worth bearing in mind is that the number of children that benefit from this kind of thing is miniscule compared with the number of children that would benefit from a better state education provision.

[@FourTetTrack]

Please, please, please, can we lobby Yale to publish Rory's lectures in Open Yale Courses?

[@owendallison6913]

Tbe Spain example is awkward. Franco anointed Prince Juan Carlos to be his successor. Franco believed Prince Juan Carlos would carry on as dictator. Juan Carlos gradually moved to democracy and put in place a constitutional monarchy, as his father had wanted. Then came silence. The official decision was to move on and not dig up (sometimes literally) the past. This pain has not left the country as it was never discussed openly. So, Franco, not the country, chose monarchy. He chose it because he assumed they too would be dictators Prince Juan Carols was in a difficult situation and should get credit for moving to democracy. However, he also felt that he should carry on as monarch having been appointed by a brutal dictator. He has recently been in exile due to numerous counts of corruption and abuse of power. Sadly it may have been the best option at the time, but is a poor case study for arguing the benefits of a constitutional monarchy for a completely new country. Love the show

[@JustinTimeEnglishClip]

To er is human; to never apologize is a denial of reality.

[@rockydopeydoge6730]

Has Campbell apologised about getting UK into invading Iraq on false claims about WMD that can be deployed within 45 mins? Guess not.

[@philipmulville8218]

To err is indeed human 🙂

[@lead111]

The rest is tangled headphones

[@mats66]

😂

[@karlhogg4352]

I would be interested to know who many nurses, doctors, surgeons that the private sector train, or do they just cherry pick them from the NHS. If that is the case are we as tax payers subsidising the private health care sector.

[@MrCElk]

The dumping of a labour candidate happed in Wimbledon a few years ago when the Solicitors Regulatory Authority crashed through the door of the candidates office two weeks before the vote. They took all the files and gave them to another practice due to heinous legal irregularities.

[@edwardprice8019]

Such an interesting contrast between Rory Stewart who's open minded, thoughtful and able to self-critique and Alastair Campbell.

[@supernoodles91]

No way I could afford to go skiing. Haven't been on a holiday for years.

[@paulheydarian1281]

Hopefully, you can go for a long walk instead. It's good for your health.

[@supernoodles91]

@@paulheydarian1281 Have to that every day. Caring for an elderly mum, no matter how much I love her........I just need a break.

[@happyguy5165]

Ayyyy, they added timestamps!

[@captainnice1881]

Love to see it

[@peterllewellyn8835]

More humility from politicians would be a good thing.

[@cabbage8562]

Thank you Jesus for the gift of life and prosperity. The success behind every rich person today is the decision they made for themselves, I'm so happy I'm able to acquire my second house in January even as single mom at 41 and I believe if things keep going well I would retire early, All thanks to Mrs Nancy, I really appreciate.

[@atolas11knadil76]

Invest with what you can afford, stay in the game, persist and eventually you will reach a satisfying level of proficiency, Mrs Nancy told me that..

[@gamefreak6861]

We humans are ignorant of profitability in digital investments and that has been the major issues limiting our growth..

[@jovanboles4584]

Absolutely, though My family started with as low as $15000 actually because it was our first time and it was successful, she's a great personality in the state.

[@isaiasvasconcelos5764]

I would really appreciate your helps on her contact details, few of my friends have given lots of recommendations towards her, please🙏..

[@swenhofmann5262]

美国十𝟏𝟐𝟓𝟐𝟓𝟑𝟎𝟖𝟕𝟐𝟖👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻👎🏻♥️♥️ 人人人人" copy "it this way, "KZbin is frustrating

[@maryfarrell9439]

I think on the anxiety tricks you’re talking about stimming. There’s a lot online and KZbin about it. A good term to use as a search for lots of techniques. It’s essentially about repetition. It focuses the brain on whatever is being repeated and it gives the brain a little break and allows the nervous system to calm down, and now feel attacked. Stimming.

[@michaelqdlap]

In Buddhism and Hinduism, the use of a mantra is common to calm the mind/nervous system

[@maryfarrell9439]

@@michaelqdlap I’ve been to Hindu yoga camp before and experienced the mantras and chants…it’s extraordinarily calming! I imagine for the same reason. But somehow more powerful doing it in a crowd of people doing the same. It’s like the calmness amplifies.

