Do you want to discuss boring politics? (23 Viewers)

[Philosoraptor]

I think it's more part of political ideology that's facilitated the wealth transfer that's happened, and is still happening. ⁹

I'd agree with this. Austerity was political ideology. The Tory's have cut public services to the minimum. Something the Labour party recently seem to want to copy.

 

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[wingy]

Do the maths on it dipshit, the figures probably won’t fit on your calculator. And people wonder why there is no money to
Spend on anything else but in their Infinate wisdom they think we should just let more and more people in to country to be paid for by the working public. You think you don’t recognise the country now? Wait 10 years and you will wish you’d done something about it.

But we'll have welcomed how many in the official numbers?

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Oh good more strikes, where do I sign up? Only a soundbite keep the unions onside as they won't strike under Labour now (yes I'm aware of 78!)

Fwiw I selfishly want things that nobody is really pledging.

More help with tax breaks for neglected middle earners, subsidised rail, scrapping HS rail, investment in British industry, cutting taxes, affordable housing, skilled immigration, tighter borders, scrap tv licence, more police, less admin waste on public services with budget moving to front line staff, less spent on defence overseas, give up the Falklands, Gibraltar and Northern Ireland, spend the money at home.

Will await the manifestos but assume I'm not really aligned to anything! No issues with renationalisation either, quite happy with a single rail network, electric, gas and water too, just not top of my agenda, but not precious on them remaining private.

Politically homeless but certainly not ready to nail my colours to Starmer although he'll get in with a landslide regardless so fairly pointless. Even he can't fail, Labour will win in spite of him and not because of him.

Don't panic, fully aware most won't agree, no mention of education or much substance on law or environmental policy, just my ramblings for Tony to pull apart

Interesting for you not to consider part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland not to be ‘home’ spending. Sure needs it in my view.

As for union and employment rights, they’re of importance to every working person in the country. The rights to collective bargaining and to striking need strengthening and invariably help the workforces who are prepared to utilise them.

 

[rob9872]

Interesting for you not to consider part of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland not to be ‘home’ spending. Sure needs it in my view.

I chose my words carefully and said GB not UK as I'd already said about giving up on Falklands, Gibraltar and Northern Ireland, so couldnt advocate spending money there. We have no rights to any of them and they cost money. I get that some residents see themselves British so as we need immigration they can be the first in should they choose to.

 

[rob9872]

As for union and employment rights, they’re of importance to every working person in the country. The rights to collective bargaining and to striking need strengthening and invariably help the workforces who are prepared to utilise them.

When was the last time anyone went on strike for Fred who was wronged at B&Q or Tracey from McDonald's? In fact on a real scale for the mismanaged, sacked and in some cases jailed sub-postmasters? Let's not pretend the unions these days that are powerful and run the Labour leadership are for nothing more than to get more pay for public workers by holding a Tory government to ransom. Won't hear a peep out of them for the next 5 years.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

I chose my words carefully and said GB not UK as I'd already said about giving up on Falklands, Gibraltar and Northern Ireland, so couldnt advocate spending money there. We have no rights to any of them and they cost money. I get that some residents see themselves British so as we need immigration they can be the first in should they choose to.

We do by the consent of all 3 populations so until that changes then we should fulfil our obligations. Especially NI, it’s been very badly neglected.

 

[shmmeee]

Kick granny out and tax her ?

For what it’s worth I also agree that richer people can/should be taxed more but even so, I still think everyone will have to pay more for better public services in future unless someone can quickly solve the growth/productivity puzzle*

I think for parties to pretend that’s not the case is disingenuous

*AI might help but not sure how long it will take

I wouldn’t be hanging my hopes on AI. I think we need to build stuff. I’m worried by how it’s dropped out of Starmers mind seemingly, I guess because the same people that have stopped every other politician from taking on planning reform have stopped him too.

 

[shmmeee]

I'd agree with this. Austerity was political ideology. The Tory's have cut public services to the minimum. Something the Labour party recently seem to want to copy.

It’s fun to say things.

 

[Philosoraptor]

It’s fun to say things.

Can't wait to see the Libraries fully staffed again.

