UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

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

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.

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.

 

[Otterly]

You heard the man Otterly, get undressed...

I agree with him. Yorkshire tea all the way.
Also undressed? What?

would explain more but that's off thread topic and massive powerleveling.

No please do.

 

[CaptainAutism69]

I'm generally inclined to not write anyone off as a paid-for-shill. It's an easy answer for a more complex, more human thing.

In his 'im leaving dont try to stop me' post, he publicly stated he joined as a member, and now works for them...and he's been passing KF info onto 'top leadership' to try and save Josh from OFCOM or something.

 

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

My main hope with Reform is that the potential MPs they have standing in future elections would overshadow what Farage and his cabinet want, thus improving the party. We already know Pochin and Anderson were shafted from the shadow cabinet because they were too based (they went against the party line and said the burkha needed to be banned, the subsequent row leading to Yusif's demotion) and since Reform are shit at vetting, I'm hoping all the potential Reform candidates are similarly based.
TLDR: The main hope for Reform is they get subverted and Farage basically gets couped by MPs more based than he is.

This is my biggest issue with Reform but at the same time I also semi-understand the crackdown.

Lets just say Reform DID remain based throughout all this, lets just say Lowe was never kicked out, lets just say Zia wasn't allowed back after he ragequit and lets say Reform win a majority and become the next government... because of how fragmented voting is with so many parties cropping up they could realistically become a majority goverment with just around 30% or LESS of the public vote.

70% of voters not getting their way and already viewing Reform as Nazis will kick off worse than when the students had their spergout when the Lib Dems paired with the Tories so tried to burn down Conservative HQ. There might legitimately be an IRA level of terrorism that kicks off. Political assassinations on MPs, car bombings etc.

So I understand the sudden climbdown of Farage to a point to try and get one thing done at a time to avoid going completely radical... but at the same time I'm not exactly sure if we're at a stage where we can improve things in small bite sized chunks because the next government will simply reverse it. Drastic change needs to happen and it needs to happen with someone who isn't a coward in charge.

 

[>IMPLYING]

This is my biggest issue with Reform but at the same time I also semi-understand the crackdown.

Lets just say Reform DID remain based throughout all this, lets just say Lowe was never kicked out, lets just say Zia wasn't allowed back after he ragequit and lets say Reform win a majority and become the next government... because of how fragmented voting is with so many parties cropping up they could realistically become a majority goverment with just around 30% or LESS of the public vote.

70% of voters not getting their way and already viewing Reform as Nazis will kick off worse than when the students had their spergout when the Lib Dems paired with the Tories so tried to burn down Conservative HQ. There might legitimately be an IRA level of terrorism that kicks off. Political assassinations on MPs, car bombings etc.

So I understand the sudden climbdown of Farage to a point to try and get one thing done at a time to avoid going completely radical... but at the same time I'm not exactly sure if we're at a stage where we can improve things in small bite sized chunks because the next government will simply reverse it. Drastic change needs to happen and it needs to happen with someone who isn't a coward in charge.

Farage might be suppressing himself and Reform for the sake of optics, rather than it being his actual position. Or, same difference, he's been reluctant to appear in public because optically to the right he risks fucking things up by giving out more soft platitudes that have long since grown stale. They recently had Zia Yusif be the mouthpiece for some anti-immigration sentiments but it understandably came off a little toothless given who was saying it and the fact it emerged soon after Lowe's party announcement.

I think Farage is an economic conservative through and through but he can't reconcile that with his more liberal-minded views. The most recent evidence of him catering more to financial interests is the "work from home = bad" spiel he had recently, which looks suspect knowing he's backed by some real estate mogul who makes money from renting office space. Reform clamped down on the novel anti immigration stuff after they surged in popularity because they wanted to attract the broad interests of big finance, who tend to be cosmopolitical types who loathe anti-immigration rhetoric.

Farage is basically riding the bull that is the British right-wing. He tends not to like it which is why he keeps dismounting every half-decade. But now he's riding the bull at the angriest its ever been he's come the closest he ever has to getting the PM seat but if he's thrown off he'll never get this close ever again. He needs to carefully balance what the British right wants vs what he wants, whilst also keeping the financial backers of the party placated.

It's not enviable, but I also don't pity him.

