Liz Truss Accused Of Cost Of Living U-Turn After Pledging To ‘Do All I Can’ To Help Struggling Families

Posted on 10/08/2022 by Boris Clair

Liz Truss has been accused of “a major U-turn” after pledging to “do all that I can to help struggling households” cope with the cost of living crisis.

The Tory leadership favourite has been under pressure since the weekend, when she told the Financial Times: “The way I would do things is in a Conservative way of lowering the tax burden, not giving out handouts.”

Since then, experts have predicted that the energy price cap will rise to more than £4,200 a year, threatening millions of people with poverty.

Both Truss and Sunak have also been urged to meet with Boris Johnson to agree an emergency cost of living support package – something which has been ruled out by the government.

In an apparent change of tack from her previous stance, Truss said today: “As a Conservative I am clear that our first port of call should always be to let people keep more of their own money.

“I understand how difficult the rising cost of living is making life for many, and if elected I will do all that I canto help struggling households.

“As it stands we are hurtling towards a recession. If we don’t get our economy growing we won’t be able to help anyone.

“That’s why I have a bold plan to cut taxes, for individuals and businesses, to turbocharge our economy, grow the size of the pie and increase prosperity for everyone.”

A spokesperson for Sunak’s campaign said: “This is a major u-turn on the biggest issue currently facing the country.

“It’s all very well offering empty words about ‘doing all you can’. But there aren’t lots of different ways to act on this. Taking action means providing direct support, which Truss had previously dismissed as ‘handouts’.

“Twice now, Truss has made a serious moral and political misjudgement on a policy affecting millions of people, after last week reversing plans to cut the pay of teachers and the armed forces outside London. Mistakes like this in Government would cost the Conservative Party the next General Election.”

A spokesperson for Truss said: “Rishi Sunak wouldn’t know how people benefit from a tax cut because he has never cut a tax in his life. People didn’t vote for the Conservative Party to be subjected to old fashioned Gordon Brown style politics of envy.

“You cannot tax your way to growth and Liz’s agenda is to build a high wage, high growth, low tax economy that supports people.

“Liz believes in people keeping more of their own money, not Rishi’s socialist tax and spend which will lead us to recession.”

There Are 3 Types Of Female Orgasm, According To A Male Professor

Posted on 10/08/2022 by Boris Clair

The big ‘O’, the climax also known as an orgasm. Sure you can have fun without one, but, let’s be honest, ut’s the part of sex we all want to experience, which is why we can’t stop talking about how we can get one, especially as women.

The female orgasm has been studied and researched for centuries, but now there’s new research that suggests there are actually three different types.

The study from Charles University in Prague, found that when women have an orgasm, their pelvic floor muscles tend to move in one of three patterns: a wave, a volcano, or an avalanche.

A ‘wave’ is everything you’d expect to feel – waves of tension and release of your pelvic floor muscles.

A ‘volcano’ feels like more of an explosion towards the end of the orgasm, as your pelvic floor explodes into a swift tension and release.

An ‘avalanche’ involves higher pelvic floor tensions in the build up, which drop when you orgasm.

James Pfaus, professor of neuroscience at Charles University in Prague led the study, which invited 54 women to use the ‘Lioness’, a Bluetooth-connected vibrator, to reach orgasm.

Volunteers were asked to masturbate at home using the device over a period of a few days. The vibrator was programmed to measure the force of their pelvic floor contractions via two sensors – which researchers analysed remotely to work out the rhythm and pattern of these movements in the participants.

‘Wave’ orgasms were most common – 26 out of 54 women experienced this type, whilst 17 had ‘avalanche’ orgasms and 11 had a ‘volcano’ orgasm.

Professor Pfaus said: “We are doing a long-term study of women using the Lioness to see how these different patterns are experienced subjectively as orgasms, as levels of pleasure, [and] where the stimulation that induces them largely comes from.”

Many women may have experienced more than one orgasm pattern, while others might say that even one orgasm is better than none, especially with recent studies pointing to a major gender-based orgasm gap.

For every sexual encounter, men orgasm on average 87% of the time, while women experience them 65%.

