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https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679 (https://archive.ph/5Ba6o)

A heated row has broken out over a move by Britain's largest bakery chain to launch a vegan sausage roll.

The pastry, which is filled with a meat substitute and encased in 96 pastry layers, is available in 950 Greggs stores across the country.

It was promised after 20,000 people signed a petition calling for the snack to be launched to accommodate plant-based diet eaters.


But the vegan sausage roll's launch has been greeted by a mixed reaction: Some consumers welcomed it, while others voiced their objections.

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spread happiness@p4leandp1nk
https://twitter.com/p4leandp1nk/status/1080767496569974785

#VEGANsausageroll thanks Greggs
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7
10:07 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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Cook and food poverty campaigner Jack Monroe declared she was "frantically googling to see what time my nearest opens tomorrow morning because I will be outside".

While TV writer Brydie Lee-Kennedy called herself "very pro the Greggs vegan sausage roll because anything that wrenches veganism back from the 'clean eating' wellness folk is a good thing".

One Twitter user wrote that finding vegan sausage rolls missing from a store in Corby had "ruined my morning".

Another said: "My son is allergic to dairy products which means I can't really go to Greggs when he's with me. Now I can. Thank you vegans."

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pg often@pgofton
https://twitter.com/pgofton/status/1080772793774624768

The hype got me like #Greggs #Veganuary

42
10:28 AM - Jan 3, 2019
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TV presenter Piers Morgan led the charge of those outraged by the new roll.

"Nobody was waiting for a vegan bloody sausage, you PC-ravaged clowns," he wrote on Twitter.

Mr Morgan later complained at receiving "howling abuse from vegans", adding: "I get it, you're all hangry. I would be too if I only ate plants and gruel."

Another Twitter user said: "I really struggle to believe that 20,000 vegans are that desperate to eat in a Greggs."

"You don't paint a mustach (sic) on the Mona Lisa and you don't mess with the perfect sausage roll," one quipped.

Journalist Nooruddean Choudry suggested Greggs introduce a halal steak bake to "crank the fume levels right up to 11".

The bakery chain told concerned customers that "change is good" and that there would "always be a classic sausage roll".

It comes on the same day McDonald's launched its first vegetarian "Happy Meal", designed for children.

The new dish comes with a "veggie wrap", instead of the usual chicken or beef option.
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It should be noted that Piers Morgan and Greggs share the same PR firm, so I'm thinking this is some serious faux outrage and South Park KKK gambiting here.
 
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BongoMongo said:
That's the thing, frendo. If we all just stopped and put down left vs right politics for a hot damn second and focussed on fact it is those bastards in power against us, the vox populi thenwe could unite against them and topple them. But we don't and we never will.It's all left vs right, norf vs sarf, tory vs labour.

They know what works, and work it does.
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It’s why they were scared of the Brexit protests, the people who actually do the work in this country got out and protested for the first time. BLM could burn shit to the ground and the establishment didn’t care because they just knew it was the the middle class enjoying a chump out with grime enthusiasts using the situation to loot.

Hope lies with the proles.
 

Downing Street insists Rachel Reeves will be chancellor ‘for whole of this parliament’​

The prime minister told an audience in east London that he is ‘completely confident’ in his team as pressure grows over the economy

Downing Street has insisted that Rachel Reeves will be the chancellor “for the whole of this parliament” as speculation mounted that Sir Keir Starmer may sack her.

The vote of confidence came on Monday afternoon after Sir Keir had appeared reluctant to back the beleaguered Ms Reeves.

He told journalists that she has his full confidence and is doing a fantastic job, but avoided the question the first time it was asked and then dodged questioning over whether his chancellor will still be in post at the next election.

The prime minister’s remarks came amid mounting pressure on Ms Reeves as the value of the pound fell and government borrowing costs remained high.

While he defended the chancellor’s handling of the economy, he declined to guarantee she would remain in No 11 for the duration of the parliament.

The pound fell to a fresh 14-month low on Monday, slumping another 0.6 per cent to $1.21 after last week hitting its lowest level against the dollar since November 2023. UK government bonds – also known as gilts – continued to see 10-year yields hit fresh highs not seen since 2008, at 4.9 per cent.

Answering questions following a speech on the government’s plan for artificial intelligence in London the prime minister stressed that the Treasury will meet its fiscal rules – including requiring day-to-day spending to be met from revenues rather than further borrowing.

But rising borrowing costs eat into the funding available, which could force Ms Reeves to act to either reduce spending or raise taxes to comply with her fiscal rules when the Budget watchdog gives its updated forecast in March.

Asked to give a yes or no answer on whether or not the chancellor will still be in post at the next election, Sir Keir said the UK will “stick to the fiscal rules”, adding: “I’m confident in our mission for growth, and I’m confident, completely confident, in my team.

“We never pretended, nor would anybody sensibly argue, that after 14 years of failure, you can turn around our economy and our public services before Christmas.”

