Major, or just possibly Hague. Howard did all he could to put Cameron in as his successor, and we all know what happened next. IDS was Truss with less hair.

I think they should, and ask them 'So, Mr Polanski, why should anyone believe that a boob hypnotist is a man who will not lie to the public, or tell them things that are mad or fraudulent?'

Someone, some time, is going to tell Will the story of Liz Truss and her 49 days as Prime Minister, and it is going to blow his mind.

They really should rename this place 'BlueSilo'.

And so far, all the comments to your post are indeed variations on 'Reform is so stupid, how can anyone not see this?' Every time I read Bluesky, I have incredibly strong 'telling people in May 2016 that I thought the Referendum was going to be close' vibes.

Agreed. My timeline is full of left-liberal friends chuckling 'ha ha, look at the stupid Reform gammons'. Whereas they should be worried: Reform have met reality in local government, and are thinking sensibly- raise taxes and support services- which will make them stronger at the General Election.

Yes, I think your point- that the new breed of international fan may be a damn sight less patient than the fans from 1969-1992- is quite likely to be right.

'Why on earth are Brits talking about council tax and street crime and NHS waiting times? Haven't you seen what ICE are doing in California? God, you're all just so parochial, unlike me!'

26 years: 1967 to 1993. (25 years from the 1968 European Cup.)

Oh sweet Jesus, we are now getting to people seriously saying 'If you're sceptical about the Office for Budget Responsibility, you are probably either a tankie or a fascist'.

There are still a lot of working people's cafes in Brussels where they speak Galician, after a lot of coal miners immigrated- postwar, and I think also interwar.

Two tours, in fact.

I suspect you're right, however, for a lot of the armed cops who are not in the highest-tier specialist units.

Hmm, but for decades the police were training to take on PIRA, who had and used automatic rifles on the mainland. And I know they've done serious training on 'mass shooter' scenarios: they got very worried after eg the 2008 Mumbai attacks.

Writing things down is the best way to stop endlessly replaying them. I wrote a detailed account of a Herrick tour and I am sure it helped me a lot.

Isn't part of the story that the police take their cues on close quarter marksmanship from the acknowledged experts- special forces- who in turn use 9mm pistols and 5.56mm (or sometimes 6.8mm or 7.62mm) carbines and rifles? But SF have huge training budgets and the police don't, so are weaker shots.

No bad faith involved. I literally couldn't believe- and still find it hard, if I'm honest- that you could look at the OBR's forecasting record and think it anything other than a failure. Possibly you could make an argument about why you think otherwise, though I won't hold my breath waiting.

I admit I initially thought back in April that you couldn't possibly believe that such a consistent record of failure on the OBR's part was actually quite good. But no, it turns out you do. I apologise for crediting you with more common sense than you possess.