The EU: In, out, shake it all about.... (15 Viewers)

As of right now, how are thinking of voting? In or out

  • Remain

    Votes: 23 37.1%
  • Leave

    Votes: 35 56.5%
  • Undecided

    Votes: 3 4.8%
  • Not registered or not intention to vote

    Votes: 1 1.6%

  • Total voters
    62
  • Poll closed .

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
This is why I really don't understand the desire to shut down parliamentary debate on the subject.

It's an attempt by the Tory right to push through the hardest of Brexits....I'm sure there are more than a few who would love for talks to quickly break down and to start dismantly all that red tape.
 

Grendel

Well-Known Member
It's an attempt by the Tory right to push through the hardest of Brexits....I'm sure there are more than a few who would love for talks to quickly break down and to start dismantly all that red tape.

Which has the backing of the uk communist party and the socialist workers party.

Oddly I drove down the London road today and passed that old dinosaur Dave Nellist. Another May supporter on this issue.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
It's an attempt by the Tory right to push through the hardest of Brexits....I'm sure there are more than a few who would love for talks to quickly break down and to start dismantly all that red tape.
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Kingokings204

Well-Known Member
Brexit wasn't about left or right of politics. Many left politicians and groups pushed for brexit as did right wing politicians.

It was about which direction do you want the country to go. Did you want the U.K. to be a self governing independant country who controls its own borders , own courts and trade deals and even currency or did you want it all done for you by the unelected commission of the eu and courts In Luxembourg as part of a european superstate? That was the question I asked myself anyway in a nut shell.
 

martcov

Well-Known Member
Brexit wasn't about left or right of politics. Many left politicians and groups pushed for brexit as did right wing politicians.

It was about which direction do you want the country to go. Did you want the U.K. to be a self governing independant country who controls its own borders , own courts and trade deals and even currency or did you want it all done for you by the unelected commission of the eu and courts In Luxembourg as part of a european superstate? That was the question I asked myself anyway in a nut shell.

Really? Superstate or independent... there isn't a superstate and we will never be completely independent so long as we live by trade and are defended as NATO members.
 

Flying Fokker

Well-Known Member
How many mich percentage did Wilders get in the end? I don't know yet. About 13%? Which would mean that the established parties got 87% between them.

Extreme right didn't really come anywhere near power.

What was the percentage increase for the greens? I think they are much happier than Wilders.

Wilders thought he would get a lot more and be the number one.

I think that people look at what the right actually does when it gets power. The people have not taken their country back in the USA or Britain - not to mention the situation in Russia and Turkey.

Populist slogans are easily lapped up, but the reality at the end is quite a different thing.
unfortunately the strong pick off the weak....The Netherlands was an easy target WW2. Their form of democracy gives them little choice but to follow the European model.
 

martcov

Well-Known Member
unfortunately the strong pick off the weak....The Netherlands was an easy target WW2. Their form of democracy gives them little choice but to follow the European model.

Which form of democracy would be better for them? Putin's - opposition and press murdered, control of media, distraction by playing mr tough guy in foreign policy. Trump's - feeding the public with fake facts and distracting tweets. Erdogan- lock everyone up and introduce a dictatorship. UK's - first past the post duopoly, and referenda based on lies. Orban's - just call foreigners and refugees what they are stuff international law. The choice of democracies is varied.
 

Flying Fokker

Well-Known Member
Hmmm I thought I'd said what I thought was probably their best choice. Not any of the others. But I didn't say that did I?
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
It's easy to dismiss it if you already own your own home and live a comfortable lifestyle. I'm sure the rising costs of basic food supplies is already hitting the poorest in our society, something I'm sure you have spent a long considering.

I yawn because you think up bad things by yourself, jump to conclusions without considering alternatives and then state them as fact.

