General News Thread

[Muzzy_no7]

14 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Made a handy table for anyone who needed held deciding who is the worst Prime Minister:

 

 

	Cameron	May	Johnson	Truss	Sunak	Starmer
Austerity	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Killed the Queen	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Crashed the economy	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Caused a recession	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅ ✅	❌
Brexit (called, supported, delivered, mismanaged)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
COVID mismanagement leading to 250,000 deaths	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Broke COVID rules	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Prorogued parliament illegally	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
NHS crisis (underfunding, staff shortages)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Housing crisis (low build, rising rents)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Sewage in rivers / deregulation	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Cost of living crisis	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Corrupt	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Is insane	❓	❌	✅	✅	❓	❌
Accepted free suits and glasses	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅

God, give me strength.

 

Do you honestly, in your heart of hearts believe that Keir has been better than all those listed? 
 

He, and his cabinet have been f***ing dreadful. 

[Guest Electric Yetis]

1 minute ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

God, give me strength.

 

Do you honestly, in your heart of hearts believe that Keir has been better than all those listed? 
 

He, and his cabinet have been f***ing dreadful. 

100% he has.

[urban.spaceman]

17 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

What should the main faith of Britain/England be?

 

Should there be a 'religion for everyone', to potentially accept each other's cultural differences?

It’s honestly a fascinating question. 
 

We are institutionally a Christian (Anglican) country; our entire framework is based on our Christian heritage, yet Christianity has no real bearing on our lives or influence on our lawmaking or culture any more. We have huge populations of other religions including the other Abrahamic faiths plus Sikhism and Hinduism, while atheism/agnosticism/irreligion has been soaring for decades; we’re mostly secular as a society. 
 

Contrast that with the USA - constitutionally secular, with church and state completely separate by design from the start, yet Christianity has dominated for centuries and is currently being destroyed by Christian fascists. 
 

I think our arrangement is better. 

[urban.spaceman]

10 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

God, give me strength.

 

Do you honestly, in your heart of hearts believe that Keir has been better than all those listed? 
 

He, and his cabinet have been f***ing dreadful. 

Yes. I do. 100%. 

[urban.spaceman]

@Muzzy_no7 To be clear - I’m not saying he’s been perfect or hasn’t made any mistakes - he clearly has. But one year of Starmer has been exponentially better than 14 years of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak combined. 
 

It’s really not a high bar. And this really shouldn’t be a controversial or partisan opinion. 

[Muzzy_no7]

13 minutes ago, Electric Yetis said:

100% he has.

 

3 minutes ago, urban.spaceman said:

Yes. I do. 100%. 

Well fair play to you both but make the most of him and his party because they arent lasting beyond this parliament. 

[urban.spaceman]

Just now, Muzzy_no7 said:

 

Well fair play to you both but make the most of him and his party because they arent lasting beyond this parliament. 

An absurd prediction to make 4 years away from the next election. 

[Muzzy_no7]

Just now, urban.spaceman said:

An absurd prediction to make 4 years away from the next election. 

Your opinion.
 

Fingers crossed it doesn’t need 4 years 

[urban.spaceman]

1 hour ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Your opinion.

Of course it is, but it's based on my understanding of the policies Labour are putting through parliament as we speak, which I believe will significantly impact the polling trends across this parliament in Labour's favour. 

 

1 hour ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

Fingers crossed it doesn’t need 4 years 

There is no real chance of that this government not lasting till 2029. They have the 4th strongest parliamentary majority in history. The only way for another election to happen before 2029 would be for the House of Commons to vote no confidence in the government or for Starmer to ask the King to dissolve parliament. Given Labour have a majority of 174 seats, there is absolutely zero chance of them voting to call an election.

 

1 hour ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

 

Well fair play to you both but make the most of him and his party because they arent lasting beyond this parliament. 

They still be in power by 2034. 

[Sly]

5 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Made a handy table for anyone who needed held deciding who is the worst Prime Minister:

 

 

	Cameron	May	Johnson	Truss	Sunak	Starmer
Austerity	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Killed the Queen	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Crashed the economy	❌	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌
Caused a recession	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅ ✅	❌
Brexit (called, supported, delivered, mismanaged)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
COVID mismanagement leading to 250,000 deaths	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Broke COVID rules	❌	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Prorogued parliament illegally	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	❌
NHS crisis (underfunding, staff shortages)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Housing crisis (low build, rising rents)	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Sewage in rivers / deregulation	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	❌
Cost of living crisis	❌	❌	✅	✅	✅	❌
Corrupt	✅	❌	✅	❌	✅	❌
Is insane	❓	❌	✅	✅	❓	❌
Accepted free suits and glasses	❌	❌	✅	❌	❌	✅

This is quite subjective 

 

Austerity is difficult to call, we definitely were in that from 2010 in the financial crash, maybe until just before COVID. Which then turned the world on its head so largely into 2023 / 2024.

