Off Topic General Election

[superhorns]

"I am confident we can fullfil the promise of Brexit and build a Britain that is stronger, fairer and more prosperous than it is today." This is what May will be saying today, and therein is the problem for her. A huge swathe of voters do not see their treatment from this government as being fair, and if it is so prosperous why are they not seeing a decent life. Her claim that the UK will be wealthier is at odds with warnings from a number of independent forecasters. The Office for Budget Responsibility has warned Brexit will "reduce growth in exports and imports" and has revised down growth forecasts for the economy. Many people who do not understand economics will however understand that all she is offering is more of the same, with additional measures to raise even more from them. This election was not needed, and shows up how ill prepared the Tory party was for it.

The office for budget responsibility has already had to apologise twice for being too pessimistic on UK growth since the defining Brexit vote. Many people who do not understand economics vote Labour.

Many pollsters have rubbished the recent YouGov poll, let us wait and see how many prefer the present government to the risky alternative.

 

[yorkshirehornet]

Austerity is a mindset which permits poverty..
I do not understand macro economics but am working on it.
As a small business person I am happy to pay more for oor social services. Most people are. The Tories just don't want to do it. That is why I will never vote for them. They have crocodile tears for the poor whilst they do deals with despots. They actually do business with regimes which foster terrorism

 

[colognehornet]

I'm not sure who you were referring as 'we'?. Who is going to change the world to your vision? If the EU imposes more constraints it will just lose business to non EU countries. There is zero chance of worldwide agreement on most, if not all of your ideas.

I would have thought that it was obvious what I meant by 'we' - namely you, I and all others on here. I have the power to decide (the ability to decide is what makes me human) how far I want to be 'global' - I can choose to buy products from far away lands or not, I can choose to try to lessen my dependence on 'global' systems based on oil or finances - the choice is mine. You need to choose what kind of future Britain will have - do you really see it as some kind of off shore equivalent of Singapore ? All of the states which have low (or no) rates of corporate tax are either small (Singapore, British Virgin Islands etc.) or are countries with inadequate infrastructures such as Albania and Bulgaria - there is no other country of our size which would contemplate such a thing. Britain already has a problem through having developed an unbalanced economy since the 80s - ie. the finance markets became, proportionally, too important compared to the rest of the economy. A mistake which Germany did not make, which is why the country was able to ride out the banking crisis more effectively. Do you want more of the same ?

 

[superhorns]

I would have thought that it was obvious what I meant by 'we' - namely you, I and all others on here. I have the power to decide (the ability to decide is what makes me human) how far I want to be 'global' - I can choose to buy products from far away lands or not, I can choose to try to lessen my dependence on 'global' systems based on oil or finances - the choice is mine. You need to choose what kind of future Britain will have - do you really see it as some kind of off shore equivalent of Singapore ? All of the states which have low (or no) rates of corporate tax are either small (Singapore, British Virgin Islands etc.) or are countries with inadequate infrastructures such as Albania and Bulgaria - there is no other country of our size which would contemplate such a thing. Britain already has a problem through having developed an unbalanced economy since the 80s - ie. the finance markets became, proportionally, too important compared to the rest of the economy. A mistake which Germany did not make, which is why the country was able to ride out the banking crisis more effectively. Do you want more of the same ?

Each time the UK has reduced corporation tax it has increased the yield. You are vastly overpaying any consequence. Corporation and business rates account for less than 10% of UK tax take.

There are not enough individuals with the same idea to change the present system. It would be helpful if you came up with solutions to your perceived globalisation problems that will actually make a difference.

 

[oldfrenchhorn]

Judge us on our record we are told.

GDP GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2017
+0.9% … Canada
+0.6% … Germany
+0.5% … Japan
+0.4% … France
+0.4% … Italy
+ 0.3% … United States
+0.2% … UNITED KINGDOM

 

[geitungur akureyrar]

GDP GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2017
+11.3% Iceland

You can prove anything with statistics. If the United Kingdom has growth of 0.2% that is much bigger in money than Iceland 11.3%. If you start very small percents are going to look huge. I would think also that 0.4% of Italys GDP also is very small in value.

