Kmflett's Blog

New research by the British Election Study, which is genuine research not just an opinion poll, has looked at what has happened to UK voting intentions since the July 2024 election.

A graph and extract from the study is below

https://www.britishelectionstudy.com/uncategorized/looking-for-labours-lost-voters/

There are a number of interesting conclusions not least that the biggest group of ex-Labour voters don’t really know who they might vote for.

However Labour’s Great Moving Right Show to attract Reform curious voters does not seem to be working. Rather where Labour voters have switched it is to parties who are somewhere on the liberal-left spectrum. That is the LibDems, the Greens and left independents currently coalescing around the Your Party initiative.

Of course voting intention is a very basic way of understanding the political mood. All kinds of issues from Palestine to the cost of living and fairness at work are in play. In short while the research is interesting nothing beats engaging with people, starting with talking to them in cafes, pubs, clubs, communities and workplaces

Though Reform has taken Labour’s place at the top of the polls, it is not the case that the two parties are simply trading voters. Reform’s rise has for the most part come from the Conservatives and non-voters, whereas Labour’s support has splintered between indecision and other left-liberal parties. Labour’s efforts to attract support on the right have brought little reward and have potentially alienated much of their base (who make up most of Labour’s losses), and there is a lot of work to be done to convince voters that they can make a difference on the economy. Labour have a large majority in Parliament and four years until they need to hold a new general election, but they have a difficult task to turn things around.

The Financial Times on beer… a tale of market capitalism & how to avoid last orders

The FT like other ‘broadsheet’ papers tends to focus on wine when it looks at drinks. The same is true of the Telegraph and the Times, although these two do find space for some beer writing now, as does the Daily Star with Adrian Tierney Jones, beer of the week.

However during August in the Saturday magazine it has published a series of articles on beer including Jonny Garrett on the UK hop industry, Jaega Wise on pub games and culture and on 30^th August Melissa Cole on the future of craft beer.

She quotes SIBA’s Andy Slee ‘where independent beer is freely available next to global beer, independents generally get 30 per cent of sales, but they’ve only got six per cent of sales overall, so there’s a suppression of demand…people want to support local businesses but they just cant get it.. pointing to global brewers ability to restrict choice

The interface between capitalism, markets & what beers appear on bar tops and why is surely on brand so hopefully more FT pieces will appear.

Meanwhile regulation of the market to promote local business, jobs and social culture should be something that interests a Labour Government. Before departing for No.10 Starmer’s local was the CAMRA Award winning Pineapple pub in Kentish Town. He no doubt thinks there are other things but Labour should keep in mind that Farage was at a CAMRA beer festival (in Essex) in August. Farage’s image is of course of a beer drinker but in private its fine wines in restaurants..

Nigel Farage, one of whose many jobs, is as the MP for Clacton, skipped the re-opening of Parliament on Monday. Reform policy is that people should work in the office and Parliament is Farage’s office but as usual its one law for us and another for him. It’s called Two-Tier.

Farage flew to Washington to attend a Trumpfest the National Conservatism conference. He was due to speak on the distinctly fascistic sounding ‘Making Mass Deportations Happen’. As it happened he didn’t speak due to ‘transport issues’. As likely he was too busy having one of his proper f*cking lunches.

The whole debacle sums up Farage. Fails to attend his actual day job, leaves the country to speak at an event but doesnt do that either..

The words ‘don’t you think she looks tired’ are from an episode of BBC TV series Dr Who. The Doctor tells the Prime Minister Harriet Jones that he can bring her down with just six words. The words start media rumours about the PM’s health & her departure from Office…

Both the Times and the Guardian have featured articles on an alleged trend of people putting ice cubes in beer. Not in my favourite beer and beard bars they don’t You don’t want an ice cube in the follicles.

The trend comes from an opinion survey and without knowing the questions asked and who was asked its best to see it as publicity for the polling company.

The trend is reported to have started in the south of France (which is why the Times was interested) where it is warmer than the UK, mostly, and getting warmer. It can be understood how a beer or lager (variants of the same thing btw) while served chilled might get a bit warm if the drink is lingered over. Here I suppose an ice cube might help.

Modern cellar management should mean that beer is served chilled, but how chilled is contentious. Imperial stouts for example don’t need to be more than lightly chilled at best. However cellar temperature ranges often don’t allow for that setting so its a case not of ice cubes but of waiting for them to warm up.