[@elizabethfitzgibbon3908]

I listened to a talk where it was said that if there was much more taxation of the wealthy, there would be far less poverty? I wonder what Rory & Alaistair think??

[@DylanSargesson]

On Laura Trott vs Diane Abbott: I think you can't deny the racial element in that either

[@paulsingleton3191]

Dianne Abbott also had a diabetic attack at the time, confusion is a symptom, something the papers never mention.

[@supernoodles91]

Look at Iain Banks' quote about a 'decent' Tory. That's Rory.

[@martydav9475]

Rory is one of the good guys.

[@richardedlmann3047]

"When did apologising become a sign of weakness?" Ask Nick Clegg.

[@radicalbyte]

Rory, I had to pay 20 EUR for a doll my mum made for my daughter and posted from UK to NL just because of Brexit.. most of which was a "service fee"... just goes to show how horrible and crippling Brexit is. We need to get back into the customs union and restore freedom of movement as soon as physically possible. Then in the next decade or so return to the EU itself. It's better for the EU and it's better for the UK. We should also integrate as an European Army; the UK supplying naval power and (together with France) provide a strategic deterrent without relying on the US.

[@fburton8]

That's awful, but why did customs think it was goods rather than a gift?

[@waltermcphee3787]

sounds like they have ripped you off, if it was Post office parcels I was cheated by them some years ago when they would not release gifts from my son in New Zealand untill I paid import duty and their fee.

[@nealbeard1]

Agree. Waiting a decade is too long though

[@bandit2048]

We have asked my partner's mother (lives in UK) not to send us gifts/parcels (in France) The cost to her and us frequently vastly outweighs the values of the item. People love to give but it's become a joke .

[@kevfullo]

You come round 'ere with your common sense and good ideas...

[@nicennice]

I would say to DisgustedOfTunbridgeWells, the most important ecosystem there is for any business environment is a transport system, a health service, roads, communications infrastructure, education and something to administer it all. Those things are critical to getting productivity increases in Britain. I think what most Labour people want to see from any Green Prosperity Plan is a government helping get those things put in place to help businesses grow and prosper for everyone's benefit. Small businesses should absolutely be at the heart of that.

[@tonysammut3799]

Keen to know what Rory is importing from the Netherlands ;-)

[@jacktraveller8290]

Will any of Rory's yale lectures on Vietnam be available on KZbin?

[@georgemayo7383]

Very well said by Alistair Campbel. Total mess for a by-election

[@suhailski]

Rory, since you are Yale now, could you please get Tim Snyder on the leading please to talk about Ukraine?

[@JelMain]

Is he still? He's back.

[@paulheydarian1281]

No, certainly not. Timothy Snyder isn't a good source.

[@macsmiffy2197]

There’s a small 11-18 !!!independent school in our area, except in practice, it was essentially 11-16 because our state funded 6th form centre offered a broader curriculum at A Level, got better results and was free!

[@kamitsu2352]

Looking forward to you talking to Steve Rosenberg, should be very interesting

[@davidevans3227]

who's Steve?

[@kamitsu2352]

@@davidevans3227 he's the BBC's Moscow corrospondant

[@mikedellar5653]

Disappointing that Alastair avoided condemning Azhar Ali’s comments; and the party’s reluctance to boot him out straight away. You don’t need to be intractably partisan on every aspect.

[@paulheydarian1281]

Good thing you aren't in charge. 😏

[@halfamo2422]

For your lovely university student suffering from anxiety: try breathing in for 2-3 mins through your nose deeply and slowly, but concentrate on filling up your belly, not your chest. Control breathing out slowly. Repeat, even if you can only manage a few times. This activates a nervous system that eventually will kick in on its own to some extent when you're anxious. You could try this for a moment before an exam or having to present work, for instance.

[@ivanborg5501]

Please convince Yale to release your Grand Strategy course on OYC!