 

Recessions are global, not caused by a single person. 
 

The NHS is still understaffed and mismanaged. 
 

We’ve had sewage in rivers for years, still

is now. 
 

One side of the coin would say, Covid was dealt with quite well, compared to other areas.

The cost of living crisis is still ongoing, it will be for a significant period, let’s be real, too many people now live in credit, keeping up with the Jones. 

The current estimates on house building, indicates that actually we’ll build the lowest number of properties in a year since 2015 (sub 200,000 new properties).

[Sly]

3 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Of course it is, but it's based on my understanding of the policies Labour are putting through parliament as we speak, which I believe will significantly impact the polling trends across this parliament in Labour's favour. 

 

There is no real chance of that this government not lasting till 2029. They have the 4th strongest parliamentary majority in history. The only way for another election to happen before 2029 would be for the House of Commons to vote no confidence in the government or for Starmer to ask the King to dissolve parliament. Given Labour have a majority of 174 seats, there is absolutely zero chance of them voting to call an election.

 

They still be in power by 2034. 

I’d say right now, he’s likely to get 4 years.

 

Concerningly (is that a word), I think the rise of Reform could really throw a spanner in the works. 
 

One thing I will say on Starmer and to a degree, Rishi and Cameron as well, they actually felt like Politicians that in all honesty weren’t show people. If you take their roles in isolation, they didn’t exactly tank. Rishi fell largely for me, because he was the victim of his party. 

[Sly]

Also, if you break down significant events for each leader, it’s quite interesting and you sort of forget some of the stuff that has happened. 
 

It is also worth stating that Starmer hasn’t done a full term, so a lot more could do right, or wrong yet.

 

If anything, it’s nice to compare them a bit like this:  

[Sly]

It looks like the Chinese military parade has upset Donald Trump and has largely been attended by countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

 

You really wouldn’t want to get stuck in a war between them and America now, so hopefully this brewing Cold War stays just that! 

[Free Falling Foxes]

7 hours ago, Wymsey said:

What should the main faith of Britain/England be?

 

Should there be a 'religion for everyone', to potentially accept each other's cultural differences?

 

7 hours ago, Vacamion said:

 

People who care about this stuff, and let it influence politics in any way whatsoever, scare me.

 

Conflating "Britain" and "England" in matters of religion is asking for trouble.  17th Century style.  

 

Luckily, in Scotland it's now deffo atheism.

 

 

 

7 hours ago, bovril said:

For England Catholicism obviously. Hopefully they'll have us back. The Scots are a lost cause 

 

7 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

It’s honestly a fascinating question. 
 

We are institutionally a Christian (Anglican) country; our entire framework is based on our Christian heritage, yet Christianity has no real bearing on our lives or influence on our lawmaking or culture any more. We have huge populations of other religions including the other Abrahamic faiths plus Sikhism and Hinduism, while atheism/agnosticism/irreligion has been soaring for decades; we’re mostly secular as a society. 
 

Contrast that with the USA - constitutionally secular, with church and state completely separate by design from the start, yet Christianity has dominated for centuries and is currently being destroyed by Christian fascists. 
 

I think our arrangement is better. 

[Jon the Hat]

9 hours ago, Sly said:

Please could someone enlighten me to what’s occurring with all this flag nonsense? 
 

I’ve tried to avoid it, however I feel I need to come out from under the rock. 

I'm not fully in the loop but it sounds a bit like Australia Day down here!

[leicsmac]

8 hours ago, Wymsey said:

What should the main faith of Britain/England be?

 

Should there be a 'religion for everyone', to potentially accept each other's cultural differences?

 

7 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

It’s honestly a fascinating question. 
 

We are institutionally a Christian (Anglican) country; our entire framework is based on our Christian heritage, yet Christianity has no real bearing on our lives or influence on our lawmaking or culture any more. We have huge populations of other religions including the other Abrahamic faiths plus Sikhism and Hinduism, while atheism/agnosticism/irreligion has been soaring for decades; we’re mostly secular as a society. 
 

Contrast that with the USA - constitutionally secular, with church and state completely separate by design from the start, yet Christianity has dominated for centuries and is currently being destroyed by Christian fascists. 
 

I think our arrangement is better. 