 

[Grendel]

It was an economic decision. The choices were get the people that crashed the world’s banking system to pay for it or get the plebs to pick up the cost with austerity.

You voted for it

 

[Grendel]

Firstly I’m not going to say that they couldn’t have done more to protect the country from the effects of a world banking crisis caused by the toxic mortgage industry in America because they certainly could have. For instance under Blair they relaxed controls on bankers which made the UK banking more exposed than it would have been otherwise.

Secondly austerity was implemented by the Tory/Lib Dem coalition government and then continued by the tories following the next election.

Finally the fact is up until the US toxic mortgage disaster triggered a worldwide recession Labour had actually overseen the longest period of growth in the UK since records began. If you’re going to talk about the last Labour government and their record on the economy that’s part of it.

You voted for it — twice

 

[Ian1779]

Do the maths on it dipshit, the figures probably won’t fit on your calculator. And people wonder why there is no money to
Spend on anything else but in their Infinate wisdom they think we should just let more and more people in to country to be paid for by the working public. You think you don’t recognise the country now? Wait 10 years and you will wish you’d done something about it.

Bring the numbers dipshit, we’ll have a Maths party

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Do the maths on it dipshit, the figures probably won’t fit on your calculator. And people wonder why there is no money to
Spend on anything else but in their Infinate wisdom they think we should just let more and more people in to country to be paid for by the working public. You think you don’t recognise the country now? Wait 10 years and you will wish you’d done something about it.

Another piece of maths…most of our immigration prior to Brexit came from outside the EU. So is it any great surprise that the government keeps failing to hit its own ambition to stop letting foreigners live here?

 

[fernandopartridge]

It’s fun to say things.

Is Labour going to restore local authority budgets to where they should be in real terms using 2010 as a benchmark?

 

[skybluetony176]

Is Labour going to restore local authority budgets to where they should be in real terms using 2010 as a benchmark?

Now that is a good question that needs answering and thus far there nothing more from Labour than a few sound bites about freeing up cash to councils to build new social housing. Undoubtedly needed but when you look at the statistics on average the cuts equate to about 25% in real terms since 2010 so the issue is far bigger than just building houses, it’s everything that a council does from maintaining roads to social care.

 

[shmmeee]

Is Labour going to restore local authority budgets to where they should be in real terms using 2010 as a benchmark?

Curious you use the last Labour govt as a benchmark

 

[wingy]

Curious you use the last Labour govt as a benchmark

Why not we had sure start that was cropped by the next lot,promised by this lot under a new name recently!!

 

[Sick Boy]

You think you don’t recognise the country now? Wait 10 years and you will wish you’d done something about it.

The same crap was said 20 years ago and it’s still recognisable as the UK.

 

[hamertime]

The same crap was said 20 years ago and it’s still recognisable as the UK.

of course it is.

5 billion a year just to house illegal
Immigrants, the scary part is our leaders have no idea how to stop it or get rid of them. They are all to weak to even talk about is as they know the left wing morons will be calling them racist blah blah blah and they will be out of a job so they just plod on to keep them self employable.

 

[hamertime]

Another piece of maths…most of our immigration prior to Brexit came from outside the EU. So is it any great surprise that the government keeps failing to hit its own ambition to stop letting foreigners live here?

So the government has said if current trends continue the cost to the Uk taxpayer will be 11 billion a year at 2026, and people wonder why there is no money.

 

[Sick Boy]

of course it is.

5 billion a year just to house illegal
Immigrants, the scary part is our leaders have no idea how to stop it or get rid of them. They are all to weak to even talk about is as they know the left wing morons will be calling them racist blah blah blah and they will be out of a job so they just plod on to keep them self employable.

What part of the UK do you think has majorly changed that makes it look less like the UK? 20 years ago we were told we’d have Sharia Law by now and look how that turned out.

 

[Ian1779]

of course it is.

5 billion a year just to house illegal
Immigrants, the scary part is our leaders have no idea how to stop it or get rid of them. They are all to weak to even talk about is as they know the left wing morons will be calling them racist blah blah blah and they will be out of a job so they just plod on to keep them self employable.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Curious you use the last Labour govt as a benchmark

What should I use?

 

[shmmeee]

What should I use?

