this post was submitted on 09 Jan 2025
161 points (99.4% liked)

UK Politics

3164 readers
141 users here now

General Discussion for politics in the UK.
Please don't post to both [email protected] and [email protected] .
Pick the most appropriate, and put it there.

Posts should be related to UK-centric politics, and should be either a link to a reputable news source for news, or a text post on this community.

Opinion pieces are also allowed, provided they are not misleading/misrepresented/drivel, and have proper sources.

If you think "reputable news source" needs some definition, by all means start a meta thread. (These things should be publicly discussed)

Posts should be manually submitted, not by bot. Link titles should not be editorialised.

Disappointing comments will generally be left to fester in ratio, outright horrible comments will be removed.
Message the mods if you feel something really should be removed, or if a user seems to have a pattern of awful comments.

[email protected] appears to have vanished! We can still see cached content from this link, but goodbye I guess! :'(

founded 2 years ago
MODERATORS
 

Liz Truss has sent a legal letter to Keir Starmer demanding he stops making “false and defamatory” claims that she crashed the economy.

The former prime minister sent a six-page “cease and desist” letter accusing Starmer of harming her reputation and contributing to her losing her South West Norfolk seat in the general election.

top 50 comments
sorted by: hot top controversial new old
[–] [email protected] 3 points 2 hours ago

Shouldn't have crashed the economy then

[–] [email protected] 6 points 9 hours ago

She really is a fucking muppet

[–] [email protected] 6 points 13 hours ago (1 children)

She is one of the few people I would shout at if I saw her out and about. She should be in prison.

[–] [email protected] 1 points 18 minutes ago

Would, you call her:

a) cunt!

b) bitch!

c) lettuce!

[–] [email protected] 6 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 12 hours ago)

Of all the people to send an unenforceable cease and desist letter to LMAO

I'd think the ex Barrister, Queens Counsel (basically a group of exceptionally talented senior lawyers) lawyer, and ex director of public prosecutions for the CPS would be someone you'd think hm, I probably can't intimidate him in this manner. Truss never ceases to amaze me.

My mind can't even begin to imagine how good Starmer's legal defence team would be.

Of all PMs, he is surely the one you'd be insane to enter a legal battle with.

[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago
[–] [email protected] 51 points 1 day ago (3 children)

C&D sounds like a good way to scare someone who was wasn't previously a Barrister, Bencher, Director of Public Prosecutions, and didn't have a knighthood for services to law and criminal justice.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago

Yeah, yeah, he knows some legal mumbo jumbo but the Truster is powered by an idiotic self-belief.

[–] [email protected] 15 points 1 day ago

Imagine how good Keir Starmer's lawyer must be lol.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Defamation laws in the UK are a bit silly though.

[–] [email protected] 4 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

They are treated, effectively, as guilty until proven innocent.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 12 hours ago

This gives a bit of a false impression. Specifically, it is for the defendant to show that a defamatory statement is substantially true, rather than the complainant/plaintiff to show it is false. This is essentially because truth is a defence against defamation in the same way self-defence is a defence against assault.

Essentially, the complainant must prove that:

  1. the defendant made a defamatory statement (i.e. a statement of a fact that - if true - would harm your reputation),
  2. you suffered a material loss as a result of harm to your reputation, and
  3. it was the defendant's statement that was the cause.

The defendant may argue in defence that:

  1. it was substantially true,
  2. they honestly believed it was true and had a reasonably good reason for doing so, and/or
  3. it was in the public interest to say so.

The burden of proof is still "on the balance of probability" rather than "beyond reasonable doubt" in each case.

This kind of makes a little bit of sense though, right? If I tell the world that you like to put your thumb in your bum and then sniff it, you'd probably feel it should be on me to provide evidence rather than on you to prove that you've literally never done that in your life.

We are definitely lacking in anti-SLAPP legislation, but then so are many states.

[–] [email protected] 76 points 1 day ago

accusing Starmer of harming her reputation and contributing to her losing her South West Norfolk seat in the general election.

I too hate it when I'm faced with the consequences of my actions.

[–] [email protected] 45 points 1 day ago (2 children)

He should just mail her back an expired head of lettuce.

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago

I still think of that pretty regularly and I live in the shit show that is America.

Makes me chuckle every single time.