Pressed again on whether or not Ms Reeves would still be in post when the country goes to the ballot box for a general election, the prime minister said: “Rachel Reeves is doing a fantastic job. She has my full confidence. She has the full confidence of the entire party.”

It comes as the chancellor, who is flying back from a trip to China on Monday, faces a new serious warning as Deloitte reported that business bosses’ confidence is at one of its lowest points since the Covid pandemic in 2020.

After suffering a barrage of criticism for going ahead with her controversial trip to Beijing, the chancellor is being told that her management of the economy is under question from some of the country’s biggest companies.

According to the survey of 63 chief finance officers (CFOs) at major companies, a net 26 per cent reported feeling more pessimistic about the prospects of their business than three months ago, marking the first time sentiment has tipped into negative territory since the second quarter of 2023.

While confidence is still above the lows of 2020 and Liz Truss’s mini-Budget in 2022, 58 per cent expect UK corporates to cut discretionary spending, and a net -64 per cent expect increases in hiring, which is a four-year low.

The figures appeared to underline a crisis in confidence in the Labour government to deliver on its number one mission of economic growth and they came as Tory leader Kemi Badenoch warned that the chancellor appears to be “hanging on by her fingernails”.

Referencing Sir Keir’s comments, she said: “The prime minister just refused to back his chancellor staying in her job.

“Keir Starmer and Rachel Reeves have driven Britain’s economy into the ground. The markets are in turmoil and business confidence has crashed, yet the chancellor is nowhere to be seen.”

Behind the scenes, Ms Reeves is said to be battling to prove the government’s economic plan is working, reportedly ordering cabinet ministers to be “ruthless” in identifying public spending cuts.

An internal letter from the Treasury about Ms Reeves’s spending review, seen by The Telegraph, admits that difficult decisions on budgets will be needed and emphasised that “growth is the only way that we can deliver better outcomes in public services, without raising taxes on working people and is our primary mission for this parliament”.

“Spending review 2025 cannot be a business-as-usual spending review”, the letter warns. “Success will require ruthless prioritisation.”

The prime minister signalled his intention to pull every lever possible to boost growth in his Stratford speech on Monday, where he said artificial intelligence could help “turn around the economy”.

Sir Keir pledged to make Britain an AI superpower, warning that the “battle for the jobs of tomorrow is happening today”.

We are in the “global race of our lives” for leadership on artificial intelligence, the PM said, adding: “Some countries are going to make AI breakthroughs and export them. Others will end up buying those breakthroughs and importing them”, Sir Keir said.

“The question is, which of those will Britain be – AI maker or AI taker?”

He added: “Mark my words, Britain will be one of the great AI superpowers”

The prime minister continued: “I would argue that we would do it in any event, whatever the state of the economy and public services, because it’s obviously the right direction to go in, but it’s doubly necessary because of the mess we’ve inherited from the last government.

“So we will use it to turn around the economy, and use it to turn around our public services.”


I think I remember this episode of Yes Prime Minister...

edit: Starmer appoints former Treasury official as key aide in blow to Reeves’ authority .

Whoops.
 
the thing is, the 14 years of tory failure came off back of umpteen years of labour failure. The two party system in Westminster is a failure in and of itself. Failure begats failure. The tories got some shit right and labour got some shit right, but between both of them, they're both an abysmal failure. If you're aggreived of ho dentists and GPs rin themselves in this country then that shit dates back to when the welfare state was set up and Labour didn;t have the bollocks to stand up to either and rein them in at the time.

Edited to say: It is cold out. If anyone fancies a tasty recipe for something nice to eat I suggst this:
You will need 500g of pork mince (15% fat or less) and 500g of steak mince (5% fat or less).
An egg yolk
A crumbled up beef stock cube
Salt and pepper to taste
A ball of mozzerella cut into little bits
a table spoon of sage and onion stuffing mix
two medium carrots
medium red onion
jar of good pasta sauce, i like heinz personally, but whatever takes your fancy.
Olive oil

Heat the oil in a pan, cook the diced finely red onion and diced finely carrots until soft. Toss in the pasta sauce and let simmer.


Chop the beef and pork mince and mix with the salt and pepper and sage and onion stuffing mix and egg yolk. Mix with your hands. the meat makes approx. 8 meatballs. flatten in your hand and smoosh in some mozzerella and wrap around i forming neat balld (lol balls).

Heat some olive oil in an oven proof dish and after about 10 minutes on 200c pop the balls in (lol balls).

After 15 minutes turn the balls. Leave for another 15 minutes.

After 15 minutes, smother in sauce and cook for another 20 minutes, covered in foil. If serving with spagehetti, cook the spaghetti, drain and toss a tbsp of spaghetti water in with the meat sauce, or, eat with garlic bread like a dirty heathen.
 
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teriyakiburns said:
I think I remember this episode of Yes Prime Minister...
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It's an odd choice. As the BBC pointed out the question was bait (not their words) since very few PMs will make commitments that someone will be part of their cabinet for the full duration especially this early into their term.

