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@MajorRage Yes. Too many distractions. Much of it though has to be laid at Boris' door. Having a pint in the office is no big thing but the perceived attitude that goes with it is another thing. Then there is the lying to follow. Such blatant lying too, that anyone with an ounce of nous can see right through. This brings a further perception of arrogance in that he/they feel they can just do what they want.
Like Watergate, it was not the tin pot break in that sunk Nixon, it was the lying and cover up to follow.
Edit: And further and in line with the view that there are annoying distractions, I was reading a piece from an investment guru who gives a weekly overview of things in an approachable manner and I thought this part might chime:-
"The Conservative MPs vote this evening probably only matters in the short-term. A vote of confidence is never a good thing, but Boris’ quest for power and legacy means that he is the least likely person to walk away until he is absolutely forced to. Until something changes, the UK is greatly challenged. We have a ‘tax and spend’ government, prepared to change policy on a whim wherever there is a sniff of popularity. We have a Central Bank that, to the eyes of certain observers, appears to be clueless about the causes of the UK’s inflation, or how to rein it back without causing recession. And this is without starting to take into account our unique position in having cut ourselves off from the European labour force that has contributed to the economy for so long. One can understand the spleen vented by the estimable Lord Rose, currently chairman of Asda, about the proposed reinstatement of imperial measurements into UK retailing. The idea appears to have been dreamt up by someone who believes that the Hovis advert was real life, that the residents of Lambeth all wear pearly clothes while dancing in the street and that the Queen really did have tea with Paddington Bear".
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My two cents
I mean are the general public even aware that despite all the inflation carnage out there, that April was the highest ever (outside self assessment collection months) monthly HMRC receipts? That they were higher than expected by a considerable amount?
Tax receipts were about £11bn more than the previous year. But Sunak borrowed £18.6Bn - and committed to borrowing £15Bn extra to ease the Cost of Living crisis. Welcome your thoughts on this.
I don't think it's actually Boris, though he be a lightning rod. The Conservatives are split all over the place on way too many issues - Europe, tax-cutting or spending, public-v-private, Red Wall v Blue Wall. They look to be in a total, disunited mess as a party. I read over the weekend that some rebels put in a letters for a no-confidence vote 4 months after he won in Dec 2019...
Meanwhile the elephant in the room is the economy and, like the other parties, they are in total denial that there's a big problem. We have the highest taxes for 70 years, a national debt that has tripped to £50k per person in ten years and is still growing plus every time there's some economic pain, the standard response is to borrow even more.
Partygate probably gave these factions something to coalesce around and I think he's probably toast. When he does go, the party squabbling will still carry on and they will get hammered at the next election. Which, if the economy seriously tanks after that, may not be a bad thing for them.
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@Catogrande said in British Politics:
One can understand the spleen vented by the estimable Lord Rose, currently chairman of Asda, about the proposed reinstatement of imperial measurements into UK retailing. The idea appears to have been dreamt up by someone who believes that the Hovis advert was real life, that the residents of Lambeth all wear pearly clothes while dancing in the street and that the Queen really did have tea with Paddington Bear".
Utterly bonkers - up there with the £120Bn white elephant that is HS2
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@Victor-Meldrew said in British Politics:
My two cents
Tax receipts were about £11bn more than the previous year. But Sunak borrowed £18.6Bn - and committed to borrowing £15Bn extra to ease the Cost of Living crisis. Welcome your thoughts on this.
I'm quite far from a macro-economist, but this doesn't concern me that much. The stupidity of putting up interest rates to curb inflation which is not primarily caused by demand > supply is of a bigger worry to me.
The point is more is that when you put taxes up and then get much higher than expected tax receipts, this should be debated. The opposition should be asking why taxes were put up when receipts were higher than expected and then solutions offered. Thats a real democratic process working.
I don't think it's actually Boris, though he be a lightning rod. The Conservatives are split all over the place on way too many issues - Europe, tax-cutting or spending, public-v-private, Red Wall v Blue Wall. They look to be in a total, disunited mess as a party. I read over the weekend that some rebels put in a letters for a no-confidence vote 4 months after he won in Dec 2019...
The only plus side is that they seem more united than Labour!