^^^ This.

 

Organised religion has no place in lawmaking or enforcing in a modern country in 2025.

[Zear0]

44 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

I'm not fully in the loop but it sounds a bit like Australia Day down here!

 

[leicsmac]

1 hour ago, Sly said:

It looks like the Chinese military parade has upset Donald Trump and has largely been attended by countries of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation.

 

You really wouldn’t want to get stuck in a war between them and America now, so hopefully this brewing Cold War stays just that! 

They're putting on a show of solidarity, but there's rifts under the surface between all of them. 

 

As said a page or two ago, Xi is the one calling the shots now. Putin doesn't have nearly deep enough pockets or resources that can be bought with them. 

[Voll Blau]

8 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

@Muzzy_no7 To be clear - I’m not saying he’s been perfect or hasn’t made any mistakes - he clearly has. But one year of Starmer has been exponentially better than 14 years of Cameron, May, Johnson, Truss and Sunak combined. 
 

It’s really not a high bar. And this really shouldn’t be a controversial or partisan opinion. 

I've noticed the tangible benefits for me and my family from Labour's policies since they got in.

 

They've not been perfect because no government is, but they have been better (so far) than anything in the 15 years before them.

[Jon the Hat]

8 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

It’s honestly a fascinating question. 
 

We are institutionally a Christian (Anglican) country; our entire framework is based on our Christian heritage, yet Christianity has no real bearing on our lives or influence on our lawmaking or culture any more. We have huge populations of other religions including the other Abrahamic faiths plus Sikhism and Hinduism, while atheism/agnosticism/irreligion has been soaring for decades; we’re mostly secular as a society. 
 

Contrast that with the USA - constitutionally secular, with church and state completely separate by design from the start, yet Christianity has dominated for centuries and is currently being destroyed by Christian fascists. 
 

I think our arrangement is better. 

It could be even better if we kicked the goddists out of the house of Lords.  Fine appoint some if you want to on an adhoc basis, but permanent places, no.

[kenny]

35 minutes ago, Voll Blau said:

I've noticed the tangible benefits for me and my family from Labour's policies since they got in.

 

They've not been perfect because no government is, but they have been better (so far) than anything in the 15 years before them.

What has been the pluses so far? It's just been negatives in our household.

[Muzzy_no7]

6 hours ago, urban.spaceman said:

Of course it is, but it's based on my understanding of the policies Labour are putting through parliament as we speak, which I believe will significantly impact the polling trends across this parliament in Labour's favour. 

 

There is no real chance of that this government not lasting till 2029. They have the 4th strongest parliamentary majority in history. The only way for another election to happen before 2029 would be for the House of Commons to vote no confidence in the government or for Starmer to ask the King to dissolve parliament. Given Labour have a majority of 174 seats, there is absolutely zero chance of them voting to call an election.

 

They still be in power by 2034. 

I bloody hope not. Tbh I think there’s no way they get reelection. 
 

The reasons why they got in power have now been found out and casual labour voters are likely to vote elsewhere or not at all after the calamity of these 15 months. 

[Jon the Hat]

4 minutes ago, Muzzy_no7 said:

I bloody hope not. Tbh I think there’s no way they get reelection. 
 

The reasons why they got in power have now been found out and casual labour voters are likely to vote elsewhere or not at all after the calamity of these 15 months. 

If they don't improve in the polls in the next 2 years I would expect a leadership change.

[leicsmac]

A couple of observations:

 

Firstly, given the way landscapes change so quickly in this era, four years is a very, very long time in politics. I think predictions about how things will be then are rather foolhardy. 

 

Secondly, the propensity of humans to go fast-food and choose something worse just because the present option doesn't happen to be to their taste right now is rather amazing. Whether it's always been that way or digital media has accentuated it, I don't know, but where is the entirely necessary long term thought? Rome wasn't built in a day, but it sure as hell can be destroyed in one. 

[Jon the Hat]

4 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

A couple of observations:

 

Firstly, given the way landscapes change so quickly in this era, four years is a very, very long time in politics. I think predictions about how things will be then are rather foolhardy. 

 

Secondly, the propensity of humans to go fast-food and choose something worse just because the present option doesn't happen to be to their taste right now is rather amazing. Whether it's always been that way or digital media has accentuated it, I don't know, but where is the entirely necessary long term thought? Rome wasn't built in a day, but it sure as hell can be destroyed in one. 

It's a shame the best political operative in a generation is leading Reform and has a worrying agenda and is surrounded by *****.  Otherwise it is political lightweights everywhere.