General News Thread

[Tommy G]

20 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

Going to bed knowing that next time I go to bed I will be worse off 

how much worse off is my question …….

If you work and contribute then you will be worse off come tomorrow afternoon….sleep well 

[Wymsey]

 

 

https://news.sky.com/story/dead-thai-woman-sent-to-crematorium-wakes-up-in-coffin-13475133?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

 

Edited 25 November 2025 by Wymsey

[VLC86]

35 minutes ago, Wymsey said:

 

 

https://news.sky.com/story/dead-thai-woman-sent-to-crematorium-wakes-up-in-coffin-13475133?dcmp=snt-sf-twitter

 

Whoever issued the death certificate becomes the second most incompetent Thai person. 

[splinterdream]

8 hours ago, Tommy G said:

If you work and contribute then you will be worse off come tomorrow afternoon….sleep well 

Its amazing how the Country and our club are alike. Both run by incompetents, with those on the ground/pitch having a few working hard, whilst carrying the rest who do very little, and we all wonder at what point we hit the bottom of the barrel.

[Trav Le Bleu]

54 minutes ago, splinterdream said:

Its amazing how the Country and our club are alike. Both run by incompetents, with those on the ground/pitch having a few working hard, whilst carrying the rest who do very little, and we all wonder at what point we hit the bottom of the barrel.

Next year the UK will be playing in Africa.

[CornwallFox]

1 hour ago, splinterdream said:

Its amazing how the Country and our club are alike. Both run by incompetents, with those on the ground/pitch having a few working hard, whilst carrying the rest who do very little, and we all wonder at what point we hit the bottom of the barrel.

Look up, not down, for the reason tax rates have to keep increasing. 

Edited 26 November 2025 by CornwallFox
Removed incorrect claim

[Tommy G]

1 minute ago, CornwallFox said:

95% on benefits work and a good proportion of the rest are disabled or carers. The vast, vast majority are working hard. Look up, not down, for the reason tax rates have to keep increasing. 

Any reliable data points on this? Or just a hunch?

[CornwallFox]

6 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Any reliable data points on this? Or just a hunch?

You know what, turns out I'm wrong as that was a fair question. So not sure where I got that from. I stand corrected. 

 

What I will say though, is although it's not liked, from a purely economic standpoint benefits are actually a positive as it pretty much all gets spent in the economy so it's basically the government directly funding the economy via a middle man. So has an entirely positive economic impact. It's much better for the economy that rich people hoarding it. Pretty much all benefit spending increases growth and goes back to the treasury over time.

 

So it's still a matter of looking up for the problem in our economy.

Edited 26 November 2025 by CornwallFox

[Greg2607]

21 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

You know what, turns out I'm wrong as that was a fair question. So not sure where I got that from. I stand corrected. 

 

What I will say though, is although it's not liked, from a purely economic standpoint benefits are actually a positive as it pretty much all gets spent in the economy so it's basically the government directly funding the economy via a middle man. So has an entirely positive economic impact. It's much better for the economy that rich people hoarding it. Pretty much all benefit spending increases growth and goes back to the treasury over time.

 

So it's still a matter of looking up for the problem in our economy.

That isn't entirely true. 

 

The main issues in our economy are a critical Capital Gap and an aging infrastructure that doesn't keep pace with the modern world.  For all intents and purposes we are still running on a Victorian rail network. Our Road infrastructure between major cities is generally poor and if you live outside of a large metro area, then public transport is generally abysmal. 

 

R&D and Capital investment in the UK is significantly lower than most comparable economies. That under investment compounds over time. 

 

Worse than that though, it means that we are teaching our students and workers outdated skills, in a world where change is ever accelerating, so as a country our productivity is embarrassingly poor. 

 

We are basically the European equivalent of what Japan was... and it was a gargantuan effort to turn that economy around. 

 

even more than that though... no one seems to accept that this is the case and try to make the neccessary changes.  because everyone, politicians, businesses and the general populace operate on a "what do I get now" basis. 

 

until we all recognise that there is no quick fix.... we will keep going for the quick fixes and they will keep failing.... 

 

Ironically... Labour are attempting to do MOST of the things that would address this.   Setting up "industry hubs" in certain areas and aligning skills training to those required.   Trying to move towards future industries (Green Tech and AI), Pushing power out to regional centres to allow for better, local decision making. Attempting to address the skewed benefits system... setting up national investment banks and national energy comapnies...

 

and guess what....... everyone positions them as the "worst government ever" because they aren't immediately richer or better off. 

 

I saw one comment this morning online that "labour will have failed if growth isn't at 5%"..... what a ridiculous measure. 

 

and here's the really bad rub.... Reform will win the next election and make all of this ALOT LOT worse. It will be catastrophic. 

[Super_horns]

31 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

You know what, turns out I'm wrong as that was a fair question. So not sure where I got that from. I stand corrected. 

 

What I will say though, is although it's not liked, from a purely economic standpoint benefits are actually a positive as it pretty much all gets spent in the economy so it's basically the government directly funding the economy via a middle man. So has an entirely positive economic impact. It's much better for the economy that rich people hoarding it. Pretty much all benefit spending increases growth and goes back to the treasury over time.

 

So it's still a matter of looking up for the problem in our economy.

Unfortunately whilst many need the benefits even if they work or want to there are many who also take advantage of the system and give everyone a bad name .

[Trav Le Bleu]

29 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

What I will say though, is although it's not liked, from a purely economic standpoint benefits are actually a positive as it pretty much all gets spent in the economy

This is so true. So long as the money gets spent (and it typically does, every last penny) it becomes income for someone else and tax for the government (VAT).

 

High earners typically have millions lying around in either bank accounts or assets, contributing nothing except to themselves.

