And the scriptwriters choosing to kill off Peggy Woolley in The Archers today - when she has actually been dead (at the age of 105) since last November - is in similarly bad taste.

Standards aren't what they used to be are they?

If the UK government can announce a trade deal with an actual fascist on VE day, then it's clear that the day is all performative flag noncery and nothing to do with commerorating the defeat of fascism

I'm not a Trump supporter either, but isn't saying that he is "an actual fascist" pushing it a bit far Ian?

Although - Labour are showing themselves to be more Conservative than the Conservatives were - hence the rise of Reform. Do you think Nige and The Orange One will be friends again now?

While I'm no fan of the Roman Catholic church, to be fair to them they did not know when the conclave would end when it began! I hope that the new pope will be a force for peace, as some others have been.

I guess for the Vatican given its history during WW2 and its own long history, any commemoration is immaterial to them. The conclave will say its collective mind is on spiritual matters but that’s balderdash given the material wealth and power of the papal state. There is already a scandal with the new pope in that he allegedly protected abusers whilst in Chile and Chicago…what is it with clerics from all religions and abuse?

I think the terms fascist and nazi as gratuitous abuse of anyone who has opposing political views is itself much abused and those who bandy those terms about need to read some history.

Tim - but they chose when to start the conclave. It might have been better considered for them not to have started it until VE commemorations were over. After all, it will be the last 'zero' celebration when anyone with first-hand experience is still alive. The announcement of the new pope just knocked a lot of VE coverage from around the country off mainstream media news.

delcatto - you know your history better than anyone else I know, and it is always good to read your thoughts on such matters. And as for clerics and abuse... don't get me started...

If Donald Trump's own chief of staff can describe him as a fascist, no, I don't think it's too much.

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/10/22/us/politics/john-kelly-trump-fitness-character.html

As for Labour, the Conservatives and Reform, they're all chasing the same narrow xenophobic constituency of the electorate, so that combined with the inbuilt unfairness of FPTP, could produce almost any result

NYT is behind a snoopwall. But, the judgement of anyone who has chosen to work for Trump must be regarded as lacking, at the very least.

I have written about the dangers of FPTP numerous times in the past. Given some sort of PR there would, going forward, always be power sharing in parliament. Which should put an end to the current unsatisfactory and repeating cyclical situations.