[@daveb3987]

On elections for an upper house- Australia elects its senate, with proportional representation for each state to balance the house of reps which is by single member constituency. And sensibly conducts the election for half the senate at the same time as the election of the full house of reps (so senators serve double the time). This way it’s not continuous elections like the US.

[@ironsideeve2955]

Noone should copy the way we do our senate. All that happens is a very small minority controls the balance of power and no real change can happen because of it

[@clivemitchell3229]

If you apologise as a minister, someone will sue the government.

[@samworrall6789]

‘Got her numbers wrong’ is really under-selling that Diane Abbott interview😅

[@shabbydabbydo314]

She's since noted that it was impacted by her diabetes. If she was a Tory and white it would never be spoken about.

[@paulsingleton3191]

Dianne Abbott had a diabetic attack at the time, and confusion is one of the symptoms.

[@shabbydabbydo314]

@@paulsingleton3191 she's a black woman and therefore is treated more harshly than her counterparts. It's normal from like the commenter.

[@clivemitchell3229]

I disagree with Alastair. I believe that if there is a problem with a system (e.g. education, NHS), the most important thing is not fixing the problem but rather ensuring that any solution does not break things that currently work. The problem with concentrating on levelling up is it often disregards the academically most able, so we have a "levelling down". Those who would have benefited from being in the top stream or grammar school or local private school had those options removed under the guise of making things "fair". So eventually the best brains in the country will only come from those with really wealthy parents or from those who were educated abroad or from those state schools which find a way to work across the full spectrum of ability. If you really want to level up education, first make the state school system as good for the gifted as private schools, at which point private schools will naturally become obsolete. It's not always about money. Often ideology gets in the way of improvement.

[@saintbris]

Thank you for a very interesting and entertaining episode. One thing to clarify, however, and that will colour Rory's enthusiasm for creating monarchies in new countries differently: Spain's monarchy was brought back by Franco himself in 1947 and he considered himself a regent with the exclusive power to appoint his successor. Because he did not appoint the obvious pretender due to that man's liberal tendencies but that one's son (whom Franco had educated himself), one can easily guess Franco's intentions and hopes for Spain's future after his death: the continuation of a conservative and autocratic regime. That that did not happen is perhaps more a stroke of luck hidden in Franco's choice of Juan Carlos and the willingness of Spanish factions to make concessions and accept democracy as the only way forward if Spain ever wanted to join the EEC, than the result of something that is inherently good about monarchy. On the contrary, the examples of monarchies installed in new countries that then go horrible wrong are legion: Serbia, Romania, Bulgaria, Iran, Iraq, Afghanistan, Mexico (although the last one was less due to the hapless monarch that died there than to the idiot monarch that had installed him (Napoleon III). Spain was one stroke of luck in an environment (Western Europe in the 1970's) where the stars were aligned for democratisation. It is difficult to imagine such a sequence of events in Afghanistan after the Taliban.

[@DunnoWhatHandleToUse]

26:34 is Steve Rosenberg going to be on leading? Really like that guy.

[@davidevans3227]

is that the chap who reports from Russia for the bbc? i like him..

[@dh1380]

How is being critical of the Israeli government or buying into a conspiracy theory about the government "anti Semitic?" This absolutely baffles me. Also does putin really know what he's doing? Martyrdom is powerful. I fully understand the situation as it stands in Russia but these things can build over time. Sometimes years sometimes decades. As much as i respect both hosts of this channel/podcast/whatever, sometimes i feel they are a little simplistic/short sighted.

[@alfaV6boy1]

But yet I'll bet you were the first to call anyone who criticised Megan Markel a 'racist', the 'left' invented this idea of calling everyone a 'racist' or 'homophobe' or a Nazi simply for being critical of the left......live with it Nazi boy....l

[@alfaV6boy1]

Same reason its racist to criticize say Megan Markel...... you lot, the left, invented it, just shouting 'racist' at anyone who disagrees with you.... live with it...

[@lewis4402]

​@@voraciousfred1) Criticism of the state of Israel being conflated with antisemitism is nothing new, in fact its a strategy of the Israeli government to silence any opposition. 2) Its not unfounded, the Egyptians told them a big attack was coming weeks before 7/10, and were not taken seriously. You can dispute whether this was because Bibi was reckless or knew it was coming but allowed it. Just remember the Israel Gaza border is one of the most monitored in the world and somehow an attack of this scale happened...