One of the few things that John Major got right is that beer should be served tepid like a cup of tea. Traditionally that is true. Cold beer destroys the flavour, which when it came to Watneys Red was a good idea. However times change and while I might have been ok with tepid beer in the 1980s now I’d expect it to be not cold but chilled. As the climate gets warmer we’re looking for cooler.

Have I ever put ice cubes in beer? Yes. Before modern cellar management chilling in the 1980s on very hot days. But not now

https://www.theguardian.com/food/2025/sep/02/ice-cubes-in-beer-is-this-popular-pub-order-atrocious-or-ingenious?CMP=share_btn_url

The Telegraph and indeed sections of the MSM are obsessed with Angela Rayner. The latest (back end of the summer silly season) story involved her buying a property in Hove.

However the Telegraph employs few actual journalists these days (as opposed to those who have views) and missed the key reason for Rayner’s move.

Between May and September 1873 Karl Marx’s daughter Eleanor Marx (Tussy) lived and worked as a teacher in Montpelier, Brighton. This has been sufficient for Brighton and Hove Bus to name a vehicle after her which appears to be still in service.

The TUC is in Brighton next week and it might be that Ms Rayner will be found taking a ride on the Eleanor Marx bus

The Telegraph (1^st September) has published an interesting assessment of The Hundred cricket competition version one of which concluded at the weekend. The eight teams are now owned by franchisees and version two will run in August 2026.

Telegraph cricket writer Nick Hoult notes ‘the cricket is often forgettable, but the occasion- or in ground experience- is good. Fans enjoy themselves, with the event aimed at a young audience’. Hoult suggests that such enjoyment can make cricket fans.

580,000 people attended across all games, back to the 2023 figures. In 2024 there was a drop because the Olympics intervened. Four grounds had their highest ever attendance with the biggest crowd ever for the women’s final at Lords of 22,542.

Hoult concludes that there was a ‘notable lift in standards’ but ‘still fewer close games than you would expect’. Well, yes. Still that’s entertainment.

Drinking a Brewdog Punk IPA 2010-2025

I write a fair bit about Brewdog, most of it critical, so in the interests of a more balance perspective I thought I’d see what their flagship beer Punk IPA tastes like these days. I bought a can in Sainsburys for £2.20.

Back in the day (i.e. 2010) I drank Punk on cask and memory suggests it was a gloriously hoppy beer, ground breaking indeed. Of course memory is unreliable and in any case what worked in 2010 doesn’t particularly work in 2025.

After a suitable rest in the fridge, I duly drank the can of Punk. It would be stretching matters to suggest that its hop forward, although in the balance between malt and hops it was the latter that won out. It was relatively easy drinking, if unremarkable.

Clearly Brewdog as with other ex-craft brewers who are looking for mass market appeal, is producing a beer that those who don’t like hop bombs but still like their beer to taste of something beer like will buy.

Perhaps they are succeeding on that but there are two issues. Firstly its arguably the Punk name and ‘rebel’ image that is the selling point as much as the beer itself. That Punk image has taken quite a PR battering in recent times, rightly so in my view.

The second issue is one of price. Punk IPA is currently on sale on 794 Wetherspoons pubs mostly at under a fiver a pint. In Brewdog’s own pubs its considerably more. Beyond the image, if you want an easy drinking beer, there are others at least as good out there at more cost of living friendly prices.

Beard Liberation Front

2^nd February

Contact BLF Organiser Keith Flett @keithbeard.bsky.social

Beard Liberation Front welcomes election of Zack Polanski as Green Party leader

The Beard Liberation Front, the informal network of beard wearers, has welcomed the election of Zack Polanski as Green Party leader.

While Jeremy Corbyn is co-leader of the proto Your Party, Polanski becomes the only leader of an existing mainstream UK political party with a beard.

The campaigners say that Polanski’s election is a step forward for diversity in British politics and the hope is that while the Green Party and beards are often the subject of caricature, Polanski will see the Greens develop some genuinely beard friendly policies

BLF Organiser Keith Flett said, we welcome Zack Polanski’s election as Green Party leader. He has the potential to provide a political counterweight on the left to clean shaven Starmerism.

Keir Starmer is 63 on 2nd September 2025