1. No, there is not a majority of even the Tory party that want a hard brexit. Are there any? Sure, just like your previous facts that the far right are behind voting to leave - but they are not in control are they? A hard brexit is being considered only as a last resort.
2. If there is a reduction in immigration it will remove pressure on housing and they will become more affordable. This was one of the main reasons why I voted to leave.
3. If there is a reduction in immigration then it will remove wage pressure on the lowest earners and they will have more to spend - not less.
4. Inflation is increasing due to the relatively weak fx rate - yes. But the fx rate isn't outside the bounds of normal fluctuation anyway and when we increase the BoE base rate it will strengthen. It already strengthened just on the hint that the monetary committee is now becoming more hawkish.
5. We only import a quarter of food from the EU and we also export food. We import nearly a quarter from outside the EU. If there are import tariffs with the EU then we'll eat more home produced food and food from outside the EU which will become cheaper when we agree trade terms that cannot be agreed now.

I don't know what will happen. I voted on the balance of probability that things will get better when we leave and there is still a very strong case to make that they will; that the poorest will have more money, that houses will become more affordable... Just try to consider the alternatives to the doom scenario you play in your head. If the worst comes to the worst and there is a hard brexit then there are alternatives.
 

SkyblueBazza

Well-Known Member
Well if you ask me - Nicola Sturgeon should be taken out & flogged.
Anyone suggesting that Teresa May doesn't want a referendum on Scottish independence at the moment because she suspects she will lose deserves the same! I mean...the SNP are only pushing for one because they think they will win ffs!

...onwards & upwards PUSB
 

SkyblueBazza

Well-Known Member
And another thing! It was said to have cost the Scottish Gov't £15.8m to hold the last vote. With inflation that will easily run to £20m for a repeat - how can they afford it in these austere times? Surely they could find many thing more worthy to spend it on?

...onwards & upwards PUSB
 

Kingokings204

Well-Known Member
That's a good point how much did the eu refendum cost in total? Must of been a fortune
 

martcov

Well-Known Member
I yawn because you think up bad things by yourself, jump to conclusions without considering alternatives and then state them as fact.

1. No, there is not a majority of even the Tory party that want a hard brexit. Are there any? Sure, just like your previous facts that the far right are behind voting to leave - but they are not in control are they? A hard brexit is being considered only as a last resort.
2. If there is a reduction in immigration it will remove pressure on housing and they will become more affordable. This was one of the main reasons why I voted to leave.
3. If there is a reduction in immigration then it will remove wage pressure on the lowest earners and they will have more to spend - not less.
4. Inflation is increasing due to the relatively weak fx rate - yes. But the fx rate isn't outside the bounds of normal fluctuation anyway and when we increase the BoE base rate it will strengthen. It already strengthened just on the hint that the monetary committee is now becoming more hawkish.
5. We only import a quarter of food from the EU and we also export food. We import nearly a quarter from outside the EU. If there are import tariffs with the EU then we'll eat more home produced food and food from outside the EU which will become cheaper when we agree trade terms that cannot be agreed now.

I don't know what will happen. I voted on the balance of probability that things will get better when we leave and there is still a very strong case to make that they will; that the poorest will have more money, that houses will become more affordable... Just try to consider the alternatives to the doom scenario you play in your head. If the worst comes to the worst and there is a hard brexit then there are alternatives.

I thought they hadn't considered the effects of a very hard Brexit. If there are less immigrants there will be a reduction of contract in the building industry and the population will stop rising and maybe decline reducing demand for products and services.

Inflation has started to kick in a bit and interest rates have started to creep up - US leading - which will also affect house prices and consumption.

I don't know which of the arguments will prevail. I wouldn't have taken the risk though.

At the end of the day, I think that with the tories romping away, the poorest will not have more money to spend. Just a hunch based on the tories present economic policies. The rich will though.
 

dutchman

Well-Known Member
At the end of the day, I think that with the tories romping away, the poorest will not have more money to spend. Just a hunch based on the tories present economic policies. The rich will though.

It's no different in the €urozone. The European Central Bank had printed money to buy bonds which has created an asset bubble for the mega rich which has yet to translate into any so-called trickle-down effect on the poor. Manual workers in countries like Holland and Germany are having to work longer and harder in order to bail out profligate states like Greece and Italy.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
I thought they hadn't considered the effects of a very hard Brexit. If there are less immigrants there will be a reduction of contract in the building industry and the population will stop rising and maybe decline reducing demand for products and services.

