UK British News Megathread - aka CWCissey's news thread

https://news.sky.com/story/row-over-new-greggs-vegan-sausage-rolls-heats-up-11597679

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]

Adolescence' writers are going to remake the nuclear-war drama 'Threads' that was set in South Yorkshire in 1984

Well they won’t need to spend much money on sets, they can just film in page hall or Doncaster for that bombed out wasteland look.

 

[Overly Serious]

Yank posting I know but, how does Donny just do things?
I want to send illegals home - done
I want to burn EV mandates - so done
I want to end tranny shit - totes done
I want tariffs - it’s fucking done

Kev the tool maker is still wondering how the fuck he’s the leader of the twat party……. Labour Party.

Because the president of the United States is actually leader of your country and the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom is less powerful. There's also the issue of whether he actually wants to do something even if he says he does, but putting that aside the true power increasingly lies with the Civil Service and there are laws preventing the Prime Minister from removing whoever she wants to remove. Whilst the Don just says to the head of the FBI or whoever "you're gone."

Liz Truss said that if you want to put this country back on course it's not enough to simply elect a Prime Minister who wants to do that. You have to repeal a number of laws which prevent them from doing so:

(should start at 9:24mins)

EDIT:

Well they won’t need to spend much money on sets,

(or make-up)

 

[Just a boring name]

Well they won’t need to spend much money on sets, they can just film in page hall or Doncaster for that bombed out wasteland look.

Please may I nominate Barnsley for the nuking?

If the whole place is destroyed, that's probably about a fivers worth of damage - even including the new Glassworks bullshittery.

 

[A-Logato]

Uh oh Reform sisters! Is it over?!

 

[>IMPLYING]

Uh oh Reform sisters! Is it over?!

Lmao.
General gist of the audio:

1. Reform's ultimate goal is proportional representation (which he got from the horse's mouth apparently), which in Lee's mind is trading an effective parliament for a modicum of power (which would also give the Greens and Lib Dems as much say as them) and forever coalitions.

2. Reform apparently didn't expect to win the next election (which we know in hindsight is true) but hope their numbers would be enough to force Labour to give them PR. I don't know if Lee was implying Reform were intentionally sabotaging the Conservatives to get Labour in or not.

3. Lee thinks Labour's ultimate objective is to give 16 year olds the vote, and voting Reform is essentially a vote for Labour, and if Labour win again that'll be next thing on their agenda. 16 year olds voting would then make it impossible for Conservatives to ever win again. Not sure if I'm as pessimistic but I think his concerns are genuine, if only because young people might be grateful for the party that gave them the right to vote.

Lee joined Reform in March of 2024, and that audio comes from October of 2023 I believe, when he was still Conservative. He can easily bullshit some things about changing his views or something like that, which is I am willing to give him considering politicians as a baseline will pretty much go wherever the wind is blowing. A bribe for this defection isn't news however, as The Independent reported on it way back in Nov of 2023. He resigned in January of 2025 as a result of the Conservatives putting up absolutely no effort to make sure the bare minimum (The Rwanda scheme) was actually put into action. I'm willing to believe he got pissed off enough to switch-sides since he seems to be, at the very least, anti-immigrant.

 

[Kier Starmer]

Uh oh, Nigel will not like this at all and it makes him look even more stupid than he already is.

 

[>IMPLYING]

Uh oh, Nigel will not like this at all and it makes him look even more stupid than he already is.

I predict: "Unlike our opponents, we don't believe in condemning people for the mistakes of the past. We're willing to move on from it and not get bogged down in witch hunts and cancel culture — if that's their prerogative, so be it, but we have much more important things to do." - Farage, or something, if this ever gets brought up.

 

[A-Logato]

1. Reform's ultimate goal is proportional representation (which he got from the horse's mouth apparently), which in Lee's mind is trading an effective parliament for a modicum of power (which would also give the Greens and Lib Dems as much say as them) and forever coalitions.

2. Reform apparently didn't expect to win the next election (which we know in hindsight is true) but hope their numbers would be enough to force Labour to give them PR. I don't know if Lee was implying Reform were intentionally sabotaging the Conservatives to get Labour in or not.

3. Lee thinks Labour's ultimate objective is to give 16 year olds the vote, and voting Reform is essentially a vote for Labour, and if Labour win again that'll be next thing on their agenda. 16 year olds voting would then make it impossible for Conservatives to ever win again. Not sure if I'm as pessimistic but I think his concerns are genuine, if only because young people might be grateful for the party that gave them the right to vote.

