Man who capitulated to the EU at each stage of the Withdrawal Negotiations is *checks notes* put in charge of future relations with the EU.

I suppose we can take small delight that this unelected bureaucrat is British.

Sorry to nitpick but we cannot be "certain" that a person who has received the vaccine will not die of covid. We can be certain that for approximately 96% of people who have received a second dose that do catch covid will have significantly reduced symptoms. I know it makes a less catchy headline but let's be realistic here, the vaccine isn't a cure, it is a temporary protection.

Also, to suggest that we end lockdown without vaccinating people in their 20s, 30s, 40s will be a kick in the teeth akin to saying "sorry we stole the last year of your life, but now that granny is safe you can go sod yourself and take your chances". Either lockdowns were for the benefit of all ages or the government needs to apologise for imposing them on people less at risk.

Anyone who cares about the future of this country will not be celebrating house prices rising by 8.5% in the last year.

All this does is alienate the younger generations, while locking an ever larger chunk of people's money into a static asset instead of having it moving around in our economy, being useful and creating jobs.

Rishi really needs to think of a way of getting this country unhooked from the idea that rising house prices equal an increasing economy. Our country is built on a bubble and at some point it is going to burst.

Yes. The important point being that they would have been invited.

But if you support free speech then you need to accept both the right to be heard, and the right to not be listened to. And not being listened to can include someone actively protesting to try and drown out your point.

Which is patently untrue in reality.

If you don't like what is being said on the radio or TV then you can turn it off and refuse to listen. That isn't "cancel culture" it is market forces. This legislation would remove that same ability from universities and their consumers, the students.

Your account has existed for less than 3 weeks and you've got the audacity to call me a troll.

But then you inadvertently prove my point. You don't give a damn about free speech, if you did you wouldn't be trying to cancel me.

Nobody has a right to a platform; and certainly not at a private institution whose users (students) are paying expensive membership fees.

If somebody feels they have something of importance to say the they can find and fund their own platform. They shouldn't be able to force themselves onto somebody else's with government backing.

Freedom of speech doesn't mean the freedom to force your opinion onto others. Made up "cancel culture" or not.

What absolute nonsense. I suggest that anyone interested download the latest Adult Social Care Finance and Activity report from the NHS Digital website (I'll not post the link in case there is some rule against it). Try comparing any cost in not only neighbouring local authorities but across the country as well. To take one example it shows you that the average cost paid for private long term residential care for the over 65s in England ranges from £450 to £967 per week. Clearly this fragmentation into local government areas is patently not providing cost effective services.

Only in this Councillors mind should we be celebrating that on one side of the street Mrs Smiths nursing care costs £600 but on the other side of the road Mr Jones identical service costs £700 because they both live in different council areas.

This article is nothing more than a plea to not take a little piece of perceived power away from this Councillor. It has next to nothing to do with presenting an argument against pooling resources and adding some much needed and long overdue standardisation into social care. Benefits that will only be fully realised by merging social care with the NHS.

P. S. Using the triggering word 'nationalisation' in this context is crass - local government is the largest funder and commissioner of social care in the country; last time I checked local authorities were a nationalised service so merging one function with another publicly run service (the NHS) is hardly nationalisation.

Even if it were possible to completely isolate and cut off Iran, which it isn't with Russia and China. Then what happens?

We have seen in North Korea that if all you do is threaten a country then they double down and become more of a threat. We need to find a grown up solution, and that doesn't include childish sabber rattling.

This is what I hate about you conspiracy nuts.

You try and use the evidence from lockdown to somehow prove that lockdowns weren't necessary.

All you have done is proven that the lockdowns worked in preventing the worst of coronavirus.