Off Topic Politics Thread

  • Please bear with us on the new site integration and fixing any known bugs over the coming days. If you can not log in please try resetting your password and check your spam box. If you have tried these steps and are still struggling email [email protected] with your username/registered email address
  • Log in now to remove adverts - no adverts at all to registered members!
So what you are saying is that people vote Labour when they are happy (1945, 1964, 1997) and Tory when they are miserable (1951, 1979, 2010)?

There may be something in that, come to think of it.

Lol. No I was saying these things come and go around. Happiness in the 90s/00s was nothing to do with Blair. "Cool Britannia" was in full flow by the time Blair came in. Time and place and all that but it was a time when whilst not having that much money there was a good vibe and youth culture (which I would include 20s to early 30s as well) enjoyed life for a while.
 
So the BoE has put up the interest rates to 0.75, while the pound slips to around 1.12 euros. Not great if you are going on holiday. I feel that sterling is in a hospital waiting room awaiting results of negotiations around Brexit. One thing is for certain, the UK cannot afford to exit on a "No Deal" basis. Mrs May knows that to implement such as strategy, would threaten the UK economy. I feel she will need to negotiate an extensión to the March 29, 2019 deadline, and if it takes 10 years to negotiate a satisfactory "Brexit" so be it. We do not need to be in any hurry to exit a club that we have been a member of for the past 44 years.
 
  • Like
Reactions: San Tejón
So the BoE has put up the interest rates to 0.75, while the pound slips to around 1.12 euros. Not great if you are going on holiday. I feel that sterling is in a hospital waiting room awaiting results of negotiations around Brexit. One thing is for certain, the UK cannot afford to exit on a "No Deal" basis. Mrs May knows that to implement such as strategy, would threaten the UK economy. I feel she will need to negotiate an extensión to the March 29, 2019 deadline, and if it takes 10 years to negotiate a satisfactory "Brexit" so be it. We do not need to be in any hurry to exit a club that we have been a member of for the past 44 years.

Following the twisty-turny journey of May's recent Brexiting, that is, vote Remain, talk Hard Brexit then somehow get 'agreement' for the softest of Brexits that caused the current cabinet drama-queen exits. I think I would say she is a conviction-Pragmatist and therefore we will no way be leaving on a no deal basis.

You've got to say that being British PM currently has to be the ****test no-win job. Surely Cameron has to go down as the stupidest and most cowardly PM in recent times and May as one of the bravest.
 
  • Like
Reactions: davecg69
Following the twisty-turny journey of May's recent Brexiting, that is, vote Remain, talk Hard Brexit then somehow get 'agreement' for the softest of Brexits that caused the current cabinet drama-queen exits. I think I would say she is a conviction-Pragmatist and therefore we will no way be leaving on a no deal basis.

You've got to say that being British PM currently has to be the ****test no-win job. Surely Cameron has to go down as the stupidest and most cowardly PM in recent times and May as one of the bravest.


Can't really argue with that. I don't think I would have that much in common with Theresa May imn terms of political ideology, but I admire her tenacity and am prepared to accept that, unlike most of her cabinet, she is motivated by something more than naked self interest.
 
Politicians like silver spoon boy and mega rich Rees-Mogg secretly thinks that the loss of trade and jobs and the hardship that goes with that is a good price to pay for British sovereignty, what about the rest of us poor bastards?

The rest of us don’t matter.
Job and home insecurities will make people accept almost anything to barely survive, which will be win/win for unscrupulous business owners and landlords, who want to maximise profits at any cost.
 
In full:
(a) Complete withdrawal from the occupied Arab territories, including the Syrian Golan Heights, to the 4 June 1967 line and the territories still occupied in southern Lebanon; (b) Attain a just solution to the problem of Palestinian refugees to be agreed upon in accordance with the UN General Assembly Resolution No 194. (c) Accept the establishment of an independent and sovereign Palestinian state on the Palestinian territories occupied since 4 June 1967 in the West Bank and Gaza Strip with East Jerusalem as its capital.

In return the Arab states will do the following: (a) Consider the Arab–Israeli conflict over, sign a peace agreement with Israel, and achieve peace for all states in the region; (b) Establish normal relations with Israel within the framework of this comprehensive peace.


Easy enough to find, so I’m not sure why @benditlikeabanana thinks the Palestinians are so anti-peace.

as,if you say the Palestinians have agreed to this and the stumbling block is Israel, do you think that the UN could or would force Israel to accept the proposal that you included? even by the threat of sanctions. This would also take the responsibility away from the leaders of Israel and Palestine as i am pretty sure that the leaders signing an agreement for a two state resolution will be signing their own death warrant with extremes on both sides
 
Last edited:
The rest of us don’t matter.
Job and home insecurities will make people accept almost anything to barely survive, which will be win/win for unscrupulous business owners and landlords, who want to maximise profits at any cost.

Same as it has been for the past decade+ then? Whilst in the EU?
 
Same as it has been for the past decade+ then? Whilst in the EU?

Same as it has been since union strength was undermined first creating job insecurity.
There will be those without the closer scrutiny of EU rules who will look to exploit things even more than now.
Amazon allegedly have had 600 ambulances visit their work places in the last three years. Can it get worse? Quite possibly.
Plus the introduction of zero hours contracts (Blair?).
 