Lee joined Reform in March of 2024, and that audio comes from October of 2023 I believe, when he was still Conservative. He can easily bullshit some things about changing his views or something like that, which is I am willing to give him considering politicians as a baseline will pretty much go wherever the wind is blowing. A bribe for this defection isn't news however, as The Independent reported on it way back in Nov of 2023. He resigned in January of 2025 as a result of the Conservatives putting up absolutely no effort to make sure the bare minimum (The Rwanda scheme) was actually put into action. I'm willing to believe he got pissed off enough to switch-sides since he seems to be, at the very least, anti-immigrant.

It's a pretty damning recording on what some people really think Reform is and for the most part he is correct. I'm curious on the amount he got paid and was being offered for him to come over to Reform and just what is the scale of these pay outs going to Reform MP's to leave what ever party they are in.

Also the subject of 16 year old voting is something I could see them slipping in and then they take a shot at a second Brexit referendum with this new young voting base who for sure are going to vote to rejoin and flip the whole thing.

 

[bluegenius8585]

'Adolescence' writers are going to remake the nuclear-war drama 'Threads' that was set in South Yorkshire in 1984

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm24nedy37ro

Will Starmer make new nuclear policies off of the back of this? I wonder if it will show the rape gangs getting nuked (located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire) and if it will be celebrated and in turn, the fans berated?

I don’t get the obsession over that not massively original TV show. Why does 2TK care about some fictional story

Of course only the right kind is allowed , three girls goes against the message

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

It would be less of an atrocity if South Yorkshire was actually bombed.

Oh no, the russians have nuked the paki rape gangs
anyway...

 

[Narr Then]

Oh no, the russians have nuked the paki rape gangs
anyway...

Speaking of which...

 

[FedPostalService]

'Adolescence' writers are going to remake the nuclear-war drama 'Threads' that was set in South Yorkshire in 1984

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm24nedy37ro

Will Starmer make new nuclear policies off of the back of this? I wonder if it will show the rape gangs getting nuked (located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire) and if it will be celebrated and in turn, the fans berated?

I can’t wait for all the references to Thatcher stealing milk.

Why is Netflix churning out Labour propaganda?

Funnily enough, Dark was anti-nuclear propaganda aimed at Germany but was really good. It was also just before Germany got hit with a massive energy crisis and realised shutting all their reactors down was retarded.

I would if this series was meant to coincide with a push for green energy but just as the establishment have to admit how retarded that is?

 

[Inquisitor_BadAss]

'Adolescence' writers are going to remake the nuclear-war drama 'Threads' that was set in South Yorkshire in 1984

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cm24nedy37ro

Will Starmer make new nuclear policies off of the back of this? I wonder if it will show the rape gangs getting nuked (located in Rotherham, South Yorkshire) and if it will be celebrated and in turn, the fans berated?

Threads was a damn masterpiece. The ending is probably the most bleak and depressing shit you will ever watch. I wonder what they will do with the hospital scene of anything at all (it was doctor's and nurses quite literally putting salt into the wounds of survivors and leaving the more severely injured to just die).
There was another more documentary style show made around the same time where they take the critically wounded outback and just shoot them. If I could remember what it was called I'd link it for you all to watch.

 

[Whoopsie Daisy]

Threads was a damn masterpiece. The ending is probably the most bleak and depressing shit you will ever watch. I wonder what they will do with the hospital scene of anything at all (it was doctor's and nurses quite literally putting salt into the wounds of survivors and leaving the more severely injured to just die).
There was another more documentary style show made around the same time where they take the critically wounded outback and just shoot them. If I could remember what it was called I'd link it for you all to watch.

Threads an interesting watch for sure. I enjoyed how the nuclear war wasn't first and foremost of the story and that it was background chatter on the radios before it became too late to ignore.
Who will they blame for the Nuclear war? It can't be cold war era, it can't be Iran for Islamaphobic reasons, maybe it will be Drumpff depicted as a white-supremacist right-wing nutter who decides to nukes UK for reasons.

Either way, the fallout (pun intended) from how shit the show will be will be a good laugh.

 

[>IMPLYING]

It's a pretty damning recording on what some people really think Reform is and for the most part he is correct. I'm curious on the amount he got paid and was being offered for him to come over to Reform and just what is the scale of these pay outs going to Reform MP's to leave what ever party they are in.

Also the subject of 16 year old voting is something I could see them slipping in and then they take a shot at a second Brexit referendum with this new young voting base who for sure are going to vote to rejoin and flip the whole thing.

