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.

 

[Sanshain]

Wasted or not, it's money being wasted by the UK itself on the whims of its own citizens.

So, basically, you shouldn't talk a suicide victim down from their ledge, because if they choose to die, that's their own free will and you have no right to argue otherwise?

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

So, basically, you shouldn't talk a suicide victim down from their ledge, because if they choose to die, that's their own free will and you have no right to argue otherwise?

Oh nobody is going to complain about you whining, it's the fact people like you are activley fighting against the popular vote that people like me think is disgusting.

 

[Sanshain]

Oh nobody is going to complain about you whining, it's the fact people like you are activley fighting against the popular vote that people like me think is disgusting.

You mean a vote that was made in response to a proposal that was blatantly just a political stunt? I'm sorry, but what exactly do you think you gained from this? A popular vote should be used to support proposals that are researched and carefully formulated for the public benefit. This was nothing of the sort. I'm not actually opposed to the idea of leaving the EU at all - with a plan that actually works. That's what people just seem to refuse to understand; this was always going to happen. You were always going to get the worst outcome possible in this scenario because there was no groundwork, no internal support, and no political goodwill behind the project. This wasn't a referendum based on years of careful planning, research and dedicated effort to ensure a better, brighter UK would rise from the ashes of the EU, it was a referendum employed as a voting tactic, which you are now defending as some sort of victory.

 

[Clem Fandango]

The Scots get contempt from Westminster? Your own police, your own education system, your own health system, all with higher funding per person than the rest of the UK? Scottish independence is built on anti-English whinging. Face it, nothing will appease you lot.

 

[Aristophanes]

Regardless of whether you're a Brexiteer or a Remainer, one thing we can all agree on is that Theresa May is utterly incompetant as PM.

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

You mean a vote that was made in response to a proposal that was blatantly just a political stunt? I'm sorry, but what exactly do you think you gained from this?

What I gained from this? This is just totally demonstrative of your mindset. Could it be possible that I might not have actually gained from this and I made a reasoned vote on what I felt was best for the country rather than my own personal gain?

I'm still an EU citizen whatever way things went. I just think the way UK workers have been treated by the EU (Fishing rights for instance) is awful and the things the EU gets up to....Oh my God, have you read anything about the kind of shit they pull with the fish trawlers, North Korean slave labour imports into Eastern Europe.

It sounds beyond belief but nope, it's so well known even bloody Panorama and Dispatches released documentaries on it.

The idea of a united Europe where we can all hold hands and be friends sounds nice, but in practice, the wealthy pro-democracy, pro-LGBT, welfare state UK shares little if anything with the rather more regressive Poland, Romania etc.

The UK is best off not as a fiefdom and contributor of the tyranny masquerading as a liberal beacon on the continent.

A popular vote should be used to support proposals that are researched and carefully formulated for the public benefit.

REEEE VOTE AGAIN UNTIL YOU VOTE THE RIGHT WAY!

Smells like Ireland and the Lisbon treaty.

This was nothing of the sort. I'm not actually opposed to the idea of leaving the EU at all - with a plan that actually works. That's what people just seem to refuse to understand; this was always going to happen. You were always going to get the worst outcome possible in this scenario because there was no groundwork, no internal support, and no political goodwill behind the project. This wasn't a referendum based on years of careful planning, research and dedicated effort to ensure a better, brighter UK would rise from the ashes of the EU, it was a referendum employed as a voting tactic, which you are now defending as some sort of victory.

We've had three years to formulate a plan. The fact the government is so weak and willing to be bought and harangued by Remain lobbyists is the problem there, not the lack of a plan or time to form one.

 

[Coldgrip]

You guys should just break off and form your own union, with blackjack and hookers.

Oh, wait...

 

[Sanshain]

What I gained from this? This is just totally demonstrative of your mindset. Could it be possible that, I might not have actually gained from this and I made a reasoned vote on what I felt was best for the country rather than my own personal gain?

I'd rather the UK break off and starve than become a fiefdome of the tyranny masquerading as a liberal beacon on the continent.

 

[Aristophanes]

The DUP has backed out of the vote, so May is pretty much on her own (besides from the Cabinet, and her small band of supporters). Who knew that trying to bribe the DUP (and violating the terms of the GFA, an international peace treaty) would blow up in her face?

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

It's true. The EU is awful.

Of course the UK won't starve because, unsuprisingly, the deals they can strike with other powers are actually better than the in-house EU ones. Because it's the UK who has been one of the top three contributors to the EU, not the other way around.

 

[Sanshain]

It's true. The EU is awful.

Of course the UK won't starve because, unsuprisingly, the deals they can strike with other powers are actually better than the in-house EU ones. Because it's the UK who has been one of the top three contributors to the EU, not the other way around.

The fact you didn't even realize what I was reacting to just proves my point for me.

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

The fact you didn't even realize what I was reacting to just proves my point for me.

No, I got it and it is the best decision.

You're still full of shit btw.

 

[Just Some Other Guy]

You mean a vote that was made in response to a proposal that was blatantly just a political stunt? I'm sorry, but what exactly do you think you gained from this? A popular vote should be used to support proposals that are researched and carefully formulated for the public benefit. This was nothing of the sort. I'm not actually opposed to the idea of leaving the EU at all - with a plan that actually works. That's what people just seem to refuse to understand; this was always going to happen. You were always going to get the worst outcome possible in this scenario because there was no groundwork, no internal support, and no political goodwill behind the project. This wasn't a referendum based on years of careful planning, research and dedicated effort to ensure a better, brighter UK would rise from the ashes of the EU, it was a referendum employed as a voting tactic, which you are now defending as some sort of victory.