[@fburton8]

@@lewis4402 Never attribute to malice that which is adequately explained by stupidity. Could Israeli security have been so rubbish as it appears they were? Either way, it has nothing to do with anti-Semitism.

[@veeday1146]

Was the kibbutz resident interviewed almost immediately after the massacre by a British news channel deemed as anti Semitic when she said that her destroyed village on the border had reported suspicious activity on the other side of the border fence, but had been ignored by the Israeli authorities for weeks. The interview was never repeated but was followed up by Egypt’s past warning. Is it any wonder that a besieged people believe the worst when it comes from one of the tragic victims of the slaughter.

[@rextable2000]

I don't think 'apologising-is-a-sign-of-weakness' is purely a political axiom - it is a general cultural phenomenon. I'm in my 40s and learnt long ago that being honest and apologising for one's mistakes is the only way to go through life. However, in my personal experience, it seems that younger generations don't feel that way.

[@scooby1992]

Regarding a candidate being ' dumped ' by their party the only similar example I can remember was in Kirkcaldy and Cowdenbeath ( Gordon Brown's old seat ) when Neil Hanvey was the SNP candidate and when he actually contested the 2019 General Election he had been suspended due to alleged anti semitic comments . He was soon given the SNP whip , but has since resigned from the party and now sits as an Alba MP.

[@DominicBerry-d5h]

Regarding the possibility that Israel allowed the Hamas attack, the analysis by both Rory and Alastair seems disappointingly shallow . "This conspiracy theory" has plenty to support it. 1) No one can explain how such a robust defense could permit such an attack. 2) We know that Israeli intelligence detected the plans a year ago. 3) They also confirmed the plans by observing Hamas rehearsing the attacks. 4) We know that Netanyahu has insisted on Hamas being funded. 5) His motivation was logical: He would rather go to war with terrorists and win, than go to court with human rights lawyers and lose. 6) And he has spoken on-record about the need to protect the funding of Hamas, whether we think it's logical or not. 7) The hypothesis would also explain why the attack was conducted in precisely that region of Israel where the most peace-supporting Jews lived, rather than on the illegal settlements. 8) Netanyahu has indeed used the attack as a prompt to conduct a massive collective punishment across the whole of Gaza. Inasmuch as he will have to conduct ethnic cleansing in order to appropriate the region into Israel's borders, he needed something like this to happen. Dismissing the idea as "conspiracy theory" isn't enough. If it's a bad idea, give us a better idea, with better evidence and logic. Nor does calling all criticism of Israel "antisemitic" fly anymore. Enough ordinary Jews criticize what Israel does. If we can different between ordinary Jews and militant Zionists... why can't you?

[@davidevans3227]

yes they really avoided it

[@allancarey2604]

I am ashamed to say, Australian politics & social policy erosion is having such an effect on the UK

[@gregorbingham]

I think Robert Sapolsky could give Rory's sense of 'monarchy' and why it might be useful.

[@oliverc1961]

Looking at the Laura Trott interview, it seems to me that she understands the point - she's not financially illiterate, her mathematical abilities weren't in question as Diane Abbott's were - but says "I've got different figures".

[@shahlaahy4372]

As we all gather: psychology of politicians affect their outlook, decisions which affect world politics. We need more of understanding of ourselves to avoid disasters.

[@swingmattuk]

If you’re looking at getting a leader from local government on, you should really consider Jamie Driscoll, Mayor of North Tyne, he’s independent and former Labour who has had a groundswell of popular support

[@nealbeard1]

Or the mayor of South Yorkshire. Especially as Yorkshire seemed to be totally omitted from the " roadshow" for some reason

[@m00plank90]

Who was in charge of Newcastle a couple of years ago? Visited around Covid with my Dad. Whoever was responsible for creating a beach on the Tyne side, and closing streets so local businesses could set up outside, is a legend. I don’t care what stripe they were. Despite pretty stringent measures in place, they found away to make things great.