Yeah, we can't make small incremental changes. The time for that was 2010 but Labour went out ensuring it couldn't happen (Supreme Court blocked immigration cap due to Equality Act) and Farage was always more concerns with the economy than immigration. We basically need one bill overriding every single bill impeding possible immigration responses and get started pronto on solving it. America being in our corner is necessary since, like the USA becomes, the UK can easily become a target other countries can attack just to earn brownie points amongst their own people in lieu of actually doing anything.

 

[Duane Dibbley]

I know Restore is currently being praised to the gills because of Lowe, but one based man does not make a party, alas. What's stopping him from taking on the former Tory rats like how Reform is currently doing?

They've all gone to reform.

The biggest shock was that MiW was 41. He spoke like he had the life experience of a 17 year old who had never left their small, isolated, inbred welsh village.

I don't think he rage-quit either. I think he was told to pull the plug on the account. If you think about his last big argument; one about shariah law and this:

Reform UK may be shifting slightly left with a few things, such as the upcoming appointment of Luke Tryl (Environmental Spokesman for Boris in the early part of the decade), and yes I wish that they could do half of what the people in this thread want - sadly that isn't going to be possible in the first five years of being elected, as we'll have to get both the consent of Parliament and also fend off the bent Judges who will be keen to shoot down any legislation.

Maybe he said the quiet part out loud and was told to #shutitdown.

 

[LongDayAgain]

So are the Tories just completely irrelevant now? Badenoch gives good PMQ and budget speeches but she doesn't strike me as a serious leader.

 

[>IMPLYING]

Maybe he said the quiet part out loud and was told to #shutitdown.

I think that's just pessimistic pragmatism. You saw something similar in response to Trump's first term being something of a wet blanket.

We're of the mindset that those elected to power just can't do... anything. Like they're on a cooldown between major actions and they're simply not allowed to do anything until the arbitrary amount of time has been reached. Our leaders are simply powerless when they're first elected to office and we just have to deal with it. If they're told they can't do something, then they're simply not allowed to react and change the law preventing them from acting. It's legitimately one of the most infuriating aspects of modern politics that the elected representatives can't do anything until they've attained an arbitrary number of years in power.

We can fix shit, but they can't be bothered to try, and this idea that they simply can't is a form of cope. It's one that can be used prior and during the current government, where you can use it to either downplay expectations or soothe impatience, but it's always been an arbitrary thing.

I can point to the individual laws and bills which inhibit the government's ability to do anything, but what then leads to the conclusion there's "nothing we can do" is the idea we can't just get rid of them. Admittedly the House of Lords exist, and under the Parliament Acts they can delay a bill for up to a year, but the Commons can reject all the Lord's suggestions and force it through regardless after that hiatus.

In theory, you can vote on a bill every Friday for a year, probably reserving two Fridays for 2 bills which you suspect the Lords will send back.
Vote -> rejected by Lords -> 2nd Commons vote -> Pass
All you're limited by is the ability to write up bills and then making sure the institutions tasked with carrying them out can be carried out, which is why the various ministries are given a few months to get their affairs in order before their inaction in carrying it out is considered illegal.

Also need to get rid of the supreme court. Basically does nothing anyway and "limits" parliament, so it's a constitutional violation anyway.

I'm gonna go calm down with the best UK tea brand.
Tesco Original Tea - smooth and rounded

 

[Tom Nook's Gloryhole]

I'm gonna go calm down with the best UK tea brand.
Tesco Original Tea - smooth and rounded

It's funny but supermarket branded products tend to be better than the brand equivalent. Tesco's own chocolate tastes better than 99% of all brands these days and contains more cocoa solids than even luxury brands like Tony's.

Asda baked beans are probably the best value for money as well as the best tasting beans on the market. No watery juice with half a can of beans, it's packed right up to the brim with beans and lashings of thick tomato sauce.

 

[Kofi Drinka]

Go swallow a cock. If he acts like a LOLCow, he gets treated like a lolcow, and not once did I threaten him...which is retarded behaviour at best.

Mate you keep dogging him and now you're accusing him of being on multiple websites. If he is, the way he acts is easy to show. Go find them and prove it. You made the accusation.

We sent more money to India and the Pakis than Israel,

Doesn't mean much. Sending money to Israel is different to Israel having the ear of those in power. Even based racist parties all seem to have a friends of Israel group attached.

