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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 6, 2023 19:30:54 GMT
Cleverly has just said that the bill meets international law when on the face of page 1 of the bill it says it isn’t compatible with international law. He says both are true! He is lying to parliament. He is a joke.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 6, 2023 19:11:57 GMT
In response to the Rwanda draft bill, the Law Society of England and Wales president, Nick Emmerson, has said in a statement: “The UK government is seeking to overturn an evidence-based finding of fact by the supreme court and shield itself from accountability under both domestic and international law through this legislation.
“For the second time this year and by its own admission, the government is unable to guarantee the bill will be compatible with the European convention on human rights.
“The Rwanda scheme has never been the answer to tackling the asylum question. The government is risking the UK’s international reputation and its standing in the world to deliver a plan that can, at best, be described as gestural.”
I trust the president of the law society far more than a MP on this subject.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 5, 2023 19:00:54 GMT
They should fund it from their own back pocket with a full reinbursement due when the scheme is up and running. I'd love to know where the money is being syphoned off to. It's an even shitter idea than the latest proposal to raise the required earnings to receive a work visa, preventing immigration from solving just about the only problem it solves - skills shortages. It's like Julius Nicholson's 'blue sky' thinking back there, and it's costing the tax payer billions. The shadow home Secretary refused to say she'd scrap Rwanda when asked three times today. Why throw good money after bad? It may act as some sort of deterrent even if no flights take off. Why commit to abolishing an entire bill when all you want is to get rid of one part? Just costs more public money and there may be no need/point. Easier to pass secondary legislation amending the act rather than abolishing the whole thing as there may be parts of the bill that are useful. She was very critical of the policy and said she would replace it. So that is a pretty clear indication of what she thinks about it.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 5, 2023 13:35:06 GMT
Why can't the shadow home Secretary simply say she's going to scrap the scheme and condemn the language used? Because she wants Labour to win the election that is coming.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 5, 2023 10:18:04 GMT
Bent over yesterday and a severe pain in my lower back (never suffered with back pain before) Felt like a stabbing sensation, and very painful Managed to drive home (which was uncomfortable) and been on the sofa since. Getting up is extremely painful (same sort of pain as when you get metal wrapper on a filling) Anyway, I’ve managed to get in to see a sports therapist on Friday but just wondering what it is (we’ve got a bupa help line through our life ins, and the guy said it sounds like sciatica and can last 6 weeks😱) Anyone got experiences of it? how long it takes to heal etc.. things that can help (I’m in agony here!) Just putting ice on it and having ibruprofen but not particularly relieving the pain. Couldn’t really sleep it was too painful. Is there any point ringing the doctors? Can never get in and I don’t think I’d be able to get there tbh Any help would be appreciated👍🏻 That sounds terrible. Members of my family and a couple of family friends have had various back or knee pain issues. Unanimously they said taking glucosamine tablets helped. My father in law particularly was helped. He went from struggling to walk more than a few paces to being able to go on 10k walks again, and he puts it down to the glucosamine more than anything else. These are the ones I know people have taken: www.healthspan.co.uk/supplements/glucosamine/Good luck
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 5, 2023 7:53:32 GMT
I think he knows how to play the game. I assume you mean Starmer rather than myself.... The reality is the UK Economy and Public Services are currently a shambles. When we currently lurch from one crisis to another the current Government response is to tinker around the edges and talk about a new Policy they are going to implement and has no intention or no time In Office to do so. The Labour response to this is to criticise, keep the Policy but with further tinkering. The Electorate has no clear choice other than the Current Administration is a bunch of incompetents but the alternative doesn't seem to offer much different The thinking is on a record low apathetic electoral turnout is that less people will vote to retain the present administration and by default Labour win the Election. It's a strategy that may work but on day 1 we will have very little idea what positive actions Labour