Off Topic Political Debate

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Bloodied schoolbags belonging to children who never came home after an airstrike by the Saudi-led coalition on Yemen. At least 33 children were killed. Where does Saudi Arabia get most of its arms? From Britain and the US. Orla Guerin

 

Very sobering, ofh.

 

Soon to be our major trading partner in the only industry we're likely to have left. We reap what we sow.

 

I always thought Alex Salmond was a sleaze bag. Not good news on top of the SNP Scottish governments annual borrowing being 4 times greater than the rest of the UK. They would soon be bankrupt if they left those that subsidise them in London. Indy 2 off the table for a long time.

 

I am quite surprised to see that the Tory party has not accepted Arron Banks into the fold after the collapse in party membership shown last week. The fact that he has access to funds, he will not admits where he gets them from, would have normally seen him welcomed with open arms. Maybe they are becoming sensitive about people seeing that they have a party within, just as much as momentum is in Labour

 

Momentum are socialists. It’s the Tory-Lite Blairites who are the interlopers. Consider where Atlee would have found himself - Blair or Corbyn?

 

Innocent until proven guilty? Isn’t that one of the tenet’s of British justice?

 

You may be right Andy, but they are a movement within just as ERG are within the Tories.

 

Sure. But we seem to have forgotten what socialism is because of the shift to the right led by media and corporate vampires.

 

The Scottish government obviously think he has a major question mark against him which is why they reported him to the police after their own investigation. I'm sure the SNP would not invite more bad news without very good reason.

 

I thought it was the UK public who keep on rejecting socialism!!

 

The UK public have never been offerred Socialism. Put in a nutshell it means the collective or governmental ownership of the means of production and distribution of goods. The Labour Party has never offerred the socialization of the economy along those lines - it has never offerred anything more than a sensibly mixed economy, and a limited protective shield for those at the bottom.

 

I'm sure the Communist Party of Britain comes up with ideas much nearer your preferred idea of socialism. The party garnered 1,229 votes across nine seats in the 2015 general election - far outstripped by the Monster Raving Loonies.

 

Infrastructure and heavy industry (steel, coal, oil, etc.) should be of and for the people, not at the whim of profiteering private (let alone foreign) companies.
Let a man make a decent profit to improve his lot; as he earns more, he pays more in tax: that is fair and it is the only fair personal tax system. But it is important enough to let him make enough profit for it to be worthwhile to expand his business and personal wealth accordingly. Those at the bottom end should be on a decent living wage. No student should be saddled with debt nor any family of one.

One job, 40 hours per week maximum, should be enough to put a roof over your head, feed and clothe accordingly leaving enough for regular bills, a holiday away once per year, some savings and a few fairly essential items that were once considered luxuries: a tv, motorised transport, a phone, etc. Whatever the job: fast food server, road sweeper, builders labourer. Trouble is that people at the top end get greedy and it's one reason why one job, for many people, is not nearly enough. That the government has to give hand outs to full time workers says more about the greed of business owners and society at large than it does to those at the bottom end of the so called social ladder. That our government regularly lets people die by taking away the help they need tells you all you need to know about the top echelons in this country... the JRM's; the IDS's; the NF's; the TM's and her immorally profiteering husband... they disgust me.

 

The Tories are regularly chosen by the UK public as the best choice of government. It seems you have a problem with financially successful people.

 

I am a professional man; mortgage paid off long before I hit 50 on a decent sized detached house (not anywhere as big as your palacial home, few are!) in argualbly the most expensive area in the country; earn a decent crust although not perhaps as much as I would like or deserve - but I realise that's the way of the world and I'm happy to not take on the responsibility of running my own business and cut my cloth accordingly; own a decent car; can afford for Mrs Fez to work p-t in a non-stress job; take a foreign holiday each year (at least one); etcetera, etcetera, etcetera.

Now, whilst I've studied hard (I went to University in my late 30's) and worked hard, and I appreciate the things I've grafted for... I am one of those people who refused to **** on people on my way up, I am happy to pay my way properly without favour (I hate the way money goes to money), I am happy to pay a bit more as I earn a bit more, I know that I contribute to making society a better place for all of us and I know that is what I want to continue doing.

I think that I am financially successful, though not "rich" in the grand scheme of things, would you not agree? But I have had my pension ripped off after some bad advice and some pretty unsavoury characters in what is quite the scandal on it's way to court nationally so my future is not, perhaps, as secure as it should be. I also know what it was like to be a working class kid on a council estate in thatcher's Britain (ding dong the witch is dead... not before time!!! ) my family on the receiving end of her divisive and unfair policies. The maybitch is proving to be worse.

You are wrong. Fractally wrong. Again.

 

By your rant it appears I'm factually correct again on both counts. Have a good weekend.

 

Would you dispute the claim made by Fez that it is criminal when people who work 40 hours a week still do not have enough to live on ?

 

To set the matter straight SH. There is no party in the UK. which comes close to my 'ideal' so I go for the party which is the least offensive. The reason why that is the case is probably because the nation state is not my referential starting point.

 

As far as I know it is not a criminal offence. I would also need to know what the recipient spent their money on and their priorities. The Tories have done more recently than any government in raising the minimum wage. Unlike many EU countries there does seem to be ample jobs around for those that are seriously looking. The numbers employed on zero hours contracts has reduced sharply in the last year in the UK.

I was once in a position on very little money with a young family. Our money went on essentials and we managed to get by. It was at that stage we decided to radically act to improve our poor financial situation. There does seem to be a problem with many younger people who have little financial skills and abuse the easy credit available regardless of affordability.