A thread for the discussion of any news, current affairs or political subjects Content will only be moderated if it breaches standard forum rules on incitement or obscenity, which are universal rules that apply to all forums. I don't believe that will ever be necessary. Please, keep what is discussed here in this thread only. Don't let it spread to other parts of the forum.
I'm not sure if this is a 'political' story, Politics as we know, is in the eye of the reader. But it certainly is bad news - I can't see many folk thinking Britain without a Steel industry would be a good idea And it is certainly Current affairs. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cjryeqrnldvo There is a lot of talk these days about the UK having to be more self-sufficient (effectively more "War-ready"). But we have never been less self-sufficient in our history. We cannot grow enough food to feed ourselves. We cannot create enough energy to live on. Very soon it seems we will not even be able to manufacture Steel in this Country. That is a recipe for utter disaster. How far we have fallen. The Nation that began the Industrial Revolution 200 years ago - unable to produce it's own Steel. No steel = No ships. No aircraft, no tanks, no artillery. No ability to defend ourselves. We MUST retain a viable steel manufacturing industry.
My daughter's in-laws are selling their livestock farm to developers, a decision made before the budget. None of the kids want it. They've seen him work 24/7 with hardly a holiday in years and not much to show for it, although they will become wealthy through the sale. Farmers are screwed by the supermarkets and I don't know what can be done about it.
Farming is a vital industry. It should be protected by the State. For me that would include minimum prices for milk & other basic produce. And if supermarkets want to buy elsewhere, import tariffs on that food. We need strong Government standing up for the UK. Not a few million quid to fix bleeding pot holes. We are still playing the game as if it's the 1990's. Selling our gas to the highest bidder on international markets, while UK households play the highest energy bills in the World. Cheap fruit from Egypt and similar places, while British farmers are forced to sell staple foods below cost price. We should be pulling up the drawbridge. British food first, British energy first. British steel first. Shoppers should be given the hard sell - buy British. We need to mobilise and re-arm. Sorry Elvis Costello, I love your music. But it's time we started shipbuilding again. Germany has just tossed it's financial rules into the bin - in order to massively increase military spending. That's what we need to be doing here. Get those millions of unemployed youngsters back into the factories and the fields. Working hard to make this Country a fortress again.
You rightly mention bringing up the drawbrudge to cheap foreign imports, such as Egyptian fruit. This is totally correct. The same analogy must be used when discussing unneeded, unfettered, low-skilled immigration. We have enough people on the dole who could fill the manual labour shortages. We need skilled migrants - the sort who will pay the taxes, instead of those claiming supplementary benefits because they are on minimum wage. Immigration should pay for itself, not be a drain on our shrinking economy. Anyone who thinks our current migration system is a net benefit needs to give their head a wobble.
Suella Braverman went too far when she said sleeping rough was a lifestyle choice. But to put it bluntly, scrounging benefits indefinitely is now a lifestyle choice. That sad situation is the responsibility of mainstream politicians. And when they fail to remedy the situation, others will be given the opportunity to implement more drastic solutions. When that happens, I won't be sympathising with the hand-wringing and protests from the liberal elite.
Do we even need that many skilled migrants? I’ve yet to be convinced there is a single skill sector that cannot be filled by domestic staff anyway. If we didn’t have so many illegals this wouid not even be an issue. It’s pretty simple really. Stop the boats, the fake students, the scroungers, watch the crime rate fall, the hospital waiting lists free up, the streets will be cleaner, granted you may have to wash your own car and wait a bit longer for your takeaway but that is a small price to pay.
I put more into the Brazilian economy in one day 15 months ago than thousands have in years back home. Rant over.