will take I am loathe to mention Liz Truss but her central point of Low Growth being the enemy is correct even if she went about it entirely the wrong way The Central Platform of Labour is the establishment of a Sovereign Energy Wealth Fund which is baby steps to what Norway did back in the 1970s (and now has $Trillions) with their Oil and Gas resources and Starmer's new found friend Thatcher failed to do. She preferred to grant the licences to Commercial Companies paying a fee to the Treasury so she could close down Industry and pay the unemployed workforce meagre unemployment benefits Already this Labour Policy is being watered down from its proposed £28Bn per year to perhaps that amount later in its tenure. Even the most Economically unsophisticated household knows the difference and can do Rishi's maths if you have to borrow to buy a car which enables you to get to work and the benefit is the amount you earn less your loan repayment versus what you receive from not working or working close by. If you are a renter considering buying a Property you consider the rent you pay versus the mortgage cost and the capital appreciation It's not Rocket Science if Government increases National Debt to generate income to service productive debt the Markets look favourably. If you are a Lunatic like Truss and borrow to give a Tax Break to people that won't spend it therefore creating no added value they react negatively This is Labour's current 6 point blueprint for its Election Manifesto. I wholeheartedly agree with increasing the number of UK Doctors and Nurses the rest I find wishy-washy and we know Manifestos aren't worth the paper they're written on and Starmer has form for U-turning, so we'll see. labourlist.org/2023/10/labour-national-policy-forum-final-document-summary-policy-manifesto-party-conference/I tend to agree. Judge Labour by what they do if they get the keys to number 10 (or maybe before when we have the manifesto). That link is full of lots of positive things which would improve the country. Let’s hope they deliver if/when given the chance. We know the tories don’t care about the wider public.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 22:35:56 GMT
You criticise Starmer for being right wing and having no policies. So I name 4 of his not many policies and they are all left of centre rather than right of centre. You won’t be happy unless he turns into Corbyn. Corbyn lost. The labour left need to accept that. Starmer has a real chance of winning. Give him a chance Correct, but in the 2017 GE Corbyn polled more votes (12.8M) than Cameron (2015 elected), Cameron (2010 elected) Blair (2005 elected) Blair (2001 elected) The policies were not the problem. I agree. His ability to win an election was the problem.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 22:35:14 GMT
HOL reform has been pushed back to second term because of other priorities He was never abolishing the charitable status of private schools. He was putting vat on fees. He was never nationalising everything in a first term. It would be impossible. I don’t remember him pledging to abolish tuition fees recently. Since his leadership pledges we have had covid hammer the economy. He needs to prioritise. He needs to adapt to the situation he hopefully inherits. To do otherwise would be idiotic. Corbyn failed to win at elections. I liked some of his domestic agenda. But he didn’t know how to win. If you can’t win then you are irrelevant: lib dems (sadly). I get he has masses to do to win round lots of the left of labour. But he has to get into power first. I cannot stand this ridiculous nonsense about people hammering Starmer when he hasn’t yet had a chance to do anything, let alone produce a manifesto. In our system he has to be the least worst option of two. It is an abysmal and undemocratic system. But that what is required to get elected. Corbyn was deemed worse than Johnson (utter madness in my view). But part of that was Corbyn couldn’t do what Blair and Starmer can do which is woo the right people. You have to in a FPTP system and with our foreign owned right wong press. Slightly better system Then one that allows a Islamophobic racist to hold the Most seats and then spend months upon moths of horse trading to secure a actual government Surely if people bother to vote they should at least be rewarded with a government within days Or multiple unelected governments within each term like here? 25% of the electorate gets you a majority here.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 21:24:07 GMT
You criticise Starmer for being right wing and having no policies. So I name 4 of his not many policies and they are all left of centre rather than right of centre. You won’t be happy unless he turns into Corbyn. Corbyn lost. The labour left need to accept that. Starmer has a real chance of winning. Give him a chance There are many labour politicians I'd support as leader aside from Starmer. Great. Are you saying right now there should be a leadership challenge!?