Inflation has started to kick in a bit and interest rates have started to creep up - US leading - which will also affect house prices and consumption.

I don't know which of the arguments will prevail. I wouldn't have taken the risk though.

At the end of the day, I think that with the tories romping away, the poorest will not have more money to spend. Just a hunch based on the tories present economic policies. The rich will though.

I think there will be fewer immigrants. Who knows if the population will actually fall? That totally depends upon whether we can agree with the EU that existing immigrants can stay - but the intention is that they can (good, as it would be tremendously unfair otherwise). Interest rates will start to rise if the economy is doing well - but nobody thinks they will grow quickly and grow above trend. 10 year gilt yield is 1.24% - meaning that maybe the base rate will be 1.5% ish in 10 years*. The City isn't always right but on the balance of probability interest rates will still be relatively low for a long time. But yes; a fall in population and high interest rates will cause house prices to grow less quickly or actually fall - and that will impact builders. Whether that is gentle fall from the building bubble just now or a crash will depend on lots of things.

I agree that we will probably see the Tories in power for many years, but that depends upon the Labour party getting its act together. Even if they do reform after the expected 2020 defeat we may well see a prolonged period before they regain the nation's trust.

Who are the rich? Do you mean the 0.1% super-rich? Well, yes they usually find a way to make money at a faster pace than everyone else; mostly because they own lots of property and companies which tend to grow at at least at the rate of inflation. Also some of them are tax avoiders and evaders. I see a really tight squeeze on tax dodging which will impact them. It has already started.

Everyone else will be bound to the natural growth of the economy, which is something we don't know - but if I am correct the working poor will share the wealth over this period. The non-working poor's lot will be dictated more by benefits policy than anything else. I see two factors here: 1) The deficit really is starting to fall now and within 10 years we'l actually be able to reduce the national debt and/or have more to spend. 2) Policy: will the government decide to give the non-working more fish or will they nudge them to start fishing? If the latter then there will be fewer unemployed but possibly yes, the people who still don't work will not be better off.

* Gilt yields show us the risk fee rate to invest from today for the term of the gilt. They represent a time-weighted average of the base rate. 30 year gilts yield 1.8% so without working it out on a spreadsheet about 1.5% or slightly lower for BoE base in 10 years time.
 
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mrtrench

Well-Known Member
One more factor that will impact the poor negatively, which has nothing to do with the EU... There has been a very hard push against landlords over the past few budgets: No longer able to net off interest on mortgages for tax (causing some landlords to sell up); stamp duty increase (which causes fewer new landlords); banning contract fees to tenants. All of these will supply more houses to buy but also reduce the number for let. For those who still need to let they are already seeing (and will continue to see) above average growth in rental costs. I don't agree with the tax policy (which is actually reducing availability of lets). Stamp duty merely stops new lets and so isn't so bad and the contract fees will possibly be partially absorbed by landlords and so the least bad of these new rules.
 

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
We pay nearly £900 a month for a one bed flat. At the moment, there is black mould growing on a wall in the kitchen, there is a leak in the boiler, the oven and hob do not work due to tripping the electricity and one of our bedroom windows has a hole in the wood due to rot.

Our threats at withholding rent are met with counter-threats of poor credit rating.

It's a fucking disgrace and I genuinely can't wait to leave this hell hole of a country and actually not have to line the pockets of some buy to let landlord and actually save money for myself and a future family.
 
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Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
I yawn because you think up bad things by yourself, jump to conclusions without considering alternatives and then state them as fact.

1. No, there is not a majority of even the Tory party that want a hard brexit. Are there any? Sure, just like your previous facts that the far right are behind voting to leave - but they are not in control are they? A hard brexit is being considered only as a last resort.
2. If there is a reduction in immigration it will remove pressure on housing and they will become more affordable. This was one of the main reasons why I voted to leave.
3. If there is a reduction in immigration then it will remove wage pressure on the lowest earners and they will have more to spend - not less.
4. Inflation is increasing due to the relatively weak fx rate - yes. But the fx rate isn't outside the bounds of normal fluctuation anyway and when we increase the BoE base rate it will strengthen. It already strengthened just on the hint that the monetary committee is now becoming more hawkish.
5. We only import a quarter of food from the EU and we also export food. We import nearly a quarter from outside the EU. If there are import tariffs with the EU then we'll eat more home produced food and food from outside the EU which will become cheaper when we agree trade terms that cannot be agreed now.