[@swingmattuk]

@@m00plank90 I believe that North of Tyne includes Newcastle in the Combined Authority, he was elected in 2019 so Driscoll was in place during covid and your visit

[@tsitar100]

Any good books on Vietnam war?

[@sasserine]

WRT the last question about monarchy: I get it, as a thought experiment, but can we ever create a genuinely 'new' country? Even where you're rebuilding from the ashes of a war, that swept several neighbouring governments away, you're going to have to make compromises to what went before, to keep the locals on side, and viewing the new situation as legitimate. And some of those locals will really love the idea of a monarch, and won't shut up until they get one. Even if the bloodline's been decimated, and the new PM has to find a fifth cousin, twelve times removed from the previous incumbent. Even if you were to start a settlement on the Moon or Mars, it won't be 'new', but a colony of the nation that bankrolled the mission.

[@jonathangammond3019]

At the end of the day, Labour are putting a tax on education. There are lots of things they could tax e.g. airline fuel, private jets, unearned capital gains on property, wealth etc which would raise the serious amount of investment that state schools really need. Instead we get tokenism.

[@mikearcher6568]

I think that dumping that MP was not necessarily a good move, it depends on his reasoning for coming to that conclusion. Given the quality of Israel’s intelligence services, it is something of an anathema that they didn’t know the attack was coming. An attack of that size should’ve been detectable to much less developed intelligent service. The fact that they didn’t have that boundary between the two areas protected to a better level is questionable. It is therefore understandable that the individual came to the perception he came to. I have heard this theory from one or two other sources. Given all of that, it has given Israel, the moral latitude to do what they have done much of which is morally bankrupt and strategically highly questionable. Given the Netanyahu and other Israelis, as you have mentioned yourself, Rory Israel’s lip service to the two nation state isn’t really there, it is the ideal Opportunity for Israel to roll back that ideology and install a new political system where they have total control. Given the previous comments I have made and the morally bankrupt position that Israel has taken and that Hamas has stated its purpose is to annihilate Israel, the theory holds a lot of waterwhether it be right or whether it be wrong.

[@micumatrix]

I think it was the last president of Afghanistan that kept the monarch away. In Romania the post-Ceausescu regime kept the old king from visiting his own country exactly because they new that he was trusted and they couldn’t compete with such an image (pls don’t call the party of first president Iliescu social democrats!). Does not automatically mean that in a fair referendum the people would have voted again for a monarchy.

[@elizabethfitzgibbon3908]

Rory wld have made a great Prime Minister.

[@stevena488]

Regarding the appeal of Nostalgia and populist thought that "it were much better back then": The funny thing about history is that it's fascinating in hindsight but an absolute and utter hell to live through. You can go head over heels about how much better whichever empire was around that you're fascinated/fixated with, but you didn't have to live through the conquests, the potential food shortages, the diseases we had no cures or good treatments for (Malaria, Tuberculosis, Smallpox, etc), the Doctors of the day didn't wash their hands (A theory brought forth by Ignaz Semmelweis which wasn't taken seriously until Pasteur confirmed Germ Theory... In the mid 19th century... So a good thousand years of lack of hygiene), sanitation was god awful, indoor heating wasn't a thing outside of "Get firewood", uou could die of a tetanus by getting a splinter. And the number one method of potential death is through ill food preparation which gave you dysentery which means that you had a rather unsavoury death. Especially if you died in the outdoor toilet because again, sanitation wasn't THAT great. Fairies were still considered a big problem back then in rural communities (all the way up to the very early 20th century in some places) and people believed in the notions of vampirism as being an actual plague that was real. Then there's the MULTIPLE rounds of genocide perpetrated by your empire of choice. But the past was SOOOOOOOO much better. God I wish I had lived in Victorian England where I'd have probably found myself in Debtors Prison and my children sent to the work houses, as I breathe in the black soot filled air from all the chimneys spewing up tons of smoke and spending most days in misery.

[@JesterEric]

The mystery tax on imports from the EU is VAT

[@Stuffthatsfunny1]

Has Rory watched the brilliant Ken Burns documentary "The Vietnam war?"