Meanwhile the elephant in the room is the economy and, like the other parties, they are in total denial that there's a big problem. We have the highest taxes for 70 years, a national debt that has tripped to £50k per person in ten years and is still growing plus every time there's some economic pain, the standard response is to borrow even more.
I think you need to step back and take a look at the size of the event that was the pandemic & the subsequent knock on effect. These things are pretty natural responses after something of this magnitude.
You are correct though, the standard response needs to change. Which I think is something that most true Conservatives are consistently pointing out.
Partygate probably gave these factions something to coalesce around and I think he's probably toast. When he does go, the party squabbling will still carry on and they will get hammered at the next election. Which, if the economy seriously tanks after that, may not be a bad thing for them.
Economy next few months will be very very interesting. The UK has a history of having an extremely resilient economy. It has defied bear forecasts for years. If it does it again this time (and with good management, it will), it will prove Brexiters right.
If it doesn't. Well, may God be with us all.
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Putting aside any BoJo inferences, I actually checked this woman out:
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Cameron gave her a CBE in the 2012 New Year Honours for services to UK business
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Theresa May made her a DBE in the 2017 Birthday Honours for services to diversity in financial services
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Boris made her a Baroness for much the same things.
Plain Arthur Bloggs who ran a disabled charity for 60 years got an MBE at the age of 87.
Priorities are pretty fucked up, aren't they?
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@TeWaio said in British Politics:
The two sides don't add up. RMT union are saying they need a significant pay rise because of inflation. But their contracts already have inflation + 0.2% in in them, so therefore this should have already happened.
As Shapps said, railway industry given 16bln during pandemic, or 600 per household. So fuck 'em. I can work from home anyway. As can everybody else.
Apart from most labour jobs, which are the lower paid ... so the strike kills the poorer.
Selfish, self serving fluffybunnies. Let them strike forever.
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@TeWaio said in British Politics:
Just read the headline and the bit showing up that saya railway workers, shock horror, earn more than nurses.
Comes down to demand I suppose. And what is important to consumers.
If it's more important people get to work they have more power to demand higher pay, then surprise surprise they get paid more.
Some perspective due there.
Having said that they're a cunch of bunts for striking when they do ... but again, the demand ...
Side tracking ... There's a fair bit of emotion around nurse's pay. Tugs on the heartstrings IMO.
Tend to think hospital orderlies get the shit end of healthcare worker's pay scales. Nurse's tend to be prima donnas.
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@booboo I had an argument with my left wing sister about this last night.
I genuinely feel sorry for nurses, they do get fairly fucked over when it comes to pay.
However, in this country they get free education & training, as well as getting paid above the average wage.
So the argument isn't totally one sided.
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@MajorRage I think the free degree courses are now finished?
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@Catogrande said in British Politics:
@MajorRage I think the free degree courses are now finished?
Still going I think with no tuition fees. They have changed the £5k a year grant so part of it is means-tested.
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Ah. I’d only heard anecdotally that it had finished. Probably just some hyperbole coming from a biased perspective. Who’d have thought eh?
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WTF is going on here?
A theological argument between two factions of the Muslim world forcing UK cinemas to cancel screenings of Lady of Heaven movie
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@Bones said in British Politics:
Uh oh. Unbritish.
I can't say I agree with it entirely, but doesn't all this grandstanding just play directly into the people smugglers hands?
Either it's an open border and the entire world can come in without consequence, or their must be consequences for those that choose to come in via illegal routes.
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Well she’s clearly wrong. If it’s unworkable and extortionately expensive it is therefore profoundly British.
I have to say though that I am deeply uncomfortable with this strategy. I agree with @MajorRage that we do need to look at ways of discouraging illegal immigration and the racketeering that is now associated with it. I just don’t think this is an humane or workable option.
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This is worth a watch. It's an interesting point of view. Just wish he hadn't played the race card, as I don't think skin colour / eye colour has anything to with it (it could be me being naive).
Reasonably well handled by Piers, but think his comments around Farage were poor. Whether he likes it or not, a lot of people do get behind Farage, mainly because they see the endless immigration as the decline of British culture. And there is some truth in that.
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