I'm curious if he got paid at all considering the circumstances. According to Andrea Jenkyns, it might've been in the ballpark of 80 thousand pounds. (Why'd she reveal on the day she joined Reform that donors tried to bribe her?) According to Simon Hart, it was £400,000. Andrea was offered 80k on election night and Hart's figure came from the end of 2023, so it appeared the longer they waited the less they received. I think the wiggle room Reform gave themselves in saying that they weren't 'bribes' was that it was technically salary being paid in advance... for 5 years.

Lee seemed all-in on the Conservatives during that recording, then they fucked up the one thing they wouldn't shut up about (Rwanda plan) a month after. I think his value as an asset was the potential legitimacy he might've given to Reform as an actual replacement for the Tories, and possibly encouraging a few more MPs to break ranks and join with him without spending a penny. But we saw how that panned out.

Imagine being forced to join the party you were shit talking half a year prior, but without a juicy bribe and no position to bargain from — couldn't be me.

I do have to say though, whilst their ability to bribe might be shit, at least they know who's worth poaching. Lee and Andrea are both anti-immigrant, hard-Brexit, opposed to some of the more draconian covid measures (Lee was anti-Covid passport), and usually one act of 'controversy' that makes them feel human.

In August 2023, Anderson commented that any asylum seekers who disliked being housed in barges such as the Bibby Stockholm "should fuck off back to France".

In July 2022, Jenkyns was appointed Parliamentary Under-Secretary of State at the Department for Education.[34] On the way to attending Boris Johnson's resignation speech in Downing Street, Jenkyns was filmed making a "middle finger" gesture at protesters.

I'm curious who else they tried to bribe.

Regarding 16-year olds voting and using it to re-join the EU:

1. I think re-joining the EU is out of Labour's mind at this point. We saw an attempt to foster closer relations with trying to station some troops in Ukraine with France (but that fell through for multiple reasons, one of which being a lack of German co-operation) but considering Starmer is firmly in Trump's camp with tariffs and shit, which is opposed to most of Europe except Italy, I don't think there's any immediate inclination to get back in. The EU's sole benefit really is the Schengen, but if immigrants fall out of favour than a trade deal will do rather than integration. Plus imagine the ball ache of putting together a 2nd referendum. Nah, not worth it. Although if globalisation is truly reversing, the EU might follow suit in scope if we're lucky.

2. I think 16 year olds voting might've been attractive once upon a time, but I think younger people are demonstrating a more schizo shift in political inclinations that make them less reliable than they once were, what with half of the kids seeing the virtues of a dictatorship and all. And apparently the split isn't in favour of the Left as you might think: "Our survey asked young people to put themselves on a left-right scale of 1 to 10. The figures show that 17% leaned left (1–3), 20% leaned right (8–10), and 47% put themselves in the middle (4–7). A further 16% said they didn’t know." I do wonder what the potential effect would be on areas that are majority Muslim but currently held by Labour. Every independent gain in 2024 was snatched from Labour in areas with substantial minority populations, so that might make them more vulnerable to having their seats snatched — another reason why lowering the voting age might be unattractive.

 

[Smyrna]

Unsurprisingly, the government has shelved its feeble plans to investigate Pakistani rape gangs.

----------------------

A THREADS remake could be quite good. I do not trust Netflix or the producers to conceive a sensible scenario for how the big red button gets pushed, but nonetheless it could be a timely reminder for the viewing public that there is only one way a war between nuclear powers will end.

One thing I particularly liked about THREADS (and its septic cousin The Day After) is that the focus was not on London (or, in TDA's case, New York\Washington\Los Angeles etc.). I think it helped reinforce the message that if it happens, it won't just be the metropolises that get it, and you won't be able to hide from the aftermath.

 

[Brahma]

weird adherence to the rulings of international bodies we should have been ignoring

Starkey has been banging that drum recently, as well as the newfound obeisance of elected governments to the judiciary, both domestic and international, across the West

It's just part of the further erosion of democracy because more and more the political class realise that actual democracy, rather than the sham that representative democracy has turned in to, would be the end of them.

Whether it's courts, or the ECHR, or an "independent governing body" or a consent laundering NGO report, they've no end of things they can point to that are "forcing" them to defy the will of the people

 

[Mound Dweller]

3. Lee thinks Labour's ultimate objective is to give 16 year olds the vote, and voting Reform is essentially a vote for Labour, and if Labour win again that'll be next thing on their agenda. 16 year olds voting would then make it impossible for Conservatives to ever win again. Not sure if I'm as pessimistic but I think his concerns are genuine, if only because young people might be grateful for the party that gave them the right to vote.