 

It's like only poor people giving blood, whilst the rich have stored cats full of the stuff, just in case they get a little nick.

[Trav Le Bleu]

6 minutes ago, Greg2607 said:

For all intents and purposes we are still running on a Victorian rail network

You know who built those?

 

Rich people. Nothing to do with government.

[Greg2607]

Just now, Trav Le Bleu said:

You know who built those?

 

Rich people. Nothing to do with government.

I'm not sure I said that it was. 

[st albans fox]

11 hours ago, Tommy G said:

Trial by Jury being scrapped in favour of a single judge - apart from the most serious cases. 
 

Good grief 

They’re flying kites (as per usual). This will probably end up  being very limited if it ever sees the light of day. 

 

What about a system where you can choose jury or single judge and the range of sentence is longer if you opt for jury. ?

 

[deep blue]

1 hour ago, Greg2607 said:

That isn't entirely true. 

 

The main issues in our economy are a critical Capital Gap and an aging infrastructure that doesn't keep pace with the modern world.  For all intents and purposes we are still running on a Victorian rail network. Our Road infrastructure between major cities is generally poor and if you live outside of a large metro area, then public transport is generally abysmal. 

 

R&D and Capital investment in the UK is significantly lower than most comparable economies. That under investment compounds over time. 

 

Worse than that though, it means that we are teaching our students and workers outdated skills, in a world where change is ever accelerating, so as a country our productivity is embarrassingly poor. 

 

We are basically the European equivalent of what Japan was... and it was a gargantuan effort to turn that economy around. 

 

even more than that though... no one seems to accept that this is the case and try to make the neccessary changes.  because everyone, politicians, businesses and the general populace operate on a "what do I get now" basis. 

 

until we all recognise that there is no quick fix.... we will keep going for the quick fixes and they will keep failing.... 

 

Ironically... Labour are attempting to do MOST of the things that would address this.   Setting up "industry hubs" in certain areas and aligning skills training to those required.   Trying to move towards future industries (Green Tech and AI), Pushing power out to regional centres to allow for better, local decision making. Attempting to address the skewed benefits system... setting up national investment banks and national energy comapnies...

 

and guess what....... everyone positions them as the "worst government ever" because they aren't immediately richer or better off. 

 

I saw one comment this morning online that "labour will have failed if growth isn't at 5%"..... what a ridiculous measure. 

 

and here's the really bad rub.... Reform will win the next election and make all of this ALOT LOT worse. It will be catastrophic. 

This is spot on.  I read the news items given online by the government advertising the initiatives they are funding.  OK, you can interpret it to some extent as government propaganda, but they do genuinely seem to be trying to set in motion strategies for addressing our nation's future needs (strategy being badly lacking in the previous Tory governments).

 

But (a) how many people read about these initiatives and (b) how many would give the government the time for these strategies to start to bear fruit?

 

So many people are happy to continue in ignorance and simply complain about policies not improving their lot in the immediate short term, which is a recipe for a populist party to be voted in next time... and what a disaster that will be.

[Tommy G]

Should be an interesting discussion this afternoon....unfortunately I'll be at Lapland UK pumping lots of money into the economy through ridiculously priced food etc etc 

[Greg2607]

7 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Should be an interesting discussion this afternoon....unfortunately I'll be at Lapland UK pumping lots of money into the economy through ridiculously priced food etc etc 

sounds like some broad shoulders to me 

[CornwallFox]

1 hour ago, Super_horns said:

Unfortunately whilst many need the benefits even if they work or want to there are many who also take advantage of the system and give everyone a bad name .

I used to work in the benefits sector when I was younger and of course many do take the micky. But most don't.

 

I happen to think you build a benefits system to provide a proper and well funded safety net to the majority, then add in severe penalties for those that take the micky. 

 

If you base the system on the micky takers, as seems to be the case more and more, then there's no safety net for the rest of us. 

[CornwallFox]

11 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Should be an interesting discussion this afternoon....unfortunately I'll be at Lapland UK pumping lots of money into the economy through ridiculously priced food etc etc 

I don't envy you 😅

[Sampson]

I think Reform starting to decline a bit in the polls now. Latest yougov has them at 25% which is the lowest they’ve been since the spring. Really shows the ridiculousness of the fptp voting system designed for a 2 party system when we’re very much in a 5 party system nowadays though.
 

Said or before but if LibDems and Greens could work out some election pact they’d likely win.

 

Also only 8% of people who voted Labour last election say they will vote Reform compared to the 29% who will vote Green or LibDems. Just shows how ridiculous this “Labour just need to reduce immigration then they’ll win voters from Reform” nonsense is really. It’s the Tories who’ve leaked voters to Reform not Labour, Labour have leaked voters to Green and LibDem.

 

https://d3nkl3psvxxpe9.cloudfront.net/documents/VotingIntention_MRP_Results_251124_w.pdf

 

Reform UK 25%
Labour 19%
Conservatives 18%

Green 16%
Liberal Democrat 15%

 

Edited 26 November 2025 by Sampson

[Super_horns]

Someone has had a change of heart and admitted his guilt .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/live/c9w7rqr0xd8t

[st albans fox]

OBR mistakenly leaks budget ahead of ……..

 

 budget 

[Jon the Hat]

2 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

OBR mistakenly leaks budget ahead of ……..

 

 budget 

The incompetence is spreading.  Seriously unbelievable.  Heads must roll for that, unprecedented for the world to know before the House does.  Jesus.

[Leicester_Loyal]

11 minutes ago, st albans fox said:

OBR mistakenly leaks budget ahead of ……..

 

 budget 

We are a laughing stock. 

[VLC86]

Wild, it’s probably not but if there was outside interference aimed at destabilising our politics they couldn’t have done a better job than the government themselves have managed.