A vote is a vote. Just because your politicians wanted to use it as a political stunt doesn't invalidate it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Honor it and make the best of it, instead of letting your leaders grovel in front of the EU. "We're so sorry Brussels, we're really trying to teach our people to know better!"

 

[Sanshain]

A vote is a vote. Just because your politicians wanted to use it as a political stunt doesn't invalidate it. Play stupid games, win stupid prizes. Honor it and make the best of it, instead of letting your leaders grovel in front of the EU. "We're so sorry Brussels, we're really trying to teach our people to know better!"

I thought the point of democracy was to make it so that the people didn't have to pay for the incompetence and corruption of their leadership body.

 

[Corbin Dallas Multipass]

Okay, sure, just disregard the personal experience of a large part of my extended family. Have you ever heard of the bean wars? Apparently not.

Also, regardless of how much money the UK pays to the EU, the fact remains they waste far more money than that through plain old incompetence. Blaming the EU for making the UK poor when the UK is busy spending untold billions on useless military projects and related schemes that even the average idiot can tell are going to accomplish absolutely nothing is blatantly shifting the blame to an unaccountable third party.

Edit: I really love how personal experience is discarded as 'anecdotal', while speculative analysis filled with 'maybes' and opinions from disconnected third-parties is presented as fact.

Your lived experience does not trump accurate statistics, no. Otherwise some other jackass can just come along and say "Well I lived in that time too and there were no beans".

An anecdote with supporting citations is a good compromise, you get the emotional grab with the weight of facts behind it. That only works if the thing you're claiming is actually true though.

 

[MembersSchoolPizza]

That's what people just seem to refuse to understand; this was always going to happen. You were always going to get the worst outcome possible in this scenario because there was no groundwork, no internal support, and no political goodwill behind the project.

"Don't try, because the people in power over you are feckless, incompetent gobshites who will betray you. So just shut up and let the feckless, incompetent gobshites do whatever they want."

Brilliant political strategy, I suppose?

You realize that it's exactly that sort of attitude that leads to to this sort of "better to reign in hell than serve in heaven" events, right? When people realize they're fucked sideways no matter which way they vote, they're going to be inclined to vote for what they actually want, even if it might be painful.

 

[Sanshain]

calling a referendum on policy changes is the polar opposite of corruption.
if anything, the classic EU ways of "repeat the vote until we get the result we want" and "ignore the plebs and push ahead anyway" are far more corrupt and malicious than what cameron did in britain.

I don't think you fully understand my point; it wasn't that the referendum was called, it was the fact that it was called in bad faith. This is the most ridiculous thing that I see all the time. People will, in one breath, insist that the government must be held to task and called to fulfill their obligations to the people. Then in the next breath they start complaining about how incapable and useless said government is at doing that very thing.

Here's what I'm getting at; the referendum was a bad call. Not because it was about leaving the EU, but because it was the worst possible way to leave the EU. People didn't vote for it because they saw it as a strong, organised effort to fulfill their wishes of a UK free and prosperous, they voted for it because they saw it as a shortcut to forcing a fundamentally uncooperative administration into a particular course of action. Thus, you don't get any of the benefits a progressive movement with a strong track record of voter support, but you instead get all the negatives of a movement that was going in the exact opposite direction being forced by a 'gotcha' to act against what it sees as its own best interests. Instead of voting for it, the best course of action would've been to abstain, and then use the democratic process to push for an EU referendum that had a strong core of supporters with a unified goal and plan of action ahead of time. But no, people didn't want that. They wanted a quick fix and to walk home from the voting booth with the smug feeling of sticking it to all those incompetent fools who totally will never expect this outcome.

 

[Queen Elizabeth II]

I don't think you fully understand my point; it wasn't that the referendum was called, it was the fact that it was called in bad faith. This is the most ridiculous thing that I see all the time. People will, in one breath, insist that the government must be held to task and called to fulfill their obligations to the people. Then in the next breath they start complaining about how incapable and useless said government is at doing that very thing.

And how do we decide if it was in "bad faith"? To whom do we look oh Lord, who can look into the hearts of men and smell the taint of the heathen, heretic and apostate?

It wouldn't happen to be you would it?

 

[Aristophanes]

For those wanting to put a bet down on the vote at the bookies, here's the latest odds:

Odds that the House of Commons will reject Theresa May's Brexit deal are currently 1/100 at Paddy Power.

The odds that the deal will be approved are just 20/1.

They're offering 13/10 that a second EU referendum will take place before the end of 2019, and 5/1 odds that Theresa May will cease being Prime Minister this month.

Odds that she'll last until the end of the year are just 9/4.

Ex-Foreign Secretary Boris Johnson and Home Secretary Sajid Javid are the favourites to replace Mrs May as the next Conservative leader, each with 7/1 odds that they'll take over.

Ladbrokes has 11/8 odds that a general election will take place this year, and 3/1 that the UK will leave the EU without a deal before 1 April.

 

[Sanshain]

And how do we decide if it was in "bad faith"? To whom do we look oh Lord, who can look into the hearts of men and smell the taint of the heathen, heretic and apostate?

It wouldn't happen to be you would it?

Somebody with a basic understanding of political theory would be a good start.