[@adtastic1533]

I don't think Sunak should apologise for his transgender comments, it was Keir Starmer who brought Brianah Ghey into the conversation. Starmer was the one using a murder victim to score political points. And quite blatantly.

[@martydav9475]

He brought her into the conversation because she was up in the public gallery.

[@davidevans3227]

not sure if she was actually there? Yet.

[@RaRa-eu9mw]

@@martydav9475 Pretty disgusting politicking to be honest.

[@williamhenry8914]

If he knew what he was doing he would not have wasted the PR opportunity with Tucker on such mind-numbingly boring responses and he would not have killed Navalny. Two amateurish mistakes a few days apart.

[@MrHousey36]

It was widely reported that Israel received intelligence from both Egypt and the US about possible Hamas 'activities' in Gaza. It's perfectly possible that they failed to act on that intelligence.

[@joeDi1960]

George Galloway isn’t a nasty piece of works. I personally don’t agree with all his politics but he’s been a critic of Israel towards Gaza for 40 years and articulates what’s going on far better than Labours Kier Starmer

[@jackdubz4247]

Wasn't he also a supporter of, and an apologist for, Saddam Hussein's brutal dictatorship?

[@joeDi1960]

@@jackdubz4247 yes indeed well done Tony Blair’s Labour protecting us against Saddams weapons of mass destruction and George was against that regime change

[@sallyreay-young502]

The death of Navalny was terrible and sadly predictable. I applaud the anger expressed. And yet how hypocritical are our leaders, particularly those in the UK. Julian Assange is in jail in the UK. He will be pleading for his life and I predict the UK courts will cave to US pressure and he will be extradited to the US where he faces life in jail, at least. There is clearly something wrong here.

[@for111]

They probably DO want Galloway to win. Let him bloviate for a few months, put up a serious candidate in the GE, job done.

[@qman2261]

One of the central problems with Brexit is that we're paying tariffs and having to jump through bureaucratic loopholes (imposed justifiably enough by our European neighbours) on our side but our own government is too craven or stupid (or perhaps just determined to scupper Brexit) to impose the same on Europeans so we end up with the worst of both worlds and the most ludicrously uneven playing field it's possible to have. It's all very well the UK trying to signal to the EU that it's possible for trade to flow relatively freely by giving European imports an easy time (and that does lower prices for consumers) but it makes UK business less competitive overall - our government seems to be ignoring that the other side is still intent on punishing us for leaving. We're not going to make headway with them until we start showing them the consequences of acting unreasonably by matching their approach on cross-border trade.

[@rextable2000]

Would GPs doing a mix of NHS and private work explain why there isn't a single full-time GP in my local surgery?

[@obdev9473]

GPs have always been self-employed contractors to the NHS

[@jennycooper333]

There is a suggestion that Tucker Carlson might be DTs running mate in November so two poodles for Putin, this would have been ridiculous once upon a time but these days I am not laughing .

[@modelflugzuegsamlung]

What i find a bit of a double standard is that you can say whatever you want about a group like Hamas, and of course no-one would say that your being racist / islamophobic becasue Hamas doesnt represent Islam. But if you say something critical of Israel you're called anti-semitic. Let me be clear, i dont agree with what Azhar Ali said and i think there may have been some anti-semitic undertones, however i think its at least worthy of a discussion about whehther or not it actually was anti-semitic and why, which there hasnt been anywhere in the media.

[@RobBCactive]

There were reports by serious news services of intelligence of a threat of Hamas action being ignored, because Netanyahu's policy was that Hamas were deterred. It's widely known and reported in Israel that the military had shifted force to the area of Palestine Authority which was why one IDF base just north of Gaza was overrun. So simply dismissing the badly phrased inaccurate comment as merely buying into a conspiracy story is rather weak. That aside, a candidate not exercising caution by such speculation, when the Tory press are looking for dirt on Labour and opportunities to exploit the wedge issue of anti-Semitism by left and the appearance of unconditional support for Israel's punitive action is a problem. As it stands rational discussion of the issue is being suppressed by those on the extremes. That actually leaves a vacuum for conspiratorial thinking. I hope the voters ignore it and everyone can learn from the problem. The right take many rascist shots against the likes of Sadiq Khan in particular, which the Tories exploit divisively.

