General News Thread

[Md9]

Says a lot about his supporters doesn’t it 

[BKLFox]

12 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Letting things ride without more younger faces won't end well either. 

 

Successive governments have ignored the problem because they likely know there's no good solution to it. 

for sure aging population is a huge concern but that doesn't account for the numbers going up & that's where we tread into murky waters but surfice to say its another feeder that the NHS has to soak up.

[CornwallFox]

4 minutes ago, BKLFox said:

for sure aging population is a huge concern but that doesn't account for the numbers going up & that's where we tread into murky waters but surfice to say its another feeder that the NHS has to soak up.

What we really need is an honest debate involving economists, public sector experts, planners etc to truly discuss the pros and cons of immigration. 

Instead we get slogans and two sides that refuse any sort of conversation.

[Parafox]

11 hours ago, Zear0 said:

Wonder if his body will go into shock eating something other than McDonald's? 

Raw prawns, undercooked chicken. Hopefully.

[Zear0]

16 minutes ago, Parafox said:

Raw prawns, undercooked chicken. Hopefully.

Send for the royal bog brush. 

[Wymsey]

3 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Has Trump touched down yet?

He has now, literally.

[bmt]

3 hours ago, MaidstoneFox said:

You think it's bad now, just wait until they regen dinosaurs

Would this stop the boats?

[Trav Le Bleu]

16 minutes ago, bmt said:

Would this stop the boats?

Ichthyosaurs would.

[Sly]

If we go an insurance based model

for medical healthcare, please could I get a refund on what I’ve paid in and not used? 

I’ll be owed £1000s.

 

It’ll be like the new PPI claims ….

[CosbehFox]

19 hours ago, danny. said:

Not empirical scientific evidence, just evidence - an interview, a document, a policy, anything. Just evidence VS personal speculation, because anyone can speculate on anything but it doesn't make it factual.

 

I still find it bizarre you're arguing that moving to a difference implementation isn't worth the chance, as if the NHS is the best system out there and it's working well, because it's an absolute car crash right now and has been for some time.

I've highlighted the countries with insurance-based healthcare in yellow, and many of them are doing way better than we are, i.e. the Netherlands ranks first for accessibility/efficiency and Switzerland ranks first for patient satisfaction.

The Scandinavian and Nordic countries have NHS-style systems, and also perform better than the UK so we definitely don't have to move to insurance-based to improve, but as it stands the UK is worse than even Slovenia and Czechia who many would regard as second or third world countries, so I really don't buy that we can't afford to risk changing things, because we really can, and should.

 

No problem with your post but Slovenia and Czechia I wouldn’t describe as that. Slovenia in particular has a very high quality of life 

 

As a left centre person, it has always baffled by why Labour or any other party of that ilk have not looked to Sweden and Denmark in how to construct a better economy, quality of life and welfare state. It’s no utopia in them countries but it’s a damn sight better. Although I do think it all has origins in just a healthier lifestyle 

Edited 17 September 2025 by CosbehFox

[CosbehFox]

18 hours ago, Tommy G said:

He hasn't got a track record of rowing back on manifesto's as he himself or the party have never been in power!

 

Keir Starmer has a track record on this in only 12 months, and the Tories before that. So neither of the most recent parties in power have a track record, so what you are saying is baseless tbh.

 

I don't fancy reform at all at the next GE, I'm just pointing out you are comparing apples and pears here. 

No he has but he does have a track record of saying one thing politically and doing another personally. 
 

For example, get out of the EU but utilise his spouse nationality to get him and his family European passports. 

[kenny]

29 minutes ago, CosbehFox said:

No he has but he does have a track record of saying one thing politically and doing another personally. 
 

For example, get out of the EU but utilise his spouse nationality to get him and his family European passports. 

That example is like labour using the opportunity of being out of the EU to add vat to private schools despite most of their MPs rather being in it.

 

It's standard political opportunism.

[leicsmac]

1 hour ago, CosbehFox said:

No he has but he does have a track record of saying one thing politically and doing another personally. 
 

For example, get out of the EU but utilise his spouse nationality to get him and his family European passports. 