Orgasm rates also vary depending on your sexuality, with heterosexual men orgasming most regularly, followed by gay men, bisexual men, lesbians, bisexual women – and finally, at the bottom of the list, heterosexual women.

Lisa Williams, co-author of More Orgasms Please: Why Female Pleasure Matters, previously told HuffPost UK that this orgasm gap isn’t down to anatomy, as women are able to orgasm as quickly as men when they masturbate.

“It can take as little as four minutes for a woman, which is the same as men, but there is a perception it’s going to take about 40 minutes during sex,” she said.

No one should feel compelled to have an orgasm – many people have a fulfilling experience without reaching this point – and some people are anorgasmic (or unable to orgasm).

But Williams encourages women to become more familiar with their bodies and what they like. Then, when they get into a sexual situation with a partner, they can be less afraid to say what they do and don’t enjoy.

If this new research isn’t an excuse to start exploring, we don’t know what is. So, wave, volcano or avalanche? Which one will you be having next?

Do you have a living will?

Posted on 10/08/2022 by Boris Clair

Reprint Permissions

A single copy of these materials may be reprinted for noncommercial personal use only. “Mayo,” “Mayo Clinic,” “MayoClinic.org,” “Mayo Clinic Healthy Living,” and the triple-shield Mayo Clinic logo are trademarks of Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and Research.

A Little Bit Of Good News About The NHS Offers A Glimmer Of Hope About Its Future

Posted on 09/08/2022 by Boris Clair

The NHS has managed to address its huge Covid backlog in a significant moment of celebration for the struggling service.

NHS England revealed on Tuesday that it had cut the number of patients waiting more than years for a routine operation from 22,500 – the number from the start of the year – to 168.

This includes scans, checks and surgeries, and the 51,000 people who would have passed the two-year mark by the end of July.

Three NHS regions also had no patients waiting two years or longer for this routine treatment, with another three getting it down to single figures.

The stats show remarkable progress although it does exclude more complex cases and those who deferred treatment.

Still, 220,000 patients with Covid have been treated in the last six months, too.

The NHS has pointed to its elective recovery plan, which aimed to take on Covid backlogs back in February, for its success.

The service has been redirecting patients to other hospitals across the country as well, so they could be treated more quickly, while covering travel and accommodation costs “where appropriate”.

NHS chief executive Amanda Pritchard also claimed this achievement was only possible because the NHS continues to reform how it provides care, including using new tech like robot surgery.

It comes after the health service announced it would eliminate the two-year waiting lists by July earlier this year.

There are still worrying signs though

This statistic is only one small portion out of the whole Covid backlog. Only on Monday, there were fears over declining dentistry care across the whole country.

The BBC reported that 6.6 million people were still waiting for hospital treatment in total.

Meanwhile, ambulance response times for the most urgent incidents climbed to nine minutes and six seconds according to the NHS England in June. This is far from the target of seven minutes.

This is just one example where health care is still struggling, as it was even before the pandemic began.

On top of this, fears over its workforce shortage and long-term underfunding mean the future of the NHS still looks precarious, despite this small bit of good news about cutting waiting times.

Those at the top of the NHS still have grand plans for progress, though.

Pritchard said: “The next phase will focus on patients waiting longer than 18 months, building on the fantastic work already done, and, while it is a significant challenge, our remarkable staff have shown that, when we are given the tools and resources we need, the NHS delivers for our patients.”

Health secretary Steve Barclay said: “This is testament to NHS staff who have worked incredibly hard to get us here – despite the significant challenges.”

The government plans to remove the 18-month waiting list by April 2023.

Analysis: Why Is Labour Failing To Capitalise On The Gaping Hole In Government?

Posted on 09/08/2022 by Boris Clair

There is a huge vacuum at the heart of government as the Conservative Party tears itself apart over Boris Johnson’s replacement.

It is a government mired in scandal, weary after 12 years in power and looking increasingly out of touch in a cost of living crisis.

The prime minister and chancellor were both on holiday when the Bank of England made its gloomy forecast that Britain faces a recession and soaring inflation.

But as outriders for Liz Truss and Rishi Sunak fight like rats in a sack, where is the Labour Party?