I don't know what will happen. I voted on the balance of probability that things will get better when we leave and there is still a very strong case to make that they will; that the poorest will have more money, that houses will become more affordable... Just try to consider the alternatives to the doom scenario you play in your head. If the worst comes to the worst and there is a hard brexit then there are alternatives.

I have bookmarked this post and look forward to seeing it again in a few years. ;)
If you believe the likes of Johnson, Gove, Duncan-Smith, Rees mogg care about the poor and vulnerabile and would like to fairer distribution of wealth, then you are majorly deluded.

May does not have a backbone and crumbles as soon as Dacre disapproves. Having her as PM does not bode well for negotiations....all we need is for the Mail to get up in arms about the 'divorce bill' and urging her not pay it.
 

martcov

Well-Known Member
It's no different in the €urozone. The European Central Bank had printed money to buy bonds which has created an asset bubble for the mega rich which has yet to translate into any so-called trickle-down effect on the poor. Manual workers in countries like Holland and Germany are having to work longer and harder in order to bail out profligate states like Greece and Italy.

Are they? People are getting pay rises above inflation- 4 or 5%. There is pressure on wages - in the cities at least. I am paying my staff more. Cannot speak for Holland as I don't know. We have very low unemployment in Germany which means that wages have to go up. There are, though, about 1 million of unemployed who are difficult to place and are, or will be, long term unemployed.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
I have bookmarked this post and look forward to seeing it again in a few years. ;)
If you believe the likes of Johnson, Gove, Duncan-Smith, Rees mogg care about the poor and vulnerabile and would like to fairer distribution of wealth, then you are majorly deluded.

May does not have a backbone and crumbles as soon as Dacre disapproves. Having her as PM does not bode well for negotiations....all we need is for the Mail to get up in arms about the 'divorce bill' and urging her not pay it.

I don't know what will happen so you may be right. Will you play the post back to me if I'm right? ;)

I have a lot of respect for all those you mention, especially Rees-Mogg (with the exception of the time that he supported Trump). Listen to what he says; he's logical and calm and almost always wins any debate on Question Time etc. He's also got a sense of humour and can laugh at himself. Their aims appear to me not necessarily to redistribute wealth (which is a misguided aim IMO) but rather to create an environment in which people can achieve what they want. If you don't want to achieve anything then you won't.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
Are they? People are getting pay rises above inflation- 4 or 5%. There is pressure on wages - in the cities at least. I am paying my staff more. Cannot speak for Holland as I don't know. We have very low unemployment in Germany which means that wages have to go up. There are, though, about 1 million of unemployed who are difficult to place and are, or will be, long term unemployed.

And some proportion of unemployment will always be with us. The personal character and ability necessarily to want and to keep a job is a bell curve.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
We pay nearly £900 a month for a one bed flat. At the moment, there is black mould growing on a wall in the kitchen, there is a leak in the boiler, the oven and hob do not work due to tripping the electricity and one of our bedroom windows has a hole in the wood due to rot.

Our threats at withholding rent are met with counter-threats of poor credit rating.

It's a fucking disgrace and I genuinely can't wait to leave this hell hole of a country and actually not have to line the pockets of some buy to let landlord and actually save money for myself and a future family.

In most cases, mould is caused by excess damp in the atmosphere and that hitting a cold surface and condensing. That is why is occurs in kitchens and bathrooms. Open windows when cooking and keep the heat on and it will solve the problem. If this is the cause and you are not taking reasonable steps to control it then it is your fault and the landlord has the right to retain deposits to put right - which could even lead to replastering in extreme circumstances.