 

30 minutes ago, kenny said:

That example is like labour using the opportunity of being out of the EU to add vat to private schools despite most of their MPs rather being in it.

 

It's standard political opportunism.

... and so with that (assumed to be) true and all things being equal there, it should come back to the actual meat of the policies where decisions on their merits are made. 

 

And clearly, the thoughts on those appear to depend on the value structure of the individual.

[leicsmac]

Also, a nice warm welcome at Windsor Castle last night:

 

 

[Dahnsouff]

26 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And clearly, the thoughts on those appear to depend on the value structure of the individual.

That sounds a fairly roundabout way of saying "opinions" 

[leicsmac]

2 minutes ago, Dahnsouff said:

That sounds a fairly roundabout way of saying "opinions" 

Tbf I was trying to be as inoffensive and non-judgemental as possible there, hence the flowery language. 

 

I think you know me well enough to know there's some policy related viewpoints where the only opinion I have on them is "well, your value structure is that you're a death-worshipping pissbag".

[CosbehFox]

1 hour ago, kenny said:

That example is like labour using the opportunity of being out of the EU to add vat to private schools despite most of their MPs rather being in it.

 

It's standard political opportunism.

Yeah don’t disagree just clarifying that people can form an opinion on Farage due to such opportunism rsther than waiting for any manifesto etc 

[UniFox21]

To move off Trump for a second, inflation at 3.8%, but food increasing at 5.1%. 

[leicsmac]

3 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

To move off Trump for a second, inflation at 3.8%, but food increasing at 5.1%. 

Any particular food items with more drastic increases?

[UniFox21]

13 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Any particular food items with more drastic increases?

Haven't looked deep enough to know in all honesty. 

[leicsmac]

6 minutes ago, UniFox21 said:

Haven't looked deep enough to know in all honesty. 

Got it, I'll have a look later. Just curious as to whether this is mostly hitting crops and other vegetables etc. 

[UniFox21]

22 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

Got it, I'll have a look later. Just curious as to whether this is mostly hitting crops and other vegetables etc. 

Extract from the guardian article:

 

"Food price inflation climbed for a fifth consecutive month, up from 4.9% in July to 5.1% in August, with small increases in a range of vegetables, cheese and fish items. The price of sweets and chocolates rose by 10.5%, while the cost of beef, butter and coffee also increased sharply."

 

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/sep/17/uk-inflation-remained-at-38-in-august-official-figures-show

 

 

[Sampson]

To chime in on the debate about Farage’s policy, guessing at his manifesto etc.

 

To me above all else, the reason I strongly don’t want him in in his language (albeit dressed up in a way that appeals to British people) is all the same as many other right wing populists like Bolsanaro, Erfogan, Orban, Trump etc. - it’s all about gutting the civil service, attacking institutions, the courts, the lawyers, the entire legal system etc. and it gets dressed up in “cutting through bureaucracy  to get things done” but these are the check and balances and separation of powers that 1000s of years of European history have shown you need in a democracy to uphold it. 
 

When you see these leaders putting in their own judges into the Supreme Court who’ll just pass through whatever the party wants regardless if it is blatantly unconstitutional or not then it’s no longer a functioning democracy - it’s an authoritarian government that has the power to do what the hell they like without respecting the centuries long institutions the country is based on - individuals and governments should not have that much power in a democracy - the institutions should supersede them.

 

One example where they’ve been pulled back from this was in Poland under ZP where they tried to install their own judges into their Supreme Court but the judges reported them to the ECJ and the ECJ stepped in threatening sanctions if the Polish government started these appointments in the courts so they reneged and one of the big checks and balances held - this is one of the reasons Farage wants to leave the ECJ and ECHR as highest priority when he gets in because unlike say the US or Brazil, there is no watchdog on upholding the legal system as there is in Europe. 
 

I also think that’s why he whips up immigration so much as the biggest issue and how he’s spent years weaponising the issue as a way to go after the ECHR and ECJ - notice how so much of his rhetoric around immigration is actually about why the ECHR and ECJ are stopping us doing anything about it - it’s mostly just a way that he can convince people to leave these institutions so that he can then follow through the tried and tested formula that Bolsanaro gave the blueprint for in 2014 of giving himself and his government the power to do what the hell they like restrained from the checks and balances of democracy and not having to care about the law and institutions that allow a country to still stand in a democracy where new parties ideologies can change tact. 
 