Conservative Leadership hopeful Liz Truss.

Keir Starmer is said to be on holiday right now, but that shouldn’t stop the party launching fierce interventions and bright ideas.

Holidays are important but isn’t winning elections even more important? Especially given their criticism of the Tories being “missing in action”.

In this brutal game of chess, surely any ruthless political strategist would see that now was an opportune moment to strike.

Certainly, the Labour Party has been describing itself as a “government in waiting” in recent statements. Now would be a good time for frontbenchers to show they can act like one.

But we have heard more from Lib Dem leader Ed Davey and ex-Labour prime minister Gordon Brown in the last 24-hours than we have from Labour all week.

And let’s not forget money saving expert Martin Lewis who has long been at the front clobbering the government over the cost of living crisis.

Within a few weeks the next prime minister will be appointed, the narrative will shift and there will likely be a cessation in Tory infighting as MPs row in behind their new leader.

Once in power, the new PM will have the machinery of government at their disposal and will turn their sights on the electorate at large.

Labour leader Sir Keir Starmer with Shadow Culture secretary, Lucy Powell (left) and Shadow Chancellor, Rachel Reeves.

The public might just decide that “well it’s a new government, a new crisis so maybe let’s give them one more shot”.

Heck, it’s worked before. The Conservatives are the party who have managed to reinvent themselves time and again over the last decade in order to stay in power.

Labour will have fewer opportunities to get their messages across as the country hurtles towards the next general election.

In fact, Labour keep calling for an early election. Are they even ready for it?

Of course you can’t expect Labour to make up policies on the hoof, the Tories might even nick their ideas [again] and let’s not even go there on Labour’s decision making processes.

However, after the government relied on so-called “red meat” policies to keep its head above water, the public is now begging for proper solutions.

Perhaps now is the perfect window of opportunity for Labour to show some leg, instead of descending into their own bouts of infighting (see Sam Tarry).

Scotland aside, the political pendulum will one day swing back to Labour, but the speed at which it swings depends on a number of factors.

Pundits joke about who would want to be in government at this dire time. But if you don’t want to rule, why are you in this game at all?

It might be silly season but there’s nothing funny about the news that millions of families face soaring bills and being plunged into poverty.

Labour has been suffering from a lack of confidence since its devastating 2019 defeat.

But they have been handed a political gift in the form of a Tory leadership race – they should start weaponising it now.

Rishi Sunak Promises To Keep ‘Brexit Safe’ In Mysterious New Promo Video

Posted on 08/08/2022 by Boris Clair

Rishi Sunak’s latest PR efforts have once again been ripped apart, this time because he has promised to “keep Brexit safe”.

The Tory leadership hopeful is currently behind Liz Truss in the polls among Conservative Party members.

He has therefore felt the need to bolster his pro-Brexit credentials – despite being a Brexiteer and his opponent originally campaigning for Remain.

On Monday, he released a new campaign video – significantly less slick than his previous PR work – which follows a person around as they dump huge stacks of paper into one small room with a paper sign on the door saying: “Brexit Delivery Department.”

The papers are labelled “EU red tape”, and for half of the one-minute video, the person moving the documents around can be seen gathering all of the documents together (although their face is never shown).

Then, they crack their fingers and start shredding the papers.

It is part of Sunak’s promise to build a new Brexit delivery unit which “in his first 100 days as prime minister” would see him review or repeal post-Brexit EU laws. There are 2,400 at the moment.

It is worth noting that there is already a Brexit opportunities and government efficiency department, headed up by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The words “Keep Brexit safe, vote Rishi Sunak today” appear across the screen in the last 10 seconds, as triumphant orchestral music plays.

It is an especially bold claim as Brexit has been under more criticism than ever in recent months due to delays at the Dover port for passengers going to France, problems with the Northern Ireland protocol and questions over exactly what Brexit advantages the UK is able to enjoy right now.

The video also comes two and a half years after Boris Johnson, the outgoing Tory prime minister, promised that he “got Brexit done” by securing a deal with the EU.