[–] [email protected] 8 points 1 day ago

I was actually thinking he should send her a wilted salad.

[–] [email protected] 36 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Is that the Liz Truss that crashed the economy, or the Liz Truss that deliberately crashed the economy so her fucking posh boy crony cunts could capitalise on it?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

Why not both?

[–] [email protected] 19 points 1 day ago

She clearly was accountable for tanking the economy, but has no other reasonable defence.

[–] [email protected] 26 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 20 points 1 day ago

Lettuce never forget.

[–] [email protected] 37 points 1 day ago (1 children)

She really is the git that keeps on giving.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago (1 children)
[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago

Wasn't sure as it's jsust one character.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago

As PM she was the First Lord Of The Treasury (amongst the many other titles she got as a PM: Queen of the Andals and the First Men, Lady of the Seven Kingdoms, and Protector of the Realm) so how is she not responsible for the economy?

[–] [email protected] 22 points 1 day ago (1 children)

contributing to her losing her South West Norfolk seat in the general election.

Political opponent says political opponents is bad at job and someone else should have it. Sighting evidence

Sigh why can't these fuckwits just go away like their constituents asked

[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (2 children)
[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago

Yeah, but you can see it too.

[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Thank you. Tried 4 tines to get it to look right. Got bored and had to go back to work

[–] [email protected] 1 points 14 hours ago

Every time I have to write an email that advises to resync the files. I always spell it resink at first and then I can never remember the correct spelling.

[–] [email protected] 17 points 1 day ago (3 children)

Well, to be fair it wasn't just her. Kwasi Kwarteng helped too!

load more comments (3 replies)
[–] [email protected] 11 points 1 day ago (1 children)

Then maybe she shouldn’t have crashed the economy.

[–] [email protected] 7 points 1 day ago

You crash one economy....

[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago (4 children)

I'd love to see legal action over this; "No, it's not defamatory - it's a matter of record. Jog on."

[–] [email protected] 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 14 hours ago)

It's the very definition of a frivolous lawsuit. It won't see the inside of a courtroom except to get kicked out again.

This isn't the US you can't just sue for whatever random thing you want you actually have to have a case.

[–] [email protected] 9 points 1 day ago* (last edited 1 day ago) (2 children)

It's purely about making the government waste money.

Or more specifically, making the government hesitate to allow lettuce to force them to waste taxpayers' money in court. She knows full well what ever answer is returned. Looks bad to a large % of voters.

If kier is smart. He will stand up in parliament and state that. Something like.

" She is desperate to make a name for herself, having bankrupted the UK. Either by her own reclass economic actions or by forcing the government to fight expensive libel suits, she has no chance of winning.

So the answer is simple. From now on, I will only address her undeniable economic stupidity in parliament. Where the courts have no jurisdiction over the claims of politicians.

If she wants to silence the truth. She will need to convince one of you MPs to stand up for her proven stupid economic lettuce rot. And risk your seats on the claims as she did."

But more eloquently.

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago (1 children)

As much as I’m not a fan of Starmer (Changes his mind too much and he’s a red Tory), he does have a mature way of dealing with these people. Look at how he handles Musk.

[–] [email protected] 3 points 1 day ago (2 children)

Sorta agree.

Def a red tory. Or more to the point believes in the capatalistic properganda most of the western world dose. But its getting harder to beleave anyone that dosent can win.

Not sure changing your mind is a bad thing. In fact id suggest not being willing to is more of a fault. IE i personally think it is impirtant to describe why the changea are in error. Rather then indicate a strict following of your ideals without following evidence. Is some how advantages to society.

But yeah. Ob the whole I agree. He isnlikely to handle this as well as anyone can.

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 6 points 1 day ago (3 children)

But more eloquently.

So maybe something like: "She can shove her cease and desist up her arse and fuck off while she's doing it!"?

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

"Perhaps the honourable lady would consider repositioning the 'cease and desist letter' about her person, perhaps so as to protect it from sunlight?"

i.e shove it where the sun doesn't shine

[–] [email protected] 5 points 1 day ago

In parliment it would require something like.

She can reverse ingest her letter while procreating with a donkey.

[–] [email protected] 2 points 1 day ago

Yes that will do

load more comments (2 replies)
[–] [email protected] 10 points 1 day ago

Thin skinned Liz strikes again

load more comments
view more: next ›