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 21:23:13 GMT
You have just demonstrated exactly why it is best Starmer reveals very little before the next election. Cleverly (if you are right - I have not seen the news today) has copied the Labour policy. Do you see why announcing everything now is not a good idea? A preventative health service is a focus on preventing disease rather than waiting until you are disease ridden before doing anything. It is a massive culture shift. It means being checked more regularly to prevent disease before it is too late. Why is it that medical students on the continent are always shown British cancer patients as examples? Because we are good at detecting disease but often after it is too late. The preventative model transforms that. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Simplify the tax code means removing loop holes exploited by the rich. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Why should he simply repeat endlessly what he has already said? Judge him by his manifesto. Nationalising energy is far too expensive. It would be better to regulate profits via the windfall tax at the same time as pumping investment into a nationalised green energy company, thus reducing share process of the rival fossil fuel firms. Then nationalising could be an option, or alternatively let everyone choose the cheaper green energy (if that is achievable). I am not sure what you want from the opposition? Other than another defeat at the next election perhaps? I’m not a particularly big fan of Starmer. But certainly the left wing of the Labour party are desperate to stop labour getting into power. The left of labour would prefer more years of tory rule it seems, rather than having a better but by no means perfect Labour government. It is ridiculous. He wouldn't need to endlessly repeat stuff if he didn't keep u turning and changing his mind. One minute we are abolishing the house of Lords, the next we aren't. One minuting were abolishing the charity status applied to private schools, the next we aren't. One minute we are nationalising energy, rail, mail and water. The next we aren't. One minute tuition fees are being abolished, the next they aren't. If he didn't delete his 10 pledges from his website then he wouldn't need to keep repeating. But after deleting those this week it seems the u turns just keep continuing. Your last paragraph is ironic considering we had alot of momentum and people getting behind the last leader before Kier Starmer and his right wing cronies infiltrated the Labour Party and worked against the leadership to tarnish the chances of the party in the build up to the last GE. Starmers more interested in trying to win over and appease billionaires while taking the people and voters of this country for granted. He had little interest in supporting the party in the last election and seemingly, along with the Labour right, were quite happy for them to lose the election. I don't like him and I don't trust him and he's done very little to convince me otherwise. Actually he's done the opposite, as each week passes he does or says something which makes me dislike him more. He's went the opposite direction. I will continue to criticise and praise Starmer were appropriate and hold him to the standards thar I personally expect (others have different standards which I respect). Being a labour leader isn't enough for me. Being better than a tory isn't enough for me. I expect better and I want to be inspired. I don't want to vote for the lesser of two evils. I want to vote for someone who cares about the many not the few. Trying to get on side with billionaires and focusing on winning them over pisses me off. He's taken the left wing and working class for granted. And simply voting him so we don't get a tory tells him that his policies are what we want and its not enough. So if that means torys got in power then so be it. Its not a football team I follow blindly it's more than that. And if my football team has forgotten it's supporters and is more interested in impressing the elite then its lost its heart and soul. And this didn't all start from a silly shitty article about Thatcher. This is months upon months of things. HOL reform has been pushed back to second term because of other priorities He was never abolishing the charitable status of private schools. He was putting vat on fees. He was never nationalising everything in a first term. It would be impossible. I don’t remember him pledging to abolish tuition fees recently. Since his leadership pledges we have had covid hammer the economy. He needs to prioritise. He needs to adapt to the situation he hopefully inherits. To do otherwise would be idiotic. Corbyn failed to win at elections. I liked some of his domestic agenda. But he didn’t know how to win. If you can’t win then you are irrelevant: lib dems (sadly). I get he has masses to do to win round lots of the left of labour. But he has to get into power first. I cannot stand this ridiculous nonsense about people hammering Starmer when he hasn’t yet had a chance to do anything, let alone produce a manifesto. In our system he has to be the least worst option of two. It is an abysmal and undemocratic system. But that what is required to get elected. Corbyn was deemed worse than Johnson (utter madness in my view). But part of that was Corbyn couldn’t do what Blair and Starmer can do which is woo the right people. You have to in a FPTP system and with our foreign owned right wong press.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 21:08:50 GMT
No, but you did say “ If Starmer gets elected its not due to anything he's done or said”. I think lots of people will vote for Starmer for the things he has said and done. He may be uninspiring and not very transformative, but he strikes me as capable of running an administration not drenched in sleaze and corruption. Others will agree and therefore, as you say, vote for him because he represents a likely change from Tory sleaze. He must have said or done something for that conclusion to be reached. And I think you're wrong. So you think the Tory corruption and sleaze being exposed is due to Kier Starmer? No, i think there will be less corruption and sleaze under his leadership. I hold that opinion because of what Starmer has said and done (albeit in opposition you can’t do anything so it is more about what he has done in his past - be director of public prosecutions)