 

[oldfrenchhorn]

GDP GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2017
+11.3% Iceland

You can prove anything with statistics. If the United Kingdom has growth of 0.2% that is much bigger in money than Iceland 11.3%. If you start very small percents are going to look huge. I would think also that 0.4% of Italys GDP also is very small in value.

I think that if you look back to just before the referendum, you will find that we were at the top of the growth table compared with the other G7 countries. This would be a better comparison than taking a small nation like Iceland into account.

 

[superhorns]

Judge us on our record we are told.

GDP GROWTH IN FIRST QUARTER OF 2017
+0.9% … Canada
+0.6% … Germany
+0.5% … Japan
+0.4% … France
+0.4% … Italy
+ 0.3% … United States
+0.2% … UNITED KINGDOM

This is the first quarter in a very long time that the UK growth has been less than the rest, why not try over a year, two years, five years etc. The UK previous quarter was revised up to 0.7%, France was 0.4%

Why not look at unemployment figures in Europe?

 

[superhorns]

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What this shows is it is quite usual to have an odd quarterly figure plus how the UK has outperformed the EU in recent years especially over France and Italy, they have dragged far behind.

 

[oldfrenchhorn]

Just like the polls SH I am pointing at trends. The UK electorate are more interested in what can be done to improve their lives, and generally will take little notice of such data, even if it does have a consequence on what a government can do. If the growth has been so good over the years, why does the country live in a state of crisis in so many public services? It can only mean that the money coming from all this activity has gone missing somewhere. I suspect that much of it has left the country due to so much of our industry now owned by overseas companies who take profits out. There is good inward investment, and bad inward investment. As you will know there are many ways of keeping a companies profits to a minimum, thus attracting little tax. It is time for a bit of honesty from politicians, who have sold off anything that has a value. There has to be change, the country will not recover from the present state by trying the same old remedies again.

 

[Bolton's Boots]

Theresa May is now refusing to appear on BBC Radio 4’s Woman’s Hour tomorrow...

At this rate I'm wondering if she'll appear on a ballot paper.

 

[Bolton's Boots]

If only I knew how to put her head on this...

http://www.reactiongifs.com/r/nvrmnd.gif

 

[hornethologist a.k.a. theo]

Woman's Hour keeps a top spot
For topics being currently hot
Experts invited
Are often far sighted
Mrs May it appears just is not

 

[superhorns]

Just like the polls SH I am pointing at trends. The UK electorate are more interested in what can be done to improve their lives, and generally will take little notice of such data, even if it does have a consequence on what a government can do. If the growth has been so good over the years, why does the country live in a state of crisis in so many public services? It can only mean that the money coming from all this activity has gone missing somewhere. I suspect that much of it has left the country due to so much of our industry now owned by overseas companies who take profits out. There is good inward investment, and bad inward investment. As you will know there are many ways of keeping a companies profits to a minimum, thus attracting little tax. It is time for a bit of honesty from politicians, who have sold off anything that has a value. There has to be change, the country will not recover from the present state by trying the same old remedies again.

As one of the Brexit doom mongers you have had to wait an awful long time for a bit of negative news. The UK government has been sensibly tackling the deficit which has caused some austerity.

France, like many EU countries, on the other hand have not been so prudent so will have to face the consequences in the future. Financial turbulence is fully expected during and after Brexit, many believe the hassle will be worth it. You should be more concerned about the future of your adopted country, I fear the present hype surrounding the very inexperienced Macron will soon fade away when he tries to address the much needed reforms. More experienced politicians than him have failed miserably.

 

[yorkshirehornet]

As one of the Brexit doom mongers you have had to wait an awful long time for a bit of negative news. The UK government has been sensibly tackling the deficit which has caused some austerity.

France, like many EU countries, on the other hand have not been so prudent so will have to face the consequences in the future. Financial turbulence is fully expected during and after Brexit, many believe the hassle will be worth it. You should be more concerned about the future of your adopted country, I fear the present hype surrounding the very inexperienced Macron will soon fade away when he tries to address the much needed reforms. More experienced politicians than him have failed miserably.