If he's done this purely because of the pressure to do so I'll be unsurprised because he increasingly comes across as weak. But it's astounding he would flip-flop this quickly after what was presumably a prepared answer regarding her future.
 
teriyakiburns said:
Downing Street has insisted that Rachel Reeves will be the chancellor “for the whole of this parliament” as speculation mounted that Sir Keir Starmer may sack her.
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teriyakiburns said:
the prime minister said: “Rachel Reeves is doing a fantastic job. She has my full confidence. She has the full confidence of the entire party.”
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Bloody Hell! With statements like the above, I'm giving her until April this year.

Also, dark laugh at Kier saying he's going to increase jobs with AI. That's not how that works, Kier.
 
Geoff Capes Vapes Apes said:
They're right, but not for the reason they think they are right
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Reeves was summoned to,and scuttled off to, Davos a few months back. No doubt her future is now set in stone.

For any one who believes in predictive programming: There was a series a few years bacl called Colony. In it,a race of extraterrestrial beings took over earth and their hq was in Davos just like the WEF. Made for some interesting viewing, that's for sure.

Rache; from complaints got summoned and off she went so let's see what future holds but I would be willing to bet, were I of incination to bet, that she will be first Labour woman PM.
 
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BongoMongo said:
That's the thing, frendo. If we all just stopped and put down left vs right politics for a hot damn second and focussed on fact it is those bastards in power against us, the vox populi thenwe could unite against them and topple them. But we don't and we never will.It's all left vs right, norf vs sarf, tory vs labour.

They know what works, and work it does.
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It was called occupy wall street and divide and conquer has gone into ludicrous speed ever since.
 
SirCliveSinclairdabbing said:
It was called occupy wall street and divide and conquer has gone into ludicrous speed ever since.
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It was indeed, and it truly shat TPTB right up, and that is when identity politics came into play to split us and divide us.

"The government wants everyone fighting with their neighbours cos they know if we all get along we'll probably go against them".

On a more positive note: "We've all got problems, and we all feel alone, we've all been haunted by the secrets we hold. We can fill our coffins by the rocks they have thrown or we can build our castles with the sticks and the stones".

Do not ever give in.Eevery life on this planet is precious beyond words. You have a purpose and and a meaning. It may not be apparent but it will be some day. And soon at that.
 
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Chaotic Pizzaparty said:
If you think Reeves is lasting til April then you are surely optimistic, the stupid bitch has so many external pressures against her, she is truly cooked at this point.
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I have lost all respect for governments who chop and change personnel according to the prevailing hashtags on Twitter and their tepid rehashing in the papers and the joke that now passes for our current affairs programming.
I used to think that shit was just cold-eyed pragmatism. I have come to understand with time that it is pure defeatism and the reason Nothing Ever Happens. There comes a point where to achieve even comparatively minor social or economic change, it is necessary to face down 'public opinion' which we all know is nothing but whatever is in the chip wrappers this week, and actually act according to conviction.
Whatever may be said about Reeves' budget, Starmer signed off on all the decisions in it, including the difficult and unpopular ones. You have to dance with the one that brought you: having now taken the brickbats over those decisions, to reverse course and abandon them in search of a ratings bump that will not come is both craven and stupid. What's done is done. Things without all remedy should be without regard.
 
Otterly said:
Little Owen jones is the kind of twat who uses the working class to make a point, while treating them as a kind of retarded pet who can’t be trusted to decide things for themselves
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Well said. He is a fucking idiot.

No one takes him seriously, to the extent he can only write for the [Scottish] National.

Listening to him get bullied by boomer spastics like Ann Widdecombe and Mike Parry on Channel Five puts a song, and a smile, in my heart, before I have to deal with my patients.

https://www.spiked-online.com/2020/10/08/owen-jones-vs-the-working-class/
 
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teriyakiburns said:
While confidence is still above the lows of 2020 and Liz Truss’s mini-Budget in 2022,
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Reeves is better than COVID and - according to the media, the worst head of lettuce, i mean, head of state, ever to have existed? That's a low, low, low bar.
Not that Truss had chance to implement her budget, which created £1 billion in surplus according to Jeremy Hunt, but shhh, Reeves isn't so bad apparently.

Bring back Cameron and Osborne, the last pair to have the balls to lead this country.
 
Guntsress Of Diabeteeze said:
Green Grads founder and curator Barbara Chandler said: “The world is drowning in waste and recycling is not the answer. “Gabriel’s kettle is one example of how small appliances could be repaired, but it’s also a powerful statement on the need to make things that last. The ability to repair them is a huge part of that.”
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I have an old school kettle that heats up water my gas cooker hob. Has lasted for four years so far with no sign of giving up. Constructed from metal with a plastic handle, so easily recycled.

No idea how long it will last, but never had an electric kettle that lasted as long
 
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