Off Topic Politics Thread

You obviously don’t remember the constant battles between the Eurosceptic, monetarist “dries” and the pro-Europe, Keynesian “wets” that were a feature throughout Thatcher’s premiership. Thatcher had to manage the massive division in her party the whole time she was leader. She never at any time attempted to face down the Eurosceptics.

 

OK you are right, but things escalated after her, and are now beyond crisis point. If a eurosceptic is elected, the Conservative party in reality has ceased to exist and is in reality, Farage´s Brexit party.

 

Trouble is they will survive.........but I don't agree they will have much to do with Farage and his cronies.............He has just got a protest vote.........nowt else.......If it were a general election I doubt if he would actually get a seat.......I could be wrong though...funnier things have happened......

 

Now I see Johnson is promising tax cuts for the richest of us........oh bloody hell....now I wonder how he will be able to do that? Cut more from the police and NHS?

 

At last The government are actually waking up to reality.
UK signs post-Brexit free trade deal with South Korea. Not much but its a start........

 

A man who recently said "**** business" is about to become leader of the Conservative Party , and PM. I'm beginning to think Ides has a point

 

How many times do we hear Tories demand to know the answers about paying for schemes to help the poorest or disenfranchised, and then along comes Boris with his smarmy tax cutting ways for people who don't need it, but will look favourably on him. OK, Buffoon, how are you going to finance that?

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-48577579

 

I don't want a start. This will take decades to sort and even then we'll be hugely worse off. I don't want it and most of the country agrees now.

 

It was all going to be so easy what could possibly go wrong? Misleading is one description of the leave statements (see posters at https://twitter.com/bydonkeys?lang=en) . Total ****ing bollocks is far more accurate.

 

Rochdale Herald at its best, somehow combining political satire with science fiction and a dig at folk music:
https://rochdaleherald.co.uk/2017/1...-no-circumstances-to-be-taken-to-our-leaders/

 

...demand under no circumstances to be taken to our leaders...

 

Brilliant, but I took that as a very affectionate reference to folk music, and will now go and dig out a Lindisfarne album...

 

Did you also notice the loose Donovan reference with Commander "GooGoo Barbajangle" ?

See Music thread.

 

Thanks Chilks a needed laugh given the ongoing horror story, with good points made along with the humour. I lived for many years in Stoke Row a South Chilterns village where most people liked both sorts of music, country and western.

 

Well done ....attack the pensioners
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/entertainment-arts-48583487

 

They really are after us aren't they.........They say they asked 192,000 people for there view of which 52% agreed we should lose the right to free subscriptions.
So 99,840 voted that the 5.5 million over seventy fives...unless the're on benefits should pay. Um thats a lot of bullshit.....they wouldn't have had to anyway if they were on benefits. Once again a minority makes the decision...........

 

My wife has been denied more than £23k as a result of changing the retirement age for women plus the possibility of pension credits, which depending on financial status can be up to £7k per year on top.
The Tories (because they are responsible for breaking the licence fee promise) have started attacking the people who tend to become their single most loyal group of voters. The elderly.
A strange tactic because those being delayed from claiming a pension and pension credits may easily turn away from the party, whilst those at the older age of the group will be, quite literally, dying off.

 

52% v 48%.
Sounds familiar.

 

Correct me if I'm wrong but wasn't it originally brought in as pensioners as a group were the least able to afford it?

That probably isn't the case anymore so is a good thing imo.

 

Playing devils advocate - the BBC are trying to compete with a lot of online providers as well as traditional broadcasters and as such need the money. There is tight controls on increasing the license fee, plus administrating the over 75 exemption has a cost too. So the easiest move they have got is remove the exemption and put the onus of administrating the eligibility for free licenses on a government agency.

Now, you got to ask yourself why a public broadcaster feels it has to compete with all other providers.

Secondly, this is just the start. I forsee the Iplayer service will have some sort of subscriber element added to it. i.e. pay extra for HD/4k quality. There will be tweaks at the fringe of the service until such time the license fee is replaced completely.