You are the doom monger again.... and here we go again with France...... is it all you know? Or some sort of love hate relationship??

 

[colognehornet]

As one of the Brexit doom mongers you have had to wait an awful long time for a bit of negative news. The UK government has been sensibly tackling the deficit which has caused some austerity.

France, like many EU countries, on the other hand have not been so prudent so will have to face the consequences in the future. Financial turbulence is fully expected during and after Brexit, many believe the hassle will be worth it. You should be more concerned about the future of your adopted country, I fear the present hype surrounding the very inexperienced Macron will soon fade away when he tries to address the much needed reforms. More experienced politicians than him have failed miserably.

The poorest fifth of Britain's population are the poorest in Western Europe SH. This is based on information gained from the Organisation for Economic co-operation and Development. Significantly worse off than those in France or Germany. The poorest fifth have an average income of 9,530 dollars per year, compared to 13,381 in Germany and 12,653 in France, despite Britain being, generally, more expensive than those countries. For the poorest fifth of the British population only those in the former Soviet block are poorer. You may like to think about that before constantly coming back to the theme of how France isn't working. You cannot 'judge' countries by things as abstract as GDP, but rather on the welfare of their people.

 

[oldfrenchhorn]

I am afraid Yorkie that he is unable to defend the miserable record of this government, and doesn't even try. Like his heroine he cannot look at anything that requires some thought, so says that if she makes a statement it must be right. Deflect and not answer is a well known tactic of politicians put on the spot, yet as we have seen recently people have become fed up with no information. We all know that he was unable to make a life in France, and didn't get anywhere with understanding that there is a different culture, where people are happy to live life with family and friends, and not spend their whole lives worrying about making money.

 

[yorkshirehornet]

I am afraid Yorkie that he is unable to defend the miserable record of this government, and doesn't even try. Like his heroine he cannot look at anything that requires some thought, so says that if she makes a statement it must be right. Deflect and not answer is a well known tactic of politicians put on the spot, yet as we have seen recently people have become fed up with no information. We all know that he was unable to make a life in France, and didn't get anywhere with understanding that there is a different culture, where people are happy to live life with family and friends, and not spend their whole lives worrying about making money.

What do we value in life.....?
Sadly it is easy to fall into the trap of 'financial security' having more than your neighbour and upward mobility etc

 

[superhorns]

I am afraid Yorkie that he is unable to defend the miserable record of this government, and doesn't even try. Like his heroine he cannot look at anything that requires some thought, so says that if she makes a statement it must be right. Deflect and not answer is a well known tactic of politicians put on the spot, yet as we have seen recently people have become fed up with no information. We all know that he was unable to make a life in France, and didn't get anywhere with understanding that there is a different culture, where people are happy to live life with family and friends, and not spend their whole lives worrying about making money.

I rejected France because it was not good enough. France often tops polls as one of the most depressed nations, there must be a reason. The vast numbers of the unemployed in France worry about money, much of the French countryside is a barren wasteland with no employment. Any reasonable French government reforms will be met with the usual social unrest until it backs down, the country remains deeply divided between far left and far right.

In contrast the UK has low unemployment, flexible workforce, political stability and hope to relive itself from the shackles of the German dominated EU. France has very little hope to achieve any of this.

 

[oldfrenchhorn]

I rejected France because it was not good enough. France often tops polls as one of the most depressed nations, there must be a reason. The vast numbers of the unemployed in France worry about money, much of the French countryside is a barren wasteland with no employment. Any reasonable French government reforms will be met with the usual social unrest until it backs down, the country remains deeply divided between far left and far right.

In contrast the UK has low unemployment, flexible workforce, political stability and hope to relive itself from the shackles of the German dominated EU. France has very little hope to achieve any of this.

How about you spend a little more of your time thinking about some of the problems that have come about in the UK. I am sure that it would be interesting to know from your perspective why the NHS, schools, social care, disabilty benefits, policing etc are in such disarray, and how you tackle all of these major problems in society. Maybe you could take them one at a time.