General News Thread

[bmt]

8 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

Interesting your first thought is to call him by a name that isn't used. Very droll.

 

I'm a labour voter so currently a little intrigued by the green poll boost. Without mentioning hypnotism which is just silly, I'd be interested in your thinking about their policies specifically. Also is he more or less clown than kemi or Nigel and why? 

I've been a Green party member since 18 (16 years now) and I actually think their policies currently are pretty weak on some of the big hitters. But I think a wealth tax has a large amount of support and will probably be their big policy going into the next GE. I think there needs to be some serious thinking about their policies on immigration, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy before they become a genuine electable party.

 

In any case Zack is probably still aiming for 30 seats and to hopefully be in a coalition government. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

24 minutes ago, bmt said:

I've been a Green party member since 18 (16 years now) and I actually think their policies currently are pretty weak on some of the big hitters. But I think a wealth tax has a large amount of support and will probably be their big policy going into the next GE. I think there needs to be some serious thinking about their policies on immigration, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy before they become a genuine electable party.

 

In any case Zack is probably still aiming for 30 seats and to hopefully be in a coalition government. 

Reform have literally only one policy that anyone knows and were (less so now, as that's becoming increasingly obvious) darlings of the electorate.

 

 

[CornwallFox]

48 minutes ago, bmt said:

I've been a Green party member since 18 (16 years now) and I actually think their policies currently are pretty weak on some of the big hitters. But I think a wealth tax has a large amount of support and will probably be their big policy going into the next GE. I think there needs to be some serious thinking about their policies on immigration, nuclear weapons and nuclear energy before they become a genuine electable party.

 

In any case Zack is probably still aiming for 30 seats and to hopefully be in a coalition government. 

Always thought back in the day a labour government with a deal to bring in Caroline Lucas as environment secretary would be a quality ticket. 

Things have moved rather rightwards since then though!

[Clogger_]

1 hour ago, Lionator said:

No chance Trump rocks up in prison.

 

what do you make of Vance’s moves? Or lack of? Doesn’t take a genius to work out that this Iran adventure is his worst nightmare as a staunch isolationist but he sold his soul to Trump even though he’s an erratic maniac. 

Don't think Vance has principles 

[DJW1]

2 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Is that the average "mean" wage or the average "mode". Cos what you want is mode here, ie, the largest group of people. 

 

You could get a mean average being higher than food prices because millionaires have given themselves massive raises, while the man of the street gets 2-3% each year, if they're lucky.

It was the mean wage. If, as you say the majority of people have had rises of 2-3% in the last 2 years that´s still around the inflation figure. In fact it was 4.7-6% for public sector workers in 2024-5

More widely, as pollsters attest, it´s the "feeling" that people have about an issue rather the reality that determines how they vote. For example, in a Welsh constitutency some of the people interviewed thought their town was "swamped" by immigrants when the figure was actually 2% of the population.

[Clogger_]

A thought on Starmer. He's not much of a politician! Some of Labour's choices in power leave a lot to be desired. That said, his decision to stay clear of the war is to be applauded. I reckon *any* of his predecessors as PM in memory (maybe back as far as Harold Wilson!) would have joined in with this s**tshow. It's the biggest decision a PM has to make, and I for one am glad he's got it 100 % correct. Credit where it's due

 

(Hilariously, if Starmer could find a way of getting us back into lockstep with our European friends, he could go down as an all-time great! Crikey our country needs it. Go for it Keir)

Edited 18 March by Clogger_

[danny.]

1 hour ago, CornwallFox said:

Interesting your first thought is to call him by a name that isn't used. Very droll.

 

I'm a labour voter so currently a little intrigued by the green poll boost. Without mentioning hypnotism which is just silly, I'd be interested in your thinking about their policies specifically. Also is he more or less clown than kemi or Nigel and why? 

The whole guy is a scam so I assume his new identity is too. 

Why is mentioning his hypnotic boobs silly? Says a lot about the man. 
 

I think their policies are infantile and not linked to reality. They come up with fantasy sound bites that sound amazing but will never happen, a luxury afforded to a party that will never be in power so can promise free money and “hope” to people. It’s the Disney version of politics based on gullible supporters and flat out lies when it comes to economics. 
 

Legalising all drugs is insane, as is wanting to abolish private landlords. And their love in with Islam is extremely dangerous, even if their own members have to jump through hoops of cognitive dissonance to justify the contradiction. 
 

I didn’t mention Farage or Badenoch. 