I know Restore is currently being praised to the gills because of Lowe, but one based man does not make a party, alas. What's stopping him from taking on the former Tory rats like how Reform is currently doing?

Seeing Reform suicide in 2 weeks would probably stop him. Imagine seeing Reform be a single issue party, that people actively voted for and cheered on. Going from zero to top dog and then seeing it die the way it has. Restore will be extremely careful on who it takes in and who it puts in positions of power.

70% of voters not getting their way and already viewing Reform as Nazis will kick off worse than when the students had their spergout when the Lib Dems paired with the Tories so tried to burn down Conservative HQ. There might legitimately be an IRA level of terrorism that kicks off. Political assassinations on MPs, car bombings etc.

No one gets their way in British politics. The majority have voted for anti-immigration over and over and not got it.

If your population is so radical they will try to kill people for doing the right thing, then you do the right thing and shoot the bastards. "There might be terrorist attacks if we fix our country" is like saying "There might be Big Macs if we go to McDonalds". Of course there will be. Do you think the Islamic elements are going to leave peacefully? Some of them will use terrorism as revenge for being kicked out. There will be blood shed from the left if you try to stop their terraforming of the UK. You have to accept innocent people will die, and accept it's okay for people to die if the end result is better for everyone who survives it. It's harsh but that's the reality. Think of it this way, we need to deal with a terrorist problem so we can remove the rape gangs. Some innocent people will die, but many many little children will be saved because of it.

I don't think he rage-quit either. I think he was told to pull the plug on the account. If you think about his last big argument; one about shariah law and this:

He hasn't rage quit. He will be back shortly.

So are the Tories just completely irrelevant now? Badenoch gives good PMQ and budget speeches but she doesn't strike me as a serious leader.

They keep adding diversity hires in charge. Keir is the first white prime minister in like a decade.

Heinz are the only good beans. Everything else tastes cheap. I don't care how thick your sauce is if it tastes like camel piss with a bit of basil mixed in. I do agree with home brands usually being better than the normal brands though. As costs went up the bigger brands added more and more filler instead of real ingredients. The home brands were already designed with the minimal ingredients needed, so as the filler grew the home brand stayed the same. Which made the home brands better. Bit of a sad state of affairs isn't it?

 

[FedPostalService]

So are the Tories just completely irrelevant now? Badenoch gives good PMQ and budget speeches but she doesn't strike me as a serious leader.

She’s good at PMQs but you know who was brilliant at PMQs? William Hauge.

Plus, as my lefty Labour voting dad said about her, “she wasn’t even born here.”

She’s a lame duck leading a dead party.

 

[teriyakiburns]

We're of the mindset that those elected to power just can't do... anything. Like they're on a cooldown between major actions and they're simply not allowed to do anything until the arbitrary amount of time has been reached. Our leaders are simply powerless when they're first elected to office and we just have to deal with it. If they're told they can't do something, then they're simply not allowed to react and change the law preventing them from acting.

Them problem, which I think welshie was hinting at but not explaining, is the entrenched civil service. They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo insofar as they're greatly empowered by things like the human rights act, so they will push back hard against any minister or government that attempts reform of any sort. Any newly elected government will find itself at loggerheads with the bureaucracy, which will cause delays as it tries to negotiate or find a way to work around the problem. That's the reality of the system as it stands. There's also the fact that so many laws impact so many different things and are so intertwined these days. Just repealing the human rights act would require re-writing myriad laws and regulations to account for the changes, some of which would also need repeal. The scope of the changes is immense.

This is one of the reasons Lowe's policies are getting criticised in some circles, even by people involved in their creation behind the scenes. The headline policy documents are concise by design, but there's no detailed further reading to back them up. The white papers exist, as I understand it, but they haven't been published.

I'm trying to be fair and still assuming that Lowe rushed everything out after the rape gang inquiry because he felt an urgency that hadn't existed before, or possibly for some other reason. The fact he's at least generating coherent policy proposals still puts him miles ahead of everyone else, but if we aren't seeing white papers and more detailed discussions of what's actually involved in repealing the blair-era acts within the next few months to a year, then I'll start being a lot more sceptical of the man.

Anyway, time for a little bit of news.

---

gov.uk finally found boat people it was willing to deport ASAP:

Deportation of Chagos Islanders blocked by judge

A judge has issued an order to temporarily block the deportation of four Chagossians who travelled to the Chagos Islands to protest against a deal to hand over the territory to Mauritius.