[@paulsingleton3191]

If the allegation was about Putin and Russia no one would have lifted an eyebrow,

[@KK-AA1]

Sorry Alastair but Diane Abbott was a liability

[@markendicott6874]

Anything that allows Galloway even a sniff of a route back to Parliament is indeed a disaster. And we dont need any more disasters right now......

[@dilonkumar4960]

Why because he doesn’t hate Muslims unlike you

[@joeDi1960]

Just because he criticises eg Alastair Campbell for his whopping lies on Iraq etc ?

[@martinrussell6174]

AC: 'George Galloway is nasty piece of work ' Rory: 'He opposed the war in Iraq'. Hmmm. The prospect of George getting the opportunity to 'speak truth to power' if elected is one of the few beacons of hope in the current closed, head-in-the-sand bubble that is Westminster.

[@AnnaZybura-xq4dj]

It was such a great question about the monarchy in the ideal world created from scratch and Rory completely missed it. Monarchy? Really? In the ideal world ? Monarchy in Spain or Afganistan or Myanmar or Britain is to prevent a possible major mess otherwise (Afganistan), not to create the ideal state. To make a person a subject of another person, unelected, sounds rather horrifying than ideal. You had to accomplish it by force rather, not by the will of the people. Ask any non-monarchy country people if they would rather have monarchy.

[@davidseed2939]

temperature at Nav😮alny prison -33⁰C. Navalny had been for a walk. !!!!

[@mrsmammymac]

It’s time to hear it all ..I’m of the mind there is some truth in what he said about Israel !

[@Nkkdxn45j]

Why is making a conspiracy theory statement like that enough to cause a candidate to be deselected? If that is what he thinks, even if seriously misguided, why shouldn't he say it, and then others can put up rational arguments showing he is wrong. That is what debate is all about, or so I thought, what happened to free speech? If you want to be able to judge what a candidate stands for and really thinks, you need to be able to hear what s/he really thinks, not some sanitised version.

[@RichM-zu3cb]

One for AC. Labour initiated a comprehensive trial in the 60's. Wilson built about a twenty super schools, we had 2000 pupils. Edlington Comprehensive was opened in 1967, I was there in 1973-80 during its period of decline as the really good teachers retired and we're replaced by cheap 22 year olds. Edlington was famous for Yorkshire Main, Author's pit, Margret levelled the colliery in the 80's, literally! The schools demise fell to the box of matches from an arsonist😮 in 2009. Comprehensive education only works if it is funded and managed correctly. We worked really hard and educated our two boys at an Edinburgh Independent school of 2000 pupils, demonstrating if the 'inmates' are motivated, comprehensive education could work! FYI we could not afford a 20% uplift in fees. Assisted places were used effectively to keep the majority of pupils grounded, polite, respectful and well educated.

[@fraserct533]

19:45 Ben Vorlich is annother lovely Munro near Crief.

[@Bar-Hillel]

As the wife of a mountain rescue team member I cannot believe I just heard Rory suggest people go off into the mountains ski touring without qualifying that it is a dangerous sport, especially for those who don't know what they are about. Getting lost and having to be found is one thing, being avalanched and needing rescued, putting your life and those of others at risk is another. The teams are busy enough with the ill equipped and untrained as it is.

[@bandit2048]

About time all the tourism stopped - the planet is under stress - or hasn't anyone noticed

[@GeorgeYoung-si5ml]

This is now the third time that Alistair Campbell has mentioned Rishi Sunak’s daughter with regards to private schools fees with the intent to highlight the lack of comprehension Rishi Sunak has with regards to the state School Sector regarding the potential addition to VAT on private school fees. Even though he didn’t mention her name, I believe it is highly unnecessary to bring this point into a conversation as what Rishi Sunak decides to do with his own money is his own business and that not to be a topic. What now should Rishi Sunak move into a 288 K house, get a minimum wage job so he can relate to the general population ? etc I will acknowledge that on multiple occasions Rishi Sunak has come across as being highly un compassionate and condescending but you can’t expect the PM to live a life with is directly proportionate to how everyone else lives.