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 20:58:08 GMT
Come on then, tell me how centre right the following are: 1. Vat on private school fees 2. Increasing windfall taxes on energy companies 3. Abolishing non-dom status 4. Creating a nationalised green energy company How centre right is: 1. Raising minimum wage significantly 2. Increasing Job Seekers Allowance 3. 30 hours a week free childcare 4. Changes to bring prepayment meters in line with the costs those on direct debit pay. I know you and redwhiteblue LOVE starmer but in todays climate the policies which he hasn't yet u turned on aren't particularly inspiring in the slightest. Ed Davey gives me more confidence in helping those who need it and his party is meant to be to the right of labour. You criticise Starmer for being right wing and having no policies. So I name 4 of his not many policies and they are all left of centre rather than right of centre. You won’t be happy unless he turns into Corbyn. Corbyn lost. The labour left need to accept that. Starmer has a real chance of winning. Give him a chance
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 20:36:31 GMT
Fair enough. I'm sure you didn't mean it this way, Andy, but I'd be surprised if many people, including yourself, thought that Starmer would suddenly become a socialist once he was in power. My opinion of him hasn't changed one bit by this article in which he identifies those British leaders who effected meaningful change. There's not a fat lot of actual praise there for Thatcher, but that doesn't make such a good story, obviously. Starmer's a centrist first and foremost, soft left, much like his deputy. Everything he's done as leader is about bringing the party back to the centre ground in order to get it elected after the debacle of 2019. I fully respect your decision to be appalled by the article, although I suspect that's more about how it's been portrayed rather than Starmer actually threatening to become a Thatcherite! We'll have to wait and see what he does in power, if he gets there. This latest article is about doing exactly what Blair did. Don't frighten the horses! It's the only way to get elected in Conservative England - you can try the alternative approach like Corbyn did and, as much as you and I might recognise that a lot of what he said has come to pass, there was no way he was ever going to get voted in. The media saw to that, turning people against him until he got his arse handed to him in spectacular style at the last election. They haven't got anywhere to go with Starmer. But wouldn't it be lovely if we could both vote for parties we genuinely aligned with and saw actual representation in the HoC according to actual voting percentages. Another clarion call for PR. I agree with what wannabee said if Stamer's quote had been about conviction politicians I would probably not have such a difficult challenge. She did have conviction and undoubtedly changed Britain. He chose to highlight a positive of her tenure, "entrepreneurial spirit". Rather than point out the giveaway of the family jewels to her city backers and a class war. He just left it it ambiguous enough to pacify Tory voters and the media moguls and he did it on purpose. I think he knows how to play the game.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 20:30:09 GMT
You need to read the whole piece instead of just going by the headlines for effect, waga! He singles out Attlee, Thatcher and Blair as leaders who had significant impact on the UK. You wouldn't know that, of course, just going by the headlines! I have read the article and I'm still very pissed off by it as will anyone impacted by her negatively in the 1980s, which runs into millions of people that had previously voted Labour. I respect it doesn't seem to bother you or Oggy. Equally I hope you will accept that trivialising it as a headline is apologist. Stamer has got enough track record on various issues now to convince me that this isn't about getting into power and suddenly becoming a socialist. He's as wedded to centre right politics as it is possible to be. His views aren't even particularly liberal with a small l. If that's where the majority of the UK is now, fair enough. It's not where many of past Labour voters are including me. Come on then, tell me how centre right the following are: 1. Vat on private school fees 2. Increasing windfall taxes on energy companies 3. Abolishing non-dom status 4. Creating a nationalised green energy company For a man constantly criticised for having no policies and for being centre right, I have name 4 clear policies which prove both criticism completely wrong.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 18:23:25 GMT
You have just demonstrated exactly why it is best Starmer reveals very little before the next election. Cleverly (if you are right - I have not seen the news today) has copied the Labour policy. Do you see why announcing everything now is not a good idea? A preventative health service is a focus on preventing disease rather than waiting until you are disease ridden before doing anything. It is a massive culture shift. It means being checked more regularly to prevent disease before it is too late. Why is it that medical students on the continent are always shown British cancer patients as examples? Because we are good at detecting disease but often after it is too late. The preventative model transforms that. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Simplify the tax code means removing loop holes exploited by the rich. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Why should he simply repeat endlessly what he has already said? Judge him by his manifesto. Nationalising energy is far too expensive. It would be better to regulate profits via the windfall tax at the same time as pumping investment into a nationalised green energy company, thus reducing share process of the rival fossil fuel firms. Then nationalising could be an option, or alternatively let everyone choose the cheaper green energy (if that is achievable). I am not sure what you want from the opposition? Other than another defeat at the next election perhaps? I’m not a particularly big fan of Starmer. But certainly the left wing of the Labour party are desperate to stop labour getting into power. The left of labour would prefer more years of tory rule it seems, rather than having a better but by no means perfect Labour government. It is ridiculous. It didn't stop the likes of Smeeth, Hodge, Austin, Mann and many more right wingers in collusion with the Tory press from sabotaging Labour's chances in 2019. So I'll take no lectures thank you. You reap what you sow. And this is exactly why the tories keep winning elections.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 17:34:52 GMT
Nationalised green energy company, going after covid fraud, not binning a levels, binning Rwanda policy, preventative nhs, simplifying tax code, Lords reform, moving away from culture war issues, higher windfall taxes on energy companies, reducing incentives for businesses to employ from abroad rather than from here. There are a few for you. Many more will appear in the manifesto. Is the Rwanda policy not being scrapped whoever is in charge due to legal issues? I don't see any progress in the last 12 months in regards to it. Has Clevery not just made an announcement in regards to reducing incentives for businesses to employ abroad? The scrapping of A levels is just a change to Advanced British Standards were pupils will do more subjects and A levels and T levels will come under same scheme. Why is starmer deciding not to scrap them a vote winner? Despite party members voting for it. Did the shadow business secretary not say at the Labour conference that they won't be nationalising energy - www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-67056005Windfall tax on energy companies. Has he mentioned this in the last 12 months? All went very quiet there. Tacking covid fraud. Let's see if actions speak louder than words when push comes to shove. House of Lords reforms. Pretty sure he said he was going to scrap that but then u turned. What is a preventative NHS? Aside from being similar to a tory three word slogan. Words aside what's the plan? Or is that the plan "a preventative NHS" with no actual plan, just a slogan. What's the big pledge to move away from culture war issues? Is immigration not one of those, something which starmer has been getting involved in? Same for trans and self identity. I don't see how he's moved or moving away. What is the simplyfing tax code going to do for the working man? Why not raise tax for the highest earners giving inequality. Whys he saying he's not going to do that? If that's the best he can come up with then you can see why it's not inspiring in the slightest. We've a huge issue with inequality in this country and none of the above suggests there's any plan to tackle it. You have just demonstrated exactly why it is best Starmer reveals very little before the next election. Cleverly (if you are right - I have not seen the news today) has copied the Labour policy. Do you see why announcing everything now is not a good idea? A preventative health service is a focus on preventing disease rather than waiting until you are disease ridden before doing anything. It is a massive culture shift. It means being checked more regularly to prevent disease before it is too late. Why is it that medical students on the continent are always shown British cancer patients as examples? Because we are good at detecting disease but often after it is too late. The preventative model transforms that. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Simplify the tax code means removing loop holes exploited by the rich. I am amazed you are not supportive of this. Why should he simply repeat endlessly what he has already said? Judge him by his manifesto. Nationalising energy is far too expensive. It would be better to regulate profits via the windfall tax at the same time as pumping investment into a nationalised green energy company, thus reducing share process of the rival fossil fuel firms. Then nationalising could be an option, or alternatively let everyone choose the cheaper green energy (if that is achievable). I am not sure what you want from the opposition? Other than another defeat at the next election perhaps? I’m not a particularly big fan of Starmer. But certainly the left wing of the Labour party are desperate to stop labour getting into power. The left of labour would prefer more years of tory rule it seems, rather than having a better but by no means perfect Labour government. It is ridiculous.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 17:27:54 GMT
You don’t speak for everyone. Some people will vote for Starmer because they like him/his policies more than Sunak’s. Did I say I speak for everyone? Well I don't see many posters on here who voted tory last election saying they're changing their vote due to starmers policies. Those who are, are changing because of the tory sleaze. No, but you did say “ If Starmer gets elected its not due to anything he's done or said”. I think lots of people will vote for Starmer for the things he has said and done. He may be uninspiring and not very transformative, but he strikes me as capable of running an administration not drenched in sleaze and corruption. Others will agree and therefore, as you say, vote for him because he represents a likely change from Tory sleaze. He must have said or done something for that conclusion to be reached.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 10:26:47 GMT
surely if salaries are 33% higher then labour cost to business is 33% higher plus employers NI of 13.8% therefore prices will be 37.5 % higher assuning profits aren't increased . but we all know that profit will be maintained by businesses so the result is job losses or higher prices ? oh , sorry , thats a labour manifesto .