Can't really argue with that. I don't think I would have that much in common with Theresa May imn terms of political ideology, but I admire her tenacity and am prepared to accept that, unlike most of her cabinet, she is motivated by something more than naked self interest.

Exactly that. I think she is a professional politician and motivated by pragmatism and therefore probably not a bad leader in the ****-pit we find ourselves in

Maybe once the 'deal' is sorted and she is brutally slain in a dark alley by her friends and colleagues we will have a slim chance of getting some unity in the Labour Party when they see that they might just have a chance of winning an election
 
as,if you say the Palestinians have agreed to this and the stumbling block is Israel, do you think that the UN could or would force Israel to accept the proposal that you included? even by the threat of sanctions. This would also take the responsibility away from the leaders of Israel and Palestine as i am pretty sure that the leaders signing an agreement for a two state resolution will be signing their own death warrant with extremes on both sides

That is why you negotiate. There have been many unsolveable issues in the past and they found some form of resolution. (e.g. Ireland)
The situation was actually heading towards a possible solution before Yitzhak Rabin was assasinated in 95
As for 'signing their own death warrants', who knows, but none of the key Irish negotiators were assasinated

The problem here is that the US supports Israel because the US politicians will always protect the Jewish vote so the UN are affected by that bias. Experience indicates that exiled nationals are often highly nationalistic and will therefore support extreme causes in their 'home' country e.g. Irish-Americans during the troubles

... and now we have Trump who unilaterally takes ill-considered pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian actions
 
Last edited:
Same as it has been since union strength was undermined first creating job insecurity.
There will be those without the closer scrutiny of EU rules who will look to exploit things even more than now.
Amazon allegedly have had 600 ambulances visit their work places in the last three years. Can it get worse? Quite possibly.
Plus the introduction of zero hours contracts (Blair?).

Err Governments don't run things anymore, Corporations do. Zero hours contracts etc are just Corporations being creative with the rules :emoticon-0126-nerd:
Not buying anything from Amazon is a more effective democratic action by me than voting in my delightful but unfortunately Tory-stronghold constituency :emoticon-0106-cryin
and I'm not saying they've noticed of course, but their algorithms will have :bandit:
 
Err Governments don't run things anymore, Corporations do. Zero hours contracts etc are just Corporations being creative with the rules :emoticon-0126-nerd:
Not buying anything from Amazon is a more effective democratic action by me than voting in my delightful but unfortunately Tory-stronghold constituency :emoticon-0106-cryin
and I'm not saying they've noticed of course, but their algorithms will have :bandit:


Except that several decades of anti Trades Union legislation has paved the way for unscrupulous corporations to abuse their employees. Meanwhile, decent employers are forced to compete with rivals who ruthlessly reduce labour costs through zero hours contracts, bogus self employment, etc, thus creating massive downward pressure on wages.

Meanwhile, a decade of low wages and cheap credit has led to unprecedented levels of personal debt, which could end up crippling the national economy when interest rates rise further. All this is a direct redult of this government's policies.
 
Except that several decades of anti Trades Union legislation has paved the way for unscrupulous corporations to abuse their employees. Meanwhile, decent employers are forced to compete with rivals who ruthlessly reduce labour costs through zero hours contracts, bogus self employment, etc, thus creating massive downward pressure on wages.
Meanwhile, a decade of low wages and cheap credit has led to unprecedented levels of personal debt, which could end up crippling the national economy when interest rates rise further. All this is a direct redult of this government's policies.

You're right of course, my post was a bit simplistic

Governments set the environment and now fail to intervene to re-establish any form of control in the interests of the people who vote for them, while corporations ride roughshod over them threatening removal of business which often provides crap jobs for little pay and virtually no tax

Not easy to change given the media has effectively convinced so many that businesses should run the world not governments

I could rant on, but I'm starting to see the matrix now, so I think I'll just take my blue pill and go out in the sunshine :emoticon-0140-rofl::emoticon-0157-sun:
 
That is why you negotiate. There have been many unsolveable issues in the past and they found some form of resolution. (e.g. Ireland)
The situation was actually heading towards a possible solution before Yitzhak Rabin was assasinated in 95
As for 'signing their own death warrants', who knows, but none of the key Irish negotiators were assasinated

The problem here is that the US supports Israel because the US politicians will always protect the Jewish vote so the UN are affected by that bias. Experience indicates that exiled nationals are often highly nationalistic and will therefore support extreme causes in their 'home' country e.g. Irish-Americans during the troubles

... and now we have Trump who unilaterally takes ill-considered pro-Israeli and anti-Palestinian actions

but the glory of bringing the two sides together would be too much for him to ignore
 
I could rant on, but I'm starting to see the matrix now, so I think I'll just take my blue pill and go out in the sunshine :emoticon-0140-rofl::emoticon-0157-sun:

Blimey. I hope that sunshine is in your own private back garden. Those blue pills can be embarrassing if taken just before going out in public... do you need bail or a lawyer? :emoticon-0111-blush
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: davecg69