Whatever you want. Just interesting that that’s you’re comparison. Almost like Labour have a track record of producing even when a bunch of people are crying that they’re right wing because they arent offering nationalised Palestinian flags for non binaries.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Whatever you want. Just interesting that that’s you’re comparison. Almost like Labour have a track record of producing even when a bunch of people are crying that they’re right wing because they arent offering nationalised Palestinian flags for non binaries.

Well let's see. They're inheriting what to my mind is pretty much a failed state

 

[fatso]

Genuine question here. Can any one verify the following claim?

After a light hearted chat down the local, I was told by someone with far more political knowledge than myself, (and probably more than any one on here) that in the entire history of British politics, there has never once been a Labour government that left office with more people IN work than when they started that term of office.

I'd be Interested to know if this is true.
I wasn't going to argue the toss at the time as I hadn't gone down the pub to talk boring politics.

 

[Philosoraptor]

[[

Well let's see. They're inheriting what to my mind is pretty much a failed state

I wouldn't say 'inherit' but more like 'complicit'.

 

[shmmeee]

Well let's see. They're inheriting what to my mind is pretty much a failed state

As they were in 97. Probably far worse in terms of the state of the public sector buildings at least. I truly think people have forgotten what it was like.

But yes, let’s see. I predict a normal Labour govt, you and others predict I’m not sure what, some kind of cross between Thatcher and Hitler as far as I can tell.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Genuine question here. Can any one verify the following claim?

After a light hearted chat down the local, I was told by someone with far more political knowledge than myself, (and probably more than any one on here) that in the entire history of British politics, there has never once been a Labour government that left office with more people IN work than when they started that term of office.

I'd be Interested to know if this is true.
I wasn't going to argue the toss at the time as I hadn't gone down the pub to talk boring politics.

In fairness to the last Labour government they inherited a relatively stable country with an unemployment rate of 7.6% and left with a similar unemployment rate after the global financial crisis, the rate had steadily fallen from 97 until 2005 where it was at its lowest.

One of the problems with that as a measure is that governments of all colours redefine what unemployment means.

 

[shmmeee]

Genuine question here. Can any one verify the following claim?

After a light hearted chat down the local, I was told by someone with far more political knowledge than myself, (and probably more than any one on here) that in the entire history of British politics, there has never once been a Labour government that left office with more people IN work than when they started that term of office.

I'd be Interested to know if this is true.
I wasn't going to argue the toss at the time as I hadn't gone down the pub to talk boring politics.

Well the only thing that removes governments (other than this one that’s pure self inflicted disaster) tends to be recessions. So comparing 2010, two years after the global financial crisis, to 1997 isn’t comparing apples to apples. When people make weirdly specific statistical claims like this it’s usually a sign they’re hiding some pretty important context.

If you look at normal Labour governed years unemployment, homelessness, waiting lists, etc all fell consistently. The NHS was rated at its highest user satisfaction level, the public sector building estate was refreshed, staffing levels were resolved. At the same time the economy grew, Labour had more budget surpluses than the Tories have in significantly more time. Debt fell as a proportion of GDP.

Not that everything was perfect. But on any sensible set of KPIs Labour governments massively outperform Tory ones every time.

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

This is abhorrent Tory Britain at its finest

Unpaid carers being forced to repay £250m to DWP in allowance overpayments

One claimant unknowingly overpaid Carer's Allowance said the debts she incurred have brought 'considerable financial strain'.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[clint van damme]

Should have embezzled the money in a PPE fraud during covid, the government wouldn't touch them.

 

[clint van damme]

Wonder what Fernandos doing with his Saturday afternoons now the football's over?

 

[skybluetony176]

Should have embezzled the money in a PPE fraud during covid, the government wouldn't touch them.

Or get the plebs to pay the mortgage on your second home only to sell it and pocket the profit without paying windfall tax on those profits to the tune of £5M like 4 Tory MP’s allegedly have.

 

[Philosoraptor]

But yes, let’s see. I predict a normal Labour govt, you and others predict I’m not sure what, some kind of cross between Thatcher and Hitler as far as I can tell.

To save money they could always change the departmental limousines to half-tracks.