Average salaries may be 33% higher. I suspect the people who have benefited the most from that are at the top of the tree, ie the shareholders and business owners, not the workers. So your logic doesn’t follow.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 8:40:03 GMT
You don’t speak for everyone. Some people will vote for Starmer because they like him/his policies more than Sunak’s. Id like to know what these "different policies" are. Nationalised green energy company, going after covid fraud, not binning a levels, binning Rwanda policy, preventative nhs, simplifying tax code, Lords reform, moving away from culture war issues, higher windfall taxes on energy companies, reducing incentives for businesses to employ from abroad rather than from here. There are a few for you. Many more will appear in the manifesto.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 8:34:51 GMT
Shit house. There is just no credible alternative is there, right wing tory politics or right wing Labour take your pick. I would say that most people in this country are middle of the road and more Liberal than anything else. But every time the Liberal party get anywhere near doing really well they fuck it up, or get in bed with the devil. Starmer, like Blair, fits very well in that centre ground where the lib dems have occupied. Do you think Thatcher didn’t effect change in the country then? That’s what Starmer actually said. He also commented that several other former PMs did the same. A headline of “Starmer says Thatcher changed things” isn’t as attractive as click bait.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 8:31:43 GMT
Would you prefer Truss style approach? Starmer is reducing expectations. I’d prefer to see him say “I will spend what I can and make the rich pay” but that would be electoral suicide. He can’t do anything if he doesn’t get elected and our electoral system encourages politicians to be simply the least worst option of two parties to get into power. Odds on him biting the hand that feeds him when he gets into power? He'll be off to Davos on the private jet like the rest of the grifters. Of course he will be off to davos. He was there last year. I suspect he will make more rich people pay than the tories. A low bar of course. Going after covid fraud is a start, but reeves wants to simplify the tax code and that is exactly what is needed. Proof will be in the pudding, obviously.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 7:49:36 GMT
If Starmer gets elected its not due to anything he's done or said. He's up against a tory party drenched in corruption which has been self combusting for the last few years. It's more of a people desperate to get tories out rather than a people desperate to get starmer in. And this tory party seem to be content with that outcome. He doesn't strike fear into them or their media paymasters like a true left wing leader would. Did Blair tell alot of lies to get elected? Or was he just not terribly left wing both pre and post election? Was there this dramatic 180 in his attitude before and after election that some starmer super fans think is going to happen? Or was he very much mostly the same. www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/dec/03/keir-starmer-labour-wont-turn-on-spending-taps-wins-electionSame masters, different colour ties. The ordinary Joe will see little real change. In fact they'll likely just experience further regression. It'd a country run by the 'elite' for the 'elite', the rest of us are just a hindrance. Same as it ever was. Would you prefer Truss style approach? Starmer is reducing expectations. I’d prefer to see him say “I will spend what I can and make the rich pay” but that would be electoral suicide. He can’t do anything if he doesn’t get elected and our electoral system encourages politicians to be simply the least worst option of two parties to get into power.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 4, 2023 7:28:35 GMT
I completely agree with what you are saying. My issue is that the two parties with any chance of forming a government have to lie about their real convictions in order to get elected. Starmer is bullshitting just as much as Johnson did at the last election. It's understandable but all it does is undermine trust on the political process. If Starmer gets elected its not due to anything he's done or said. He's up against a tory party drenched in corruption which has been self combusting for the last few years. It's more of a people desperate to get tories out rather than a people desperate to get starmer in. And this tory party seem to be content with that outcome. He doesn't strike fear into them or their media paymasters like a true left wing leader would. Did Blair tell alot of lies to get elected? Or was he just not terribly left wing both pre and post election? Was there this dramatic 180 in his attitude before and after election that some starmer super fans think is going to happen? Or was he very much mostly the same. You don’t speak for everyone. Some people will vote for Starmer because they like him/his policies more than Sunak’s.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 3, 2023 19:48:01 GMT
Anybody else feeling like we are destined for a centre of right government no matter what at the next election? I don’t think saying Thatcher “effected meaningful change” and that she "sought to drag Britain out of its stupor by setting loose our natural entrepreneurialism" makes Starmer centre right. It isn’t really praise after all, but we wouldn’t want to get in the way of a good headline!
