CornwallFox

No, we can't actually

You sound like you've been watching GB news 24/7

I don't think it's an argument you can win now, though I get your point. I don't think you can win the population over with economic data or whatever to show it's positive. Maybe get the boats down to zero and you might stand a chance but atm I don't think you can.

Granted the winter fuel payment, farm taxes etc have shot him down before we even launched as he set off on a negative footing. Not sure he can recover it. But immigration is down by about 80% and illegal immigration down by 42% just this year.

Your middle paragraph - those things absolutely could be dealt with quickly if the government had the bottle to intervene. Spain are taking aggressive government action to curtail cost of living increases. Several other countries have been successful in this. The government needs to put people first and be bold. They keep talking about growth as if that can happen without people having money to spend.

I'm not sure. They've done a lot of good things that simply aren't talked about. They have cut crossings by 42% this year and there are very real policy things happening in that space. The NHS waiting list really is falling. Ed Milliband's creation of GB energy is a fantastic way around the market and they've been busy preparing the way for solar panels on schools and hospitals that will save hundreds of millions in energy costs. That said, the one big issue is cost of living and labour in general are way too slow on this. It's like they're treading water and don't understand it's importance. We all know from our everyday lives how much more expensive life is. Why have we allowed petrol costs to get so high so quickly with yet again record profits? Why are we allowing record profits amongst supermarkets? Sector after sector making record profits, profiteering from world events when prices could take been lower and kept their existing profit levels. Real government intervention in markets is required and labour need no baulk at this, they need to move quickly.

Think starmar has probably sealed his fate with today's speech. A shame as I think he's a good man who is actually doing quite a decent job, but he ability to communicate with the electorate is a downfall. He's too much manager and not enough dreamer. Burnham needs to be brought into the fold ASAP.

Proportional representation is the only real democracy

No I'm not saying that, I'm just asking why we constantly raise china as different to other state actors.

If your generation ever stops voting against the interests of the younger generations then we might stand a chance.

I didn't ask you to accept any guilt. But I'm fed up of reading a narrative that kids today are easy, previous generations had it so much harder, blah blah blah. It isn't true. Yes you may have had a hard childhood. That doesn't detract from saying that it's even harder today. I don't know why so many older folk can't differentiate between these two things.

I do not gaf about amortisation or book values.

Out of interest, genuine question here, but we're never, ever, ever going to be at war with China. They aren't a rival or adversary as they are a global superpower and we are a fairly average country with perhaps above average diplomatic clout historically, though probably not now. What exactly is it we're supposed to be scared of the Chinese doing?

Two people with bottom tier factory jobs and kids still owned a three bed semi and a car. The rest would probably be the same now but they wouldn't own the house now would they? Many things are on credit now because your generation has voted continuously to make the world like this. A new car then was affordable in a decent job. Now you end up with finance deals and lease cars because, like houses, cars have inflated much faster than wages. Kids now are much better educated, smoke less, drink less, do less drugs on average than previous generations. They were told to go to university to get a good job, now unless you work in a trade going to university gets you minimum wage. They've put more time and effort into their studies than your generation, paying and having huge debts, with a chunk of their wages then going towards that debt for decades, for virtually no benefit. Two adults with degrees can't afford a house, can't afford to start a family, they get stuck living with parents much longer. This is the world your generation and above has created.

People then had the equivalent for the time. You sound like you have zero clue what it's like to be young today but are full of bile towards younger people. You are wrong. All of the statistics say you're wrong. Personal experience shows you're wrong. I'd suggest you try to look open minded at the world as it is today.

Absolute nonsense. I'm not young, I'm mid forties. Men in the 70s and 80s went to work and had a stay at home wife. In a normal blue collar job they earnt enough, in a sensible amount of hours, to run a house and take a fortnight holiday in Spain. That is a thousand million miles away from the experience of young workers now, who have it far harder in terms of work that pays, the fact both adults now work and can't have a fortnight abroad, the fact they can't afford a house, or kids, or anything much. You need to open your eyes to the world.

Walkers back in it's rightful place would be a winner

What is not understood by many is that sea level has risen by 8-10 inches over the last hundred years, most of that more recently. It's a small amount per year but recent years have seen the rise increasing in pace. There has been a sudden increase in the rate of sea level rise | New Scientist https://share.google/hnxCMr5dyzqMLg84G

Procurement is an issue because the private sector rips the public sector off. Beyond that, everything that can be cut has been cut. I've sat in meetings where the accounts have been poured over and all they've found the year before were some non-recurrent savings, and the only possible future cuts are direct cuts to services. This vague shout of waste that's constantly used is basically nonsense unless somebody can actually put exact names and numbers on the waste, and alternative options.

Shearer was the best out and out striker on the planet. You could argue he didn't do enough with England I suppose, but then aside from one tournament we never really delivered. Shearer in the man utd team would've had another 200 goals. And it always annoys me they don't count his pre-prem goals when they talk about him on TV

Private sector taking advantage of public sector procurement is an issue around the world. All the companies get together and raise their prices way beyond what they'd normally charge. And then their owners complain about tax rates.....

I'm not sure. General immigration has fallen by about 80%. It's only may but so far this year small boat crossings have fallen by 42%. Removals are running at record levels. Hotels aren't being used now. 3 years from now will this still be an issue that can be pushed in the same way? Whatever anybody says it's hard to overlook the fact labour have actually made pretty good progress. Obviously this could all turn around, but it's clearly something they're very focused on. As I've been saying, I think cost of living is everything. They maybe only have a year to get this right, but if they can cut energy bills - they're looking at delinking from gas prices - and do something about wider inflation, that's there only chance. Otherwise I think cost of living will be the issue.

The private sector taking advantage of government procurement definitely does need looking at

Vardy and Mahrez came 5th and 6th in the Ballon Dor list that year. That could be pointed at as recognition that they peaked at a world class level to enable us to win the league.

If the business you work for operated in an environment where ordinary people had money and/or the government was injecting additional funds into the economy to rebuild our nation, then the tax level would be less important, because there'd be more liquidity in the economy, there'd be more opportunity to make money, more reason to invest. You can cut taxes as much as you want but nobody has any money to spend in the first place. And government spending, which underpins the entire economy, has been held back year after year. No business is going to invest without orders, whatever the tax rate. Tax cuts for businesses in the UK have not produced the investment or growth claimed when tried before. Here's an article on this very thing. https://www.ippr.org/articles/cutting-corporation-tax-not-magic-bullet-for-increasing-investment