Even Low paid migrants drain the economy to the tune of 150k till pension age. The ones that don’t work are estimated at three times that. You have to be pretty special to be a skilled worker and be a net profit to the UK. then of course you got the hotels , the free driving lessons, the access to the NHS, a legal system that costs £20k per person to process your immigration status as soon as you get off the boat. no wonder this government is starting to send the disabled back to work
Just in the interest of balance (not looking for a spat) it's worth remembering that migrant workers form a huge proportion of NHS staff, and a great many care workers - a profession paying criminally low wages and held in very low esteem by most of society it seems. They are not illegal migrants, but the NHS and care services would collapse tomorrow if they were suddenly not present. Sadly it seems that all immigrants to the UK are tarred by the same brush, usually by certain politicians who have a vested interest in gaining popularity by exaggerating the negative impacts on our society, and who often do not care to differentiate between health & care workers, and asylum seekers. We would not need millions of migrant nurses and care workers if our NHS and social care was properly run and properly funded. Far more British people would be willing to do the jobs, and earn enough money to live on. And those migrant medical & care workers could look after the sick and vulnerable in their own Countries. Yet we have only just heard that a giant administrative monolith called NHS England is about to be abolished by the Government. NHS England is seemingly built from thousands of managers and pen pushers, none of whom actually take care of a single patient on the front line. That situation is a disgrace. Yet it was allowed to happen through years of inefficiency, incompetence, and political obsession with foisting off vital tasks on third party agencies. Seemingly purely to provide a level or arse-covering insurance for elected Ministers when things go wrong on their watch.
Of course we should allow migrants to come and work in the NHS - they are to be applauded and treasured. We don't need those who come to join the dole queue - that is pointless immigration. We have enough of our own deadwood, let alone importing it. Housing, hospitals, schools, prisons and welfare are all gummed up with wastrels. It' is unsustainable and utterly unfair on the taxpayers, including those who have come from afar to help our NHS. The current system betrays the migrants who have done everything by the book.
Thursday 1st May - a good night for democracy. I got pretty depressed pretty quickly watching the Election coverage. We were getting the same old mixture of denials and excuses from the politicians on the show. Just what I think many people are sick and tired of. But the People have voted, and their votes are all that matters. This is not meant as a political post in the Party sense of the word. Or an attempt to start a potentially controversial conversation. Just a for our democracy. And a reminder that we do have a politics thread on this forum if members wish to express their views on it.
I would not be at all surprised to see a number of MP's defecting from the Conservative benches to Reform UK. Perhaps not now, but maybe after the 2026 local council elections. Reform have also just proved that there is no longer any such thing as a 'safe' seat. I'm not saying that's a good thing politically. But it is good for democracy. People lose faith in politicians and Parties, but I hope they never lose faith in democracy itself. I nearly did during those years after the Referendum. But I know I was misguided to think that way. Democracy is so precious. We must never take it for granted in my view.
The World's most spoilt, over-indulged brat throws his latest Wobbly because he cannot force UK tax-payers to fund his protection costs whenever he feels like returning to this Country. Well "Spare", we are sorry but our tax money is spent on protecting members of the Royal Family who carry out their duty. A man who feels grievously sorry for himself and that Life has been so bitterly unfair to him simply because having an older brother means he will never be King, does not know the meaning of duty. Now he tries to milk sympathy because he is apparently exiled from Britain by the latest Court defeat. He is not exiled. He simply has to pay for his own small army of security staff if he wants to come here and doesn't feel safe without them. The rest of us have to pay our way to do the things we want to in life. We have to do our duty by our families and dependents. We don't have 60 million peasants to live off the backs of. And blubbing because his Father won't speak to him? Pathetic. If you really want to patch things up with your family Harry, contact them discreetly and privately, and apologise for the offence you have caused. Even if you don't feel in your heart that you have anything to apologise for. It all comes down to how badly you really want to build a bridge. To me, this latest tantrum is far more about bruised ego and wounded pride than a genuine wish for reconciliation. Charles III isn't only your Father. He's your King. How about showing him a measure of respect.
Violent criminals including sex offenders could be released after just one third of their sentences if they play nice... https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cql22xwg62vo For pity's sake Why do we even bother catching them. This Country treats criminal scum better than our own pensioners. I was going to post this in the 'Bad News' thread, but thought it might invite some political comment.