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 3, 2023 12:21:28 GMT
Was peace achieved in N Ire just by a foreign government having a vote about it during the height of tensions? Or did it take years of diplomacy and negotiations? Realistically, a temporary ceasefire, or humanitarian pause, is the only plausible way of persuading Israel to stop for aid to get in. They are never going to stop when they know the second they do, Hamas will attack them again. I am all for peace. So is Sunak and Starmer. But peace doesn’t happen overnight. The big difference between this situation and NI is that within the groups representing the two communities there were people at the top willing to lay down their arms and agree a political solution. Neither the leaders of Hamas nor the current government of Isreal are showing the slightest interest in a political solution - they are both committed to the violent destruction of the other side. Unless both communities find alternative leaders to represent them the pre conditions for a political solution simply isn't there. Hence why asking for a permanent ceasefire is ridiculous.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 2, 2023 12:45:57 GMT
Poor landlords. What an awful position to be in to own multiple properties. They could always sell the spares to people who need a home. Most of the LL's I know are normal, decent people who own 1-2 properties locally in an attempt to add a little bit extra to their pensions. They are not slum LL, drug barons or from families with million pound properties in the SE. It's a fairly simple matter for the Govt to make ownership of a 2nd home illegal. Why don't they do that if it will easily fix the housing problem as you seem to believe? I think your contempt for people who own more than one property is misplaced. p.s. not all LL's with 1-2 properties are rich. In fact, most have mortgages on their 2nd homes so there is an element of risk in what they are doing but they are trying to plan for their future. I agree that the situation in the SE may be different and not representative of the rest of the country. I think tenants who cannot find homes because of too many air bnbs are more vulnerable than landlords who own more than 1 property. I am not saying all landlords are bad. I just have less sympathy for someone who, worst case, can sell their second or third home, than I do for someone who cannot afford to buy or who cannot find a rental property and so their children have to move schools. Short holiday let income should be taxed at a higher level than rental income. Perhaps they should make it so you cannot offset any expenses against tax regardless of what they are against short term rental income. It would benefit more people than it would hurt, and the people it hurts own more than one property so will probably be fine (and could always let it to tenants instead). Certainly have I never suggested prohibiting owning more than one property. I do think it should be unlawful for a company to run a business of residential property letting. That way rental income would always have to be on someone’s personal income and taxed accordingly.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 2, 2023 11:20:43 GMT
Perhaps we should begin serious investment in renewables? With our skills in innovation, perhaps we could lead the world in it. Be to renewables what Saudi is for oil and gas. But this government has no vision or long term plan, other than for power. We were in relation to wind a threw that away. We could be in relation to tidal energy but we'll balls that up to no doubt. Or sell it to another nation’s government to fleece us on costs (subsidised by our government, naturally)
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 2, 2023 11:18:56 GMT
Air BnB is a cancer infecting local communities which pushes rental prices up at the detriment of local residents. It means in nice places like Cornwall, landlords evict tenants and make far more money on air bnb. The tenants often cannot find another place to live so have to leave jobs and children leave schools as a result. Avoid air bnb at all costs! This is a valid point but also consider the landlord's point. The Govt has made it increasingly difficult for LL's in the last 10 years or so. Their responsibilities towards long-term tenants now are more onerous and more costly. The risk of renters defaulting is very real and it is almost impossible to evict them in a timely or cost effective manner. The local council will invariably be on the side of the renter. AirB'n'B removes a lot of that hassle for the same or better returns. A simple place in S-o-T can bring in about £100 a week for long term rent living in the property 365d. AirB'nB can bring in the same for only 100d occupancy. The LL has better control over the accommodation, they generally make more money and they get significantly less hassle from the authorities and the customers. I don't blame any LL's for taking this option. The ridiculous state of the UK housing sector is almost entirely due to the UK Govt. Poor landlords. What an awful position to be in to own multiple properties. They could always sell the spares to people who need a home.
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 1, 2023 17:22:38 GMT
Air BnB is a cancer infecting local communities which pushes rental prices up at the detriment of local residents. It means in nice places like Cornwall, landlords evict tenants and make far more money on air bnb. The tenants often cannot find another place to live so have to leave jobs and children leave schools as a result.
Avoid air bnb at all costs!
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Post by oggyoggy on Dec 1, 2023 16:52:12 GMT
Having posted the above I thought how are we doing today on power generation? What a mountain we still have to climb!!! No solar power generation today - not surprising! Very little wind power, so there must be little wind. 10% of what we are consuming is imported , mostly from France. Little from Norway because no wind? Small amount of nuclear, biomass, and tiny bit from coal. Vast majority from gas. We are still just starting on this long journey to renewable energy. Perhaps we should begin serious investment in renewables? With our skills in innovation, perhaps we could lead the world in it. Be to renewables what Saudi is for oil and gas. But this government has no vision or long term plan, other than for power.
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