FWIW, it’s not just right wing populism as I think Corbyn (who I also strongly disliked) had a lot of the same tendencies and Corbyn and Farage and the populist right and left also have way more in common than they like to admit. To me it’s not really about left vs right atm, it’s about liberal democracy vs populist authoritarianism.

 

Just my 2 pennies thoughts anyway.

[Jon the Hat]

15 hours ago, BKLFox said:

Bingo
Everyone says chuck money at the problem but man someone at somepoint has to look at why it just hoovers what ever you you put into the hopper without making a dent.

Just last week i was attending an appontment with my daughter at 1 hospital this was a nurse appointment, she then had a consultant appointment 3 days later at a different hospital & imagine my surprise when i see that consultant in the 1st hospital, we actually both looked at each other & without saying a word must have thought the same thing "why the f am i having to see you in 3 days time if i'm/your here now seeing the nurse" obviously the consultant then went in with the nurse & saw my daughter, freeing up an appointment slot 3 days later & saving me a another trip to a different hospital.

But this & much more must go on daily, before we even get into medical contracts, outsource consultantancy fees, maintenance & cleaning contracts etc etc etc anyone who has a direct contract with an NHS trust is not just making enough to provide & survive they are creaming it because they know it will just get paid as once in the system the size of the system makes you undetectable.
 

Woah woah woah.  Hold on there Mr BKLFox!  You cannot expect people to make decisions without having an external consultant report telling them to do what they were going to do anyway!  What if it goes wrong?  They might get told off!!

[Jon the Hat]

8 minutes ago, Sampson said:

To chime in on the debate about Farage’s policy, guessing at his manifesto etc.

 

To me above all else, the reason I strongly don’t want him in in his language (albeit dressed up in a way that appeals to British people) is all the same as many other right wing populists like Bolsanaro, Erfogan, Orban, Trump etc. - it’s all about gutting the civil service, attacking institutions, the courts, the lawyers, the entire legal system etc. and it gets dressed up in “cutting through bureaucracy  to get things done” but these are the check and balances and separation of powers that 1000s of years of European history have shown you need in a democracy to uphold it. 
 

When you see these leaders putting in their own judges into the Supreme Court who’ll just pass through whatever the party wants regardless if it is blatantly unconstitutional or not then it’s no longer a functioning democracy - it’s an authoritarian government that has the power to do what the hell they like without respecting the centuries long institutions the country is based on - individuals and governments should not have that much power in a democracy - the institutions should supersede them.

 

One example where they’ve been pulled back from this was in Poland under ZP where they tried to install their own judges into their Supreme Court but the judges reported them to the ECJ and the ECJ stepped in threatening sanctions if the Polish government started these appointments in the courts so they reneged and one of the big checks and balances held - this is one of the reasons Farage wants to leave the ECJ and ECHR as highest priority when he gets in because unlike say the US or Brazil, there is no watchdog on upholding the legal system as there is in Europe. 
 

I also think that’s why he whips up immigration so much as the biggest issue and how he’s spent years weaponising the issue as a way to go after the ECHR and ECJ - notice how so much of his rhetoric around immigration is actually about why the ECHR and ECJ are stopping us doing anything about it - it’s mostly just a way that he can convince people to leave these institutions so that he can then follow through the tried and tested formula that Bolsanaro gave the blueprint for in 2014 of giving himself and his government the power to do what the hell they like restrained from the checks and balances of democracy and not having to care about the law and institutions that allow a country to still stand in a democracy where new parties ideologies can change tact. 
 

FWIW, it’s not just right wing populism as I think Corbyn (who I also strongly disliked) had a lot of the same tendencies and Corbyn and Farage and the populist right and left also have way more in common than they like to admit. To me it’s not really about left vs right atm, it’s about liberal democracy vs populist authoritarianism.

 

Just my 2 pennies thoughts anyway.

Yes probably - whether Farage is the brains or the patsy I can't quite tell, but there is certainly money floating around in the background that wants to raze the establishment to the ground.