The next most common source is a leak in a gutter or a roof. If you can see stains or obvious problems there then you can contact your landlord.

For the other problems, it does sound like you have a bad landlord. There are some. However recent regulations have given tenants much more power. Contact Shelter: What to do if your landlord won’t do repairs
 

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
In most cases, mould is caused by excess damp in the atmosphere and that hitting a cold surface and condensing. That is why is occurs in kitchens and bathrooms. Open windows when cooking and keep the heat on and it will solve the problem. If this is the cause and you are not taking reasonable steps to control it then it is your fault and the landlord has the right to retain deposits to put right - which could even lead to replastering in extreme circumstances.

The next most common source is a leak in a gutter or a roof. If you can see stains or obvious problems there then you can contact your landlord.

For the other problems, it does sound like you have a bad landlord. There are some. However recent regulations have given tenants much more power. Contact Shelter: What to do if your landlord won’t do repairs

We already do all that....we have to keep salt on a radiator to ensure it doesn't solidify. :mad: The kitchen seems to be an extension that was done on the cheap. We had a look behind the oven and the entire wall is dark black with white fungus.
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
We already do all that....we have to keep salt on a radiator to ensure it doesn't solidify. :mad: The kitchen seems to be an extension that was done on the cheap. We had a look behind the oven and the entire wall is dark black with white fungus.

It does sound like condensation mould then, as objects close to the wall will trap moisture. How many exterior walls does it have? The more there are the greater the risk of mould. It's possible it hasn't been insulated properly. Follow up with Shelter or the council if your landlord won't act. Tenants have a huge amount of power now to act against bad landlords and if he doesn't act the council can take him to court. Legislation brought in by the Tories... just saying. :)

EDIT: Do it even if you are leaving soon for Italy. Bad landlords must never get away with bad behaviour as the next tenants may not know the power they have.
 

dutchman

Well-Known Member
Are they? People are getting pay rises above inflation- 4 or 5%.

Really?

Eurozone wage growth stumbles at drabbest pace since 2010
Eurozone wage growth stumbles at drabbest pace since 2010. Hourly eurozone labour costs grew a feeble annual pace of 1 per cent in the second quarter of this year, the most sluggish pace since the start of 2014. For the wider European Union, the pace was a more sprightly 1.4 per cent.

Eurozone Wages Growth Weakest in Almost Six Years
Eurozone wages increased at the slowest pace in almost six years during the three months to June, a testament to the weakness of the currency area’s economic recovery and a worry for policy makers at the European Central Bank.

Euro Area Wage Growth | 2009-2017 | Data | Chart | Calendar | Forecast
Wages in the Euro Area increased 1.6 percent year-on-year in the third quarter of 2016, following a 0.9 percent gain in the previous period. Wage Growth in the Euro Area averaged 1.85 percent from 2009 until 2016, reaching an all time high of 3.40 percent in the second quarter of 2009 and a record low of 0.90 percent in the third quarter of 2010.
euro-area-wage-growth.png
 

Sick Boy

Well-Known Member
It does sound like condensation mould then, as objects close to the wall will trap moisture. How many exterior walls does it have? The more there are the greater the risk of mould. It's possible it hasn't been insulated properly. Follow up with Shelter or the council if your landlord won't act. Tenants have a huge amount of power now to act against bad landlords and if he doesn't act the council can take him to court. Legislation brought in by the Tories... just saying. :)

EDIT: Do it even if you are leaving soon for Italy. Bad landlords must never get away with bad behaviour as the next tenants may not know the power they have.

Thanks :D I will send you some pictures of the interior and exterior, if that's OK? The general quality of rental accommodation in Brighton & Hove is shocking!
 

mrtrench

Well-Known Member
Thanks :D I will send you some pictures of the interior and exterior, if that's OK? The general quality of rental accommodation in Brighton & Hove is shocking!

Sure - but I'm not an expert; I'm a landlord (one who ensures that my properties are in excellent condition and responds to solve tenants' issues immediately). I know as much as I need in order to solve their issues. I'm also therefore very up with what rights tenants have and landlord obligations.
 

martcov

Well-Known Member

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