Off Topic Politics Thread

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Well, I was a life-long Tory voter and party member. I'm now a card-carrying Liberal. The Tories have lost me, probably forever. I detest the way the gang of five is forcing through maniac Brexitmax-at-all-costs. There are plenty like me in my new party. At the moment, most of the members I meet are educated, well informed, pro-Europeans, many of them ex-Tory.

However, the message will eventually get through to the people at the bottom (many of them Labour voters at heart) who were ruthlessly misled about Brexit being good for them when all the evidence is that they'll be the ones hardest hit. They'll see that Corbyn is pitiful on the subject of the EU so the Liberals may well be the only party to which they can turn.

Vin


Why didn't you get together with other pro-European Conservatives and start a "Conservatives for Europe movement within the Conservative Party, or start a new political party called "Conservatives for Europe." I am sure such a party would get lots of financial backing as it would carry the Conservative brand of other centre-right parties in the EU Parliament such as Germany's Christian Democrats besides being pro-EU. The party would have to be selective where it fought elections. Stoke and Portsmouth are "no go", but places such as Reading, Winchester, East Hampshire, voted in favour of Remain and with a bit of negotiation with other parties take the UKIP Conservatives head-on!!
 
So are you saying if May decided to push for G Election the Labour parliamentary party would say 'we're not ready to challenge for power', and not provide the 2/3rds needed. I can see the headlines now..
Good point, but there would be a lot of her own party who wouldn't want an early election either.
 
No, you can't really be "due" a recession which is why I used the quote marks. However, since the 50s we've had recessions in:

1956
1961
1973/74
1975
1980/81
1990/91
2008/09

You can merge the two in the 70s I guess but the 18 year gap between the last two was unusual, freakish even, and looks somewhat like a double-length gap. Somewhere between 5 and 10, maybe 12, years has been more usual.

I agree about people taking on debt. To some extent it makes sense because interest rates are so low right now but I'm not sure that will last (my wife and I are just about to start re-fixing our mortgage rate) and I expect some (many?) will struggle when rates rise.

Add in the ongoing problems in Southern Europe and things seem quite precarious right now.

The next recession could well be a "full blown" depression. I have no idea of that particular cycle so might just "google it."
 
To quote Madame May, "Labour councillors dance to the tune of the militant unions and Momentum’s hard-left activists, facing threats of candidate deselection if they don’t”. ........... Meanwhile the "Used to be Conservative Party (they are really UKIP) are dancing to UKIP's tune!!
 
Have we come out of recession then?

Tell that to the millions who haven't had a pay rise for 8 years. Or the people employed on dubious temporary contracts.

You don't need to tell me about that. I know that teachers for example, have been awarded on average about a 1% or 2% rise year on year for the past decade. Add to that the refunding farce, whereby many schools face a cut of several hundreds of thousands of £s, and the Government expects the schools to deliver. Meanwhile a whooping vast sum of money is going to be spent on renewing Trident.

As a side issue, watch the Government allow the Chinese to dig for oil in the Falkland Islands in return for taking up more of the UK debt. It would ensure Argentina would never ever think about another invasion.
 
Watching in the background Pier Morgan.

Now then. I dislike Farage a lot. Really do. But I don't know why, but I can't help but chuckle about the:

"One World Cup and two World Wars" chant. Dunno why I can't. Wrong on so many levels and so childish. But makes me chuckle :)

Edit: BTW I would prefer the chant four world cups and no world wars...
 
Watching in the background Pier Morgan.

Now then. I dislike Farage a lot. Really do. But I don't know why, but I can't help but chuckle about the:

"One World Cup and two World Wars" chant. Dunno why I can't. Wrong on so many levels and so childish. But makes me chuckle :)

Edit: BTW I would prefer the chant four world cups and no world wars...
You know what I dislike Piers Morgan as well, but fair play, he said it how it is to NF
 
Trump just barred CNN and New York Times from a press briefing.
I'm sure he'll get around to the rest soon. Peculiarly, the only one he trusts, Fox News, has one or two of its reporters taking umbrage on behalf of the more liberal news media.
I'm still staggered by what he said to BBC's Jon Sopel the other day when he stood up and introduced himself - 'here's another beauty', said Trumpet. And he didn't mean it as a compliment either.
 