The Chagossians arrived on a remote part of the archipelago on Monday after sailing from Sri Lanka, with the aim of establishing a permanent settlement on their "homeland".

British authorities served the four men with eviction papers, which warned them they could face fines or jail if they did not leave.

But lawyers representing the men have successfully applied for an injunction to prevent their removal for at least seven days.

 

[LXXVII Brigade]

Also undressed? What?

Apologies, I assumed people would remember more of the League of Gentlemen than "Local shop for local people" and "WE DIDN'T BURN HIM".

There will be blood shed from the left if you try to stop their terraforming of the UK. You have to accept innocent people will die, and accept it's okay for people to die if the end result is better for everyone who survives it. It's harsh but that's the reality. Think of it this way, we need to deal with a terrorist problem so we can remove the rape gangs. Some innocent people will die, but many many little children will be saved because of it.

And people think I fedpost.

How does it feel knowing that your upper management are probably right now trying to stuff your hard work into an LLM and expecting it to give them magical answers to all their questions?

Genuine answer? LLMs are good for collating information but piss poor at coming to any usable conclusions. At the end of the day it will always be a human doing the actual analysis of the information. If the Army tried to use LLM to generate a targeting pack then Army Legal Services would get all upset about the possible warcrime the Army could be about to commit. Private companies on the other hand don't give a shit and will do it because it's cheaper and then wonder why their projections are fucked up.

It's similar to law in that regards I guess, useful to trawl through shit tons of raw information but should be kept as far away from a court room as possible.

 

[Heinrich Maneuver]

So are the Tories just completely irrelevant now? Badenoch gives good PMQ and budget speeches but she doesn't strike me as a serious leader.

She's funny when going against Starmer but the Conservatives have truly lost it. Badenoch is also a 'literally who'? who came into power after about four or five Tory PMs in quick succession, each with less flavour and personality than the last. What is the Conservative party's identity now? The big rightwing issue is immigration. Any rightwing party that can't go hard on that cannot get the vote.

 

[Kofi Drinka]

Apologies, I assumed people would remember more of the League of Gentlemen than "Local shop for local people" and "WE DIDN'T BURN HIM".

And people think I fedpost.

Genuine answer? LLMs are good for collating information but piss poor at coming to any usable conclusions. At the end of the day it will always be a human doing the actual analysis of the information. If the Army tried to use LLM to generate a targeting pack then Army Legal Services would get all upset about the possible warcrime the Army could be about to commit. Private companies on the other hand don't give a shit and will do it because it's cheaper and then wonder why their projections are fucked up.

It's similar to law in that regards I guess, useful to trawl through shit tons of raw information but should be kept as far away from a court room as possible.

I don't think it's fedposting to say Islamic groups cause terrorism when you upset them. Many of them will choose martyrdom over returning home and we have to be prepared for it. We're not going to remove them without them turning violent. We've already had them turn violent on us for welcoming them in.

 

[>IMPLYING]

Them problem, which I think welshie was hinting at but not explaining, is the entrenched civil service. They have a vested interest in maintaining the status quo insofar as they're greatly empowered by things like the human rights act, so they will push back hard against any minister or government that attempts reform of any sort. Any newly elected government will find itself at loggerheads with the bureaucracy, which will cause delays as it tries to negotiate or find a way to work around the problem. That's the reality of the system as it stands. There's also the fact that so many laws impact so many different things and are so intertwined these days. Just repealing the human rights act would require re-writing myriad laws and regulations to account for the changes, some of which would also need repeal. The scope of the changes is immense.

The buried lede though.
The civil service has powers the ability to refute government based on what the government itself has given it permission to do. Even at the root, the civil service can only do what they're allowed to by law, and the refusal to change or repeal it is a wilful act by those elected. The civil service was allowed to impede the Rwanda scheme because the human rights act places the ECHR's as having primacy over parliament. In a scenario where this wasn't the case, and the civil service refused openly to act, they've effectively voided the protections they've got which prevent them being fired on the spot and they'll be removed en masse.

It almost feels like victim blaming the British people or the government but they're only capable of doing what they're doing because they're allowed to do it. The civil service can't impede or veto a bill in parliament, or render the results of an election null, they're an overprivileged arm of the state which has gotten too haughty for its own good.