[Trav Le Bleu]

25 minutes ago, DJW1 said:

It was the mean wage. If, as you say the majority of people have had rises of 2-3% in the last 2 years that´s still around the inflation figure. In fact it was 4.7-6% for public sector workers in 2024-5

More widely, as pollsters attest, it´s the "feeling" that people have about an issue rather the reality that determines how they vote. For example, in a Welsh constitutency some of the people interviewed thought their town was "swamped" by immigrants when the figure was actually 2% of the population.

I don't know anyone who got 4.7. increasingly public sector workers are fewer and fewer. Not many of them left.

 

When millionaires are giving themselves 50% increases, that really fudges the figures.

[MPH]

1 hour ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Reform have literally only one policy that anyone knows and were (less so now, as that's becoming increasingly obvious) darlings of the electorate.

 

 

 

 

do you know much about Restore Britain? Very new Party. Make reform look like the Labour Party. They’ve gained members very quickly since forming a couple of months ago. Currently have similar membership numbers to the Conservatives party, but I don’t think that’s too difficult. The concern is that the hard right form a coalition.. especially as some estimates  are saying that reform has more members than the Labour Party.

Edited 18 March by MPH

[Trav Le Bleu]

1 hour ago, MPH said:

 

 

do you know much about Restore Britain? Very new Party. Make reform look like the Labour Party. They’ve gained members very quickly since forming a couple of months ago. Currently have similar membership numbers to the Conservatives party, but I don’t think that’s too difficult. The concern is that the hard right form a coalition.. especially as some estimates  are saying that reform has more members than the Labour Party.

Britain Über Alles.

 

[Jon the Hat]

4 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

I don't know anyone who got 4.7. increasingly public sector workers are fewer and fewer. Not many of them left.

 

When millionaires are giving themselves 50% increases, that really fudges the figures.

What these ones here?  the 5.2Million of them?

 

 

[CornwallFox]

4 hours ago, danny. said:

The whole guy is a scam so I assume his new identity is too. 

Why is mentioning his hypnotic boobs silly? Says a lot about the man. 
 

I think their policies are infantile and not linked to reality. They come up with fantasy sound bites that sound amazing but will never happen, a luxury afforded to a party that will never be in power so can promise free money and “hope” to people. It’s the Disney version of politics based on gullible supporters and flat out lies when it comes to economics. 
 

Legalising all drugs is insane, as is wanting to abolish private landlords. And their love in with Islam is extremely dangerous, even if their own members have to jump through hoops of cognitive dissonance to justify the contradiction. 
 

I didn’t mention Farage or Badenoch. 

On the economics and policies which are you thinking of specifically? 

 

Picking up on one issue you raised, on the drug policy, their party policy is decriminalisation, although I think Polanski may have talked about legalisation. Both talk about an evidence based approach, citing problems we have like gang culture, county lines etc which the current system supports by criminalising drug users. Portugal decriminalised drug use and had seen HIV rates fall and drug related deaths have been slashed, so it's fair to say that's a debate to be had there. Not really insane. 

[CornwallFox]

17 minutes ago, Jon the Hat said:

What these ones here?  the 5.2Million of them?

 

 

I think you'd probably need to have a sector by sector picture and narrative to really have anything meaningful to discuss on public sector jobs. 

 

Councils account for about 1.2m but that's 600k down since 2010-ish, which might reflect wholesale cuts to services as council budgets have become basically impossible and dominated by SEND provision and social care. 

[Jon the Hat]

19 minutes ago, CornwallFox said:

I think you'd probably need to have a sector by sector picture and narrative to really have anything meaningful to discuss on public sector jobs. 

 

Councils account for about 1.2m but that's 600k down since 2010-ish, which might reflect wholesale cuts to services as council budgets have become basically impossible and dominated by SEND provision and social care. 

Yes - I believe some of that decrease is a transfer to central government of employees in academy schools.  No doubt some more outsourcing as well.

[leicsmac]

11 hours ago, Trav Le Bleu said:

Reform have literally only one policy that anyone knows and were (less so now, as that's becoming increasingly obvious) darlings of the electorate.

 

 

And that's not even the most damaging policy that they have.

[LanguedocFox]

11 hours ago, Clogger_ said:

A thought on Starmer. He's not much of a politician! Some of Labour's choices in power leave a lot to be desired. That said, his decision to stay clear of the war is to be applauded. I reckon *any* of his predecessors as PM in memory (maybe back as far as Harold Wilson!) would have joined in with this s**tshow. It's the biggest decision a PM has to make, and I for one am glad he's got it 100 % correct. Credit where it's due

 

(Hilariously, if Starmer could find a way of getting us back into lockstep with our European friends, he could go down as an all-time great! Crikey our country needs it. Go for it Keir)

Wilson told Lyndon Johnson repeatedly that the UK would not send military support to help the Americans in Vietnam, even when Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand joined in. And that was in the days when we still had a substantial military presence. 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, LanguedocFox said:

Wilson told Lyndon Johnson repeatedly that the UK would not send military support to help the Americans in Vietnam, even when Commonwealth countries like Australia and New Zealand joined in. And that was in the days when we still had a substantial military presence. 