[@rachmanmitchell2845]

Malaria vaccines were being worked on in Indonesia by an American physician 50 years4 ago

[@ianelliott8224]

Im no fan of Galloways recent positions, but he wasnt wrong about Iraq now was he Alistair. Tucker is an utter Quisling

[@drinkingup2157]

Hilarious that people are talking about underpaid doctors as being a problem that actually exists. A starting salary of 32K and within 5 years the possibility of 50K plus. To 90% of the real world out here that's not being underpaid..

[@linmorell1813]

I listened to a report that an observer corps of young Israeli women collecting data on border movements & gave warning of unusual activities were happening. They and their observations were shot down by their senior officers. This was said to be because they were young & female. Which is highly likely, but it is also possible the senior officers didn’t want to hear.

[@movingfilms1889]

It’s a pity Alasdair and Rory didn’t actually address the substance of the question. Given Netanyahu’s history of using Hamas as a means to divide and destabilize the Palestinian cause, there seem to be plenty of smoking guns, even if there is no proof of the conspiracy theory in question. A more nuanced response would have been welcome.

[@tariqmanchester]

​@@movingfilms1889 don't tell me you are surprised? Lovely as the podcast is, they rarely go into challenging a subject in depth. And for all those who want to make Navalny a saint, I suggest they look into his xenophobic and homophobic traits. One man dies in a Russian jail and all politicians wake up, tens of thousands are slaughtered in the middle east, and the same people facilitate it. That's something they won't discuss either. Still, a lovely podcast as I said.

[@jimb9063]

Conspiracy or F up? That's the age old question. Very difficult to prove, as judging intent from just the outcome is perilous. Historically, the subsequent cover up for the F up is often mistakenly cited as evidence for the whole thing being a conspiracy. Conspiracies are far more exciting than boring mistakes, we love to discover them, this can cloud our judgment.

[@jimb9063]

@@tariqmanchester Yes that sort of thing (in this case the big focus on Navalny) annoys me greatly. Many reasons for this, but basically it's the effect of influential people trying to sway public opinion. Would you agree though that everyone is guilty of the same thing to an extent by highlighting our own concerns over others which might have equal value? There's currently over 180 small regional conflicts in the world (we were down to 30 odd twenty or so years ago). Almost all news media ignores the suffering of people in about 99% of them. This too is a result of influential people swaying public opinion, in this case by making out some peoples suffering is more important than others.

[@tariqmanchester]

@@jimb9063 I totally agree with you, we all focus on the items that touch us most. How could we cope if we had to allocate our energy to all those miserable conflicts and suffering ...

[@Chrisblottphoto]

Oh Rory you can't claim ski touring is environmentally more friendly than using the ski lift when you take a job that means you're commuting back and forth to the States every week.

[@parkerlincoln49]

Whether or not he commutes back and forth bears literally no significance on whether it is factually true that ski touring is more environmentally friendly than using a ski lift. If it is factually correct than Henry Ford himself could say it and it wouldn’t change a damn thing.

[@bilinguru]

Childbirth has become outrageously overpriced. With the population declining in London (Thank God) you'll have far less money spent on OBGYN, Maternity ad other ancililary costs associated with having a baby. Immigrants have an initial spike in health care costs, but over time, they consume 75% less health care costs than your average Briton.

[@HaggardPillockHD]

Surprised to learn that Rory Stewart appeared on Sam Harris's podcast a few days ago. Harris has been labelled an Islamophobe, and hosted Charles Murray to talk about race/IQ. Bit disappointed to say the least.

[@anthonyhall9518]

Saying that rightwing zionists may have formed an anti Palestinian ethnic cleansing plot is not anti semetic. It is anti Israeli state and a legitimate consideration

[@RDHamel]

Thanks for the skiing tip from Rory - a glimpse into a different world. I’ll bear it in mind for when I can afford a holiday… And flying is a zero carbon activity. Nearly turned off in disgust.

[@sb_dunk]

Having a holiday isn't exactly a sign of being super rich. Do they need to always pander to the poorest audience members? What's next? You gonna complain about how they have houses to sit in?

[@jpgpearson]

establishments do alot of action is in the reaction.