With the cost of living crisis worsening, a second summer heatwave around the corner and increasingly worrying reports emerging about the state of the NHS, Sunak’s new video was not an instant success.

Here’s how people responded to his efforts:

It has been a long, long six years. I will inevitably have forgotten a lot. But even with those caveats,
I still say, with a fairly large amount of confidence, that this is the shittest thing I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/9UMJ3OHy04

— Tom Peck (@tompeck) August 8, 2022

Absolutely desperate. And the irony of using Beethoven’s Ode to Joy — official anthem of the EU — as backing music. https://t.co/4DZnhVR9lV

— Simon O’Hagan (@SimonOHagan) August 8, 2022

This is so embarrassing

— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) August 8, 2022

This is just stupid.

You’re a fool, Rishi Sunak – and an increasingly desperate one at that.

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) August 8, 2022

Look forward to having our third post-referendum prime minister trying to trying to come up with a single fucking benefit of brexit

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 8, 2022

Keep Brexit safe from what – reality?

— Parody Boris (@Parody_PM) August 8, 2022

I see we’re still in the “I’m more Brexity than you” phase of batshit crazy denial of reality.

— Dominic Minghella (@DMinghella) August 8, 2022

There are no EU laws. We left the EU. These are the laws we copy and pasted from the EU to ensure our country kept functioning.

No way those laws could be replaced in 100 days. No need for it to happen.

But they think you’re stupid. https://t.co/BBAC4FuF1e

— Otto English (@Otto_English) August 8, 2022

It may be a naff, embarrassing video that makes him look half-witted but what he’s doing is declaring that he’s INTENTIONALLY going to make any return to viable trading with the EU -for all export sectors- more difficult, more costly, or impossible. In a recession. #Ready4Ruin https://t.co/2uGfQha5Cz

— Howard Goodall (@Howard_Goodall) August 8, 2022

Apparantly it has taken Rishi Sunak and the conservatives six years to realise, that outside the EU the U.K. can actually scrap EU legislation.
Maybe they didn´t realise it earlier because somebody had told them, that Brexit was already done 🙂 #Brexit #eudk https://t.co/HOl25RkV5C

— Ole Ryborg (@OleRyborg) August 8, 2022

Rishi Sunak Promises To Keep ‘Brexit Safe’ In Mysterious New Promo Video

Posted on 08/08/2022 by Boris Clair

Rishi Sunak’s latest PR efforts have once again been ripped apart, this time because he has promised to “keep Brexit safe”.

The Tory leadership hopeful is currently behind Liz Truss in the polls among Conservative Party members.

He has therefore felt the need to bolster his pro-Brexit credentials – despite being a Brexiteer and his opponent originally campaigning for Remain.

Then, they crack their fingers and start shredding the papers.

It is worth noting that there is already a Brexit opportunities and government efficiency department, headed up by Jacob Rees-Mogg.

The words “Keep Brexit safe, vote Rishi Sunak today” appear across the screen in the last 10 seconds, as triumphant orchestral music plays.

The video also comes two and a half years after Boris Johnson, the outgoing Tory prime minister, promised that he “got Brexit done” by securing a deal with the EU.

Here’s how people responded to his efforts:

It has been a long, long six years. I will inevitably have forgotten a lot. But even with those caveats,
I still say, with a fairly large amount of confidence, that this is the shittest thing I’ve ever seen. https://t.co/9UMJ3OHy04

— Tom Peck (@tompeck) August 8, 2022

Absolutely desperate. And the irony of using Beethoven’s Ode to Joy — official anthem of the EU — as backing music. https://t.co/4DZnhVR9lV

— Simon O’Hagan (@SimonOHagan) August 8, 2022

This is so embarrassing

— Hannah Jane Parkinson (@ladyhaja) August 8, 2022

This is just stupid.

You’re a fool, Rishi Sunak – and an increasingly desperate one at that.

— Mike Galsworthy (@mikegalsworthy) August 8, 2022

Look forward to having our third post-referendum prime minister trying to trying to come up with a single fucking benefit of brexit

— James Felton (@JimMFelton) August 8, 2022

Keep Brexit safe from what – reality?