I'm sure he'll get around to the rest soon. Peculiarly, the only one he trusts, Fox News, has one or two of its reporters taking umbrage on behalf of the more liberal news media.
I'm still staggered by what he said to BBC's Jon Sopel the other day when he stood up and introduced himself - 'here's another beauty', said Trumpet. And he didn't mean it as a compliment either.

He did that throughout his campaign trail. I think it was in Scotland where he was giving an address, when he spotted a reporter from an "unfriendly" sector of the media and asked his heavies to throw him out. Absolutely charmless!! IMO, he enjoys belittling people.
 
Also barred from yesterday's press "gaggle" - The Guardian, the BBC, and most surprisingly of all, the Daily Mail.

Fox are already distancing themselves from the worst presidency in US history. Virulently right wing their editorial policy may be, but they still wish to be considered a reputable, even mainstream, news outlet.
 
Also barred from yesterday's press "gaggle" - The Guardian, the BBC, and most surprisingly of all, the Daily Mail.

Fox are already distancing themselves from the worst presidency in US history. Virulently right wing their editorial policy may be, but they still wish to be considered a reputable, even mainstream, news outlet.

I think (hope?) that even the right wing press are very aware that the idiot-child may take offence at a reporter's tie next week and they could be next up on the blacklist. Despite the many flaws in mainstream journalism some solidarity and basic standards may still apply.

Trump's real mistake though is lumping The Daily Mail in with 'real' news organisations. They'll be so pleased.
 
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Why didn't you get together with other pro-European Conservatives and start a "Conservatives for Europe movement within the Conservative Party, or start a new political party called "Conservatives for Europe." I am sure such a party would get lots of financial backing as it would carry the Conservative brand of other centre-right parties in the EU Parliament such as Germany's Christian Democrats besides being pro-EU. The party would have to be selective where it fought elections. Stoke and Portsmouth are "no go", but places such as Reading, Winchester, East Hampshire, voted in favour of Remain and with a bit of negotiation with other parties take the UKIP Conservatives head-on!!

My wife and I run our own business and I love being able quickly to consult with a couple of people, decide on a course of action and follow it. The idea of getting to a consensus amongst huge groups of competing factions makes me want to reach for a machine gun. I couldn't even cope with office politics so I'd be hopeless. Benevolent dictator perhaps.

I did stand for UMIST student union president in 1982 in the days of the worst excesses of the loony left. In response to the right-on trendy politics of every single person at the top of the union (they all sounded like Rick in the Young ones, "Smash the State"), I stood on a counter policy of suspending the executive and taking absolute power. I lost by 100 votes. What could have been, eh?

Vin
 
My wife and I run our own business and I love being able quickly to consult with a couple of people, decide on a course of action and follow it. The idea of getting to a consensus amongst huge groups of competing factions makes me want to reach for a machine gun. I couldn't even cope with office politics so I'd be hopeless. Benevolent dictator perhaps.

I did stand for UMIST student union president in 1982 in the days of the worst excesses of the loony left. In response to the right-on trendy politics of every single person at the top of the union (they all sounded like Rick in the Young ones, "Smash the State"), I stood on a counter policy of suspending the executive and taking absolute power. I lost by 100 votes. What could have been, eh?

Vin

Ooh, I have some stories of running for student bodies. A lot of people got quite upset. I wasn't responsible for the most offensive bits though.
 
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Disgusting

Sorry but I have said as much as is said in this article. My Son has ADHD and ASD I have clearly stated that it is ridiculous that we get £10k "tax free" for what is in effect a child we have to supervise a bit more than normal and who gets angry easily. (£4k in DLA, £3k in Carer's allowance, £3k in extra tax credits)

This is what is being said in this article.

I fully agree that disability payments of any sort should go to people who really are disabled. It should go to people where they really do have a severe problem dealing with day to day life.

Why have the BBC put a picture of someone in a wheelchair to support the article when they are challenging the MP talking about mental disability?

That is not to say that all mental illnesses are not "worthy" of receiving financial assistance because quite clearly there are many many cases where it really is necessary however the media (and people that just want to jump on things like this) do not help by distorting the truth.

The policy is correct. The implementation is the problem. The assessments are the problem. The government is quite right however to take the welfare problems on.