Diane Abbott free to stand at GE says Starmer. Good, but why the **** did he let all the speculation drag on?
I’m guessing it’s because he really is a weak leader, and that Labour was wrong footed by the announcement of the early election with this and other unfinished business ongoing. I’d also speculate at this stage that the Labour manifesto is going to be very thin. The Tories are chucking out policies safe in the knowledge that they won’t have to deliver on them, but they are making the others react to them still. Apart from Reform, who want to tax Indian restaurants on employing Indians, to incentivise them to replace foreign chefs and waiters with English ones. Genius.
Interesting question Strolls. Will make people wonder how he can manage a country when he struggles managing Diane Abbott.
First item on the BBC lunchtime news today was about drug shortages, which they described as a complex issue with many causal factors, some of which they listed. The one they didn't mention of course was Brexit, which has undoubtedly been a significant factor. UK drug shortages swell amid Brexit supply woes, think-tank data shows | Reuters The 2019 election was all about 'getting Brexit done', but in this campaign no one dare mention the disaster that it has been. When will anyone have the balls to point out this elephant in the room?
Nothing for Labour to gain from it. Tories would amplify all the great successes but there aren’t any. I’d assumed the Lib Dems would be on it but all I’ve seen so far is Ed Davey on a slide.
It would but the people who want that are either voting Labour anyway or the loons now going Green or Galloway and won’t be convinced and it’s easy prey for the Tories to say “they’re trying to reverse Brexit”. It’s just a toxic issue best avoided until in power with a big majority.
I suppose you're right, but I find the dishonesty of it all so depressing. No one's talking about rejoining the Single Market, even though it would plainly be beneficial to do so. Everyone's saying that immigration is too high, when they know that a relatively high level is vital for the economy. Everyone's saying that they won't increase taxes when they know that they're going to have generate more revenue.
Plaid Cymru want to join, as do the Lib Dems https://www.libdems.org.uk/news/article/rebuilding-trade-cooperation-with-europe Labour is still worried about the Red Wall voters who loved Johnson, even though polls show many of them have changed their minds about the EU. As I said above the Labour manifesto is going to be interesting given that they think spending no money is the way to win. When the nightmare of fingerprinting to visit an EU country kicks in there will be another surge of ‘what the **** have we done’. Of course it would take years of negotiations to join the Single Market and Customs Union.
Hopefully Starmer will start the process on July 5th. Maybe this is the way Starmer/Reeves will go on taxation, I hope they do.... Why Labour must adopt a radical new taxes - including on wealth and capital gains | Colm Murphy and Patrick Diamond | The Guardian There can't be any justification for not taxing capital gains at the same rate as income.
The justification is the higher the CGT, the less likely the public will invest in (particularly UK) businesses, and will sit on their capital . Governments are about encouraging investment in UK companies
Yes, a bullshit argument. We're not talking about Joe Public. If the super-rich sit on their capital, we should take it via a wealth tax.