This is a false hope on their part and the schizo shift will be real IMO, much like how the tories wanted to cut down on the 50 Asian cousins all vooting through one proxy backfired by cutting out the pensioners who can't fandangle their way into a photo booth, I think giving 16 year olds vooting would have the opposite desired effect; they're lazy fuckers who won't vooote anyway (turnout amongst da yoof in general is abysmal, take any random social media activist who tongues gazan anus and check their name against the electoral register to see this in action) but also... Remember how around this time last century the Liberals pushed HARD for women to get the vote and then never got back into government again? I reckon enfranchising the generation of the chud would have a similar outcome.

 

[Morethanabitfoolish]

Labour are once again trying for digital ID. Less than a year since Tony told them to bring it in and here we go again. Once more the claim is it will prevent migration with no explanation how. The vapid twit they had on Radio 4 earlier claimed it will stop health tourism because people will need their digital ID to use the NHS. Without saying that they would do that to non-citizens because that's not on the agenda. She also added, "we had mandatory ID during the war" and then I tuned out because if I listened to any more I might have driven my fist through the radio.

https://archive.ph/fjWnA

More than 40 Labour MPs are urging ministers to introduce a new form of digital ID to help control the migration system and improve public services.
In an open letter, Labour MPs from three groups said a "gear shift" was needed to reap the benefits of digital identification.
The idea of digital ID for all has long been backed by former Labour Prime Minister Sir Tony Blair and former Conservative leader William Hague.
But the BBC understands the government has no plans to introduce mandatory digital ID.
The letter said, external while the government had made "great strides" on digitising identification, "the time has come for a more comprehensive programme".
"The truth is we are moving to an era of digital ID," Jake Richards, one of the Labour MPs who signed the letter, told the BBC.
"The government knows this - and is bringing forward new developments with digital driving licences and passports, but we want them to move faster, to ensure the project is comprehensive and joined-up and, critically, bring the public with them."
The group argues digital ID could help tackle "illegal off-the-books employment".
The proposal falls short of the compulsory identity cards Sir Tony brought in when he was prime minister.
The last Labour government started issuing the first ID cards to UK citizens and 15,000 were in circulation when the scheme was scrapped by the Conservative-Liberal Democrat coalition in 2011 and the database destroyed.
Sir Tony has since suggested using digital ID to help control immigration so "we know precisely who has a right to be here".
The government has focused on targeting people-smuggling gangs to bring down illegal migration, which is one of Labour's biggest challenges.
The latest Home Office data show more than 5,000 migrants have crossed the English Channel in small boats so far this year.

Sir Tony Blair has backed the idea of digital ID
In the open letter, the Labour MPs said "this government will only succeed if it is able to get a grip on illegal migration".
A key part of this, the letter said, "must be tackling illegal off-the-books employment, which is a major draw for migrants entering our country unlawfully".
"Digital ID would help counter these practices," the MPs said.
Richards - the MP for Rother Valley - said the system for managing and tracking people who enter the country illegally was "fraught with inefficiencies".
He added: "Digital processing and some form of digital ID for those that arrive would help us control the system much more effectively."
The letter also said digital ID could "transform public services" by making it easier to access the NHS, tailoring education and cracking down on benefits fraud.
But the letter said any digital ID programme "must be developed with care, respecting an individual's privacy".
The letter was signed by MPs from the Labour Growth Group, the Red Wall Group representing seats in the Midlands and north of England, and the socially conservative Blue Labour group. Many of them were elected for the first time last year.
Polling by YouGov, external suggests there is strong support for the introduction of a system of national identity cards in the UK.
Bur critics of such forms of ID have raised concerns about privacy, civil liberties and the collection of data by the state.
An online wallet already allows users to store government-issued documents on their phones, and a digital driving licence is being launched this year.
A government spokesperson said: "We are committed to using technology to improve lives and transform public services.
"Digital identities offer a secure, efficient way for people to prove who they are without physical documents, reducing fraud and saving time.
"Trusted providers following government rules are already conducting hundreds of thousands of digital checks monthly, helping people access employment, housing, and vital services more quickly and easily, while boosting productivity, driving economic efficiency, and supporting long-term growth as part of our plan for change."

I'll dig up some lighter news later, this one irked me.

 

[teriyakiburns]

A key part of this, the letter said, "must be tackling illegal off-the-books employment, which is a major draw for migrants entering our country unlawfully".
"Digital ID would help counter these practices," the MPs said.

claims like this always drive me utterly bonkers. They're already breaking the law. Breaking another law to continue working under the table won't phase them even for a moment.

Fucking digital ID scam. They might actually get it through this time, too. The only mitigation is that it'll be so costly and complicated to implement that they'll never actually get it into practice, which means we'll have yet another useless law on the books that will only be rolled out whenever they want to pad a charge sheet.