And that was because he, and most of the military guys he consulted with, assessed that such a conflict could not be won and it would be drawn out into an expensive and horrific cycle of death and destruction that would end up being pointless in terms of objective anyway. 

 

... guess how it turned out?

[LanguedocFox]

1 minute ago, leicsmac said:

And that was because he, and most of the military guys he consulted with, assessed that such a conflict could not be won and it would be drawn out into an expensive and horrific cycle of death and destruction that would end up being pointless in terms of objective anyway. 

 

... guess how it turned out?

History repeats itself: the first time as tragedy, the second as farce. You’d have thought the Americans would have learned that by now: Vietnam, Afghanistan, Iraq, Libya and now Iran. Thankfully, we have Starmer in charge, not Bliar.

[Lionator]

27 minutes ago, leicsmac said:

And that's not even the most damaging policy that they have.

His “we’re losing talented young British people for Afghan goat herders” quote is stupid (aside from the racism) because policy in this country has made it hell for talented young people and I would imagine Farage is the last person that would transfer wealth from the 0.01% back into the hands of the talented young people. In fact when talented young people go on strike for better work pay and conditions, he calls them lazy shysters. 

[leicsmac]

1 minute ago, Lionator said:

His “we’re losing talented young British people for Afghan goat herders” quote is stupid (aside from the racism) because policy in this country has made it hell for talented young people and I would imagine Farage is the last person that would transfer wealth from the 0.01% back into the hands of the talented young people. In fact when talented young people go on strike for better work pay and conditions, he calls them lazy shysters. 

I was thinking more his energy generation policy position that will, rather soon, create a refugee crisis that will make the present one look like a pleasant day at the seaside, but yes, this is a fair point too. 

[danny.]

7 hours ago, CornwallFox said:

On the economics and policies which are you thinking of specifically? 

 

Picking up on one issue you raised, on the drug policy, their party policy is decriminalisation, although I think Polanski may have talked about legalisation. Both talk about an evidence based approach, citing problems we have like gang culture, county lines etc which the current system supports by criminalising drug users. Portugal decriminalised drug use and had seen HIV rates fall and drug related deaths have been slashed, so it's fair to say that's a debate to be had there. Not really insane. 

How about the party political broadcast where he imagined up figures about what the boogeymen billionaires earned for going to bed each night. At least there is some rationale as to why you don’t like landlords now.

[Super_horns]

Let’s hope they are just being careful and cautious rather than this bring the start of something more serious and widespread.

Obviously terrible for those suffering and tragic a life has been lost .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20z08rdd9ro

[Tommy G]

2 minutes ago, Super_horns said:

Let’s hope they are just being careful and cautious rather than this bring the start of something more serious and widespread.

Obviously terrible for those suffering and tragic a life has been lost .

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c20z08rdd9ro

Quite surprised how many people are unvaccinated?

[MaidstoneFox]

20 minutes ago, Tommy G said:

Quite surprised how many people are unvaccinated?

I believe it's because they changed the vaccinations in 2015 to cover this 'B' strain. So all these students were born before 2015 and therefore aren't covered. We have a son who is isn't covered by his vaccinations, but a daughter who is. Hopefully it's contained in East Kent, there's been no reported cases over here in West Kent. Meningitis is quite scary as it takes affect so quickly.

[davieG]

Pay grows at slowest rate in more than five years

 

Pay has grown at its slowest rate in more than five years, according to the latest official figures.

Earnings - excluding bonuses - grew at an annual rate of 3.8% in the November to January period, down from the previous figure of 4.2%.

The unemployment rate remained unchanged at a near five-year high of 5.2%, the Office for National Statistics (ONS) said, but there was a rise in the number of workers on payrolls last month.

The ONS figures come ahead of the latest decision on interest rates from the Bank of England's Monetary Policy Committee (MPC), which is expected to keep the cost of borrowing unchanged.

Despite the slowdown in pay growth, wages were still rising faster than the rate of price increases. Inflation fell to 3% in January, although the outbreak of the US-Israeli war with Iran has led many analysts to expect the rate to pick up in the months ahead.

 

more here - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cn0z0x82r00o