Doesn't mean much. Sending money to Israel is different to Israel having the ear of those in power. Even based racist parties all seem to have a friends of Israel group attached.

Semi-relevant to the above: these groups only have as much sway as they're granted by those who tolerate them.
The presence of these groups doesn't necessarily mean anything in of itself.

Asda baked beans are probably the best value for money as well as the best tasting beans on the market. No watery juice with half a can of beans, it's packed right up to the brim with beans and lashings of thick tomato sauce.

>ASDA's baked beans

Aldi's gets 2nd place.
Heinz are shit. Literally tastes like beans in a watered down version of their ketchup — fite me

 

[Kofi Drinka]

Semi-relevant to the above: these groups only have as much sway as they're granted by those who tolerate them.
The presence of these groups doesn't necessarily mean anything in of itself.

Jews playing all sides is nothing new. Hitler's jew hate is over blown but that's a sperg out for another time.

Actual opinion I hold and I know will make people angry time. If you left the UK when it was going to shit you shouldn't be allowed to return if it fixed. I think Restore should remove the citizenship of any one who fled the country for "a better life." I know the thread is full of them, but if you're not willing to fight for a country and restore it then you don't deserve the rewards for doing so. Moving to a third world shit hole (pedoland) or fucking off to another country not quite as declined is a form of cowardice. You betrayed your country when it was most in need and you should live in exile and shame.

 

[Otterly]

Apologies, I assumed people would remember more of the League of Gentlemen than "Local shop for local people" and "WE DIDN'T BURN HIM".

I actually didn’t remember that bit and had to go back and look. lol.

Genuine answer? LLMs are good for collating information but piss poor at coming to any usable conclusions. At the end of the day it will always be a human doing the actual analysis of the information. If the Army tried to use LLM to generate a targeting pack then Army Legal Services would get all upset about the possible warcrime the Army could be about to commit. Private companies on the other hand don't give a shit and will do it because it's cheaper and then wonder why their projections are fucked up.

See replies like this make me understand how coups and juntas happen. There are times rhe army (which I’m sure has its own idiocies, esp. Procurement) seems far more sane than government or industry, and you can see how people just get fed up and let them have a go.
I work for a multibillion dollar American mega pro and we are all in on AI, in none of the ways it could be useful and many it’s counterproductive. It’s pretty clear that nobody understands what it is, and what it can and can’t do.
There’s something about the way the army is structured that sometimes makes them retain more of a grip of reality. Probably the more direct ways they can kill people compared to the others. Must sharpen minds.
I nearly applied to intelligence work. Testing revealed very low scores on two of the dark triad with very high Machiavellianism. I think I’d have been quite good at the whole thing.

Heinz are shit

It used to be that the brand was usually better. But now you often find the white label is. McVities digestives now have palm oil in, and a hideous texture but some of the supermarket own brands don’t.

 

[Heinrich Maneuver]

TMZ has received photos of Andrew playing with an unknown young boy and a 'breast shaped ball' inside what is believed to be his Windsor residence.

 

[Otterly]

Not really. But I am happy that most people here don't care.

The sort of earnest autism that corrects me and educates me is one of the big reasons i stay here. Serious isn’t humourless, not in your case anyway, so you’re good.

TMZ has received photos of Andrew playing with an unknown young boy and a 'breast shaped ball' inside what is believed to be his Windsor residence.

Oh dear dear dear. I do wonder what sort of effect image generating AI will have on all this sort of thing. The cynic in me thinks maybe it was all developed so that some people with serious skeletons in their closets could have some deniability.
Randy Andy getting his comeuppance is great. As with all this stuff though, I wonder why NOW?

 

[Mound Dweller]

Beans are subjective to your early life comfy breakfast memories... unless it's Heinz, because they're shit.

TMZ has received photos of Andrew playing with an unknown young boy and a 'breast shaped ball'

Spoiler: technically SFW but cringe

He's the designated scapegoat then, this is quite damning, gonna be cathartic to see him get rinsed and all but it'll all the more sour that's he'll likely be the only one.

Randy Andy getting his comeuppance is great. As with all this stuff though, I wonder why NOW?

Sacrificial lamb, corn harvest etc, he was always gonna be the disposable idiot what with being an idiot and all.