— Parody Boris (@Parody_PM) August 8, 2022

I see we’re still in the “I’m more Brexity than you” phase of batshit crazy denial of reality.

— Dominic Minghella (@DMinghella) August 8, 2022

There are no EU laws. We left the EU. These are the laws we copy and pasted from the EU to ensure our country kept functioning.

No way those laws could be replaced in 100 days. No need for it to happen.

But they think you’re stupid. https://t.co/BBAC4FuF1e

— Otto English (@Otto_English) August 8, 2022

It may be a naff, embarrassing video that makes him look half-witted but what he’s doing is declaring that he’s INTENTIONALLY going to make any return to viable trading with the EU -for all export sectors- more difficult, more costly, or impossible. In a recession. #Ready4Ruin https://t.co/2uGfQha5Cz

— Howard Goodall (@Howard_Goodall) August 8, 2022

Apparantly it has taken Rishi Sunak and the conservatives six years to realise, that outside the EU the U.K. can actually scrap EU legislation.
Maybe they didn´t realise it earlier because somebody had told them, that Brexit was already done 🙂 #Brexit #eudk https://t.co/HOl25RkV5C

— Ole Ryborg (@OleRyborg) August 8, 2022

UK Government In Limbo As No.10 Says Boris Johnson Won’t Make Any Fiscal Interventions

Posted on 08/08/2022 by Boris Clair

Boris Johnson will not intervene in the cost of living crisis this summer, Downing Street has said.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said it was up to his successor to make policy and he would not make any “new fiscal interventions”.

It means another four weeks of paralysis until the next prime minister is announced on September 5.

Former Labour prime minister Gordon Brown claimed there is a “vacuum” at the centre of government which has stopped it tackling the cost of living crisis.

He has called on the UK government’s emergency response committee, Cobra, to come together to tackle the looming crisis.

Brown warned that the country was facing a “poverty time bomb” and added: “Even if Boris Johnson has gone on holiday, his deputies should be negotiating to buy new oil and gas supplies from other countries and urgently creating the extra storage capacity we currently lack.

“We should be persuading homes and buildings – as Germany is now doing – to cut back on energy usage wherever possible in the hope we can prevent formal rationing.”

But Downing Street rejected his calls saying they introduced a number of measures to help the public at the start of the summer.

The prime minister’s official spokesman said Johnson – who is back in No.10 following his holiday in Slovenia – would be speaking to chancellor Nadhim Zahawi to ensure that support measures due to come into effect later in the year remained on track.

However, the spokesman said that any further measures would be a matter for the next prime minister.

“Clearly these global pressures mean challenging times for the public. The government recognised that the end of the year will present wider challenges with things like changes to the [energy] price cap,” the spokesman said.

“That is why, at the start of the summer, we introduced a number of measures to help the public. Clearly some of the global pressures have increased since that was announced.

“By convention it is not for this prime minister to make major fiscal interventions during this period. It will be for a future prime minister.”

The prime minister returned from his holiday today after facing accusations he had been “missing in action” while the UK was mired in political and economic crisis.

The Labour Party has attacked the prime minister for presiding over a “zombie government” just as the Bank of England warned of a looming recession and energy bills are expected to rise to almost £4,000 in October.

According to The Telegraph Johnson and his wife Carrie stayed at an eco-hotel in Jezersko in the remote Kokra Valley in Slovenia following their delayed wedding celebration.

The Vila Planinka, where rooms range from £242 to £542 per night, is a five-star boutique hotel which promises guests they will “slow down, harmonising your rhythm with your inner balance”.

Rachel Reeves MP, Labour’s shadow chancellor, said: “People are worried sick about how they’ll pay their bills and do their weekly food shop, and all this Tory prime minister does is shrug his shoulders.

“An economic crisis like this requires strong leadership and urgent action – but instead we have a Tory party that’s lost control and are stuck with two continuity candidates who can only offer more of the same.

“Labour would start by scrapping tax breaks on oil and gas producers and providing more help to people who are struggling to pay their energy bills. Only a Labour government can tackle this crisis and deliver the stronger, more-secure economy that Britain needs.”