Off Topic Politics Thread

[ChilcoSaint]

The thing is, I may be misguided, but I don't see IOAG him(her?)self as an outright racist. It is just the casual, accepted racism that I used to hear that some people (eg Trump) are trying to make ok again in society. Trust me, I can spot a true racist a mile off.

As I said Mrs No7 is sometimes guilty of saying things without thinking that I call her out on. I know she isn't racist, but it needs to be pointed out how some things can be considered by a non white. I reiterate it isn't the 'loony left' or 'political correctness gone mad'. It is we have moved on as a society and some things are no longer acceptable.

In the past many comments or things would have been ignored, but in 2025 we are now a more multi racial society and some things are not acceptable.

Probably need to move on from this as I hold no beef with anyone (who is still allowed to post ) on here. I also don't feel anyone left is outright racist.

Exactly, which is pretty much why I didn’t ban IOAG for that post.

 

[saintlyhero]

Having seen the benefits of safe rooms, drugs testing in cities at raves and festivals and progressive moves toward decriminalisation I'm all in favour. There's a drop in deaths and need for emergency treatment, a reduction in crime and more successful rehabilitation programs.

The UK government will no doubt monitor its effectiveness on home soil and Glasgow is the ideal candidate given its high drug related death toll.

it must be propped up by well funded and easily accessible rehab program or we’ll just end up enabling people’s habits infinitum.

I am concerned by our high streets being increasing propped up financially by the proceeds of organised crime and potentially legitimising one of their primary sources of income could bring issues to our towns.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

The UK government will no doubt monitor its effectiveness on home soil and Glasgow is the ideal candidate given its high drug related death toll.

it must be propped up by well funded and easily accessible rehab program or we’ll just end up enabling people’s habits infinitum.

I am concerned by our high streets being increasing propped up financially by the proceeds of organised crime and potentially legitimising one of their primary sources of income could bring issues to our towns.

Organised crime enabled by grooming children to do their disgusting work for them.

 

[saintlyhero]

Organised crime enabled by grooming children to do their disgusting work for them.

Children and the men they bring over in rubber dinghies with promises of a better life before being thrown in the attic of terraced house to be a 24 hour “gardener”

The corruption in this country must run deep, but little appears to happen to deal with it.
Hopefully Sir Keir has a plan

 

[Ian Thumwood]

Some people need to remember that during the riots last year, troglodytes in Middlesbrough literally set up a race checkpoint on the road. Some people on this forum defended/minimised the rioting and tried to pass the concerns as legitimate.

My Filipina fiance is a nurse at the General and she has been told to go back to China more than once at work, her cousin who also lives here and is a nurse at the General too has a four year old daughter and someone did a 'slitty eyes' gesture at his child in Southampton.

Racism is not a bygone issue, even if it might not be as bad here as it once was.

We should remain on guard for it and call it out when it occurs, intentional or not.

My wife is Filipina too and she gets treated really well in Winchester..
.almost to the point of being spoiled.

I was staggered by the riots last summer and just feel that it was a consequence of social media. There was a very good Radio 4 documentary last autumn about the riots which highlighted that there were many protesters supporting immigrants. This rarely got mentioned. In my opinion the events with Elon Musk this week are an amification of the whole problem which is that the idiots are drowning out the voices of the more informed.

I woukd like to see a scenario like in John Lancaster's novel The Wall where residents of these Isles are deported for unacceptable and racist opinions.

 

[Ian Thumwood]

Excellent post along with others above which show the posturing of Musk, Farage and his reform Ltd cohorts plus the tories and their antics in parliament to be a disgrace, shameful.

I think it would be fascinating to see just how successful Farage government would be. They would quickly lose support and the economy would tank faster than you could say Liz Truss.

There are a few things I think will happen in the near future...

1. There will be an effort to remove Farage as MP for Clacton as he does not spend sufficient time with.his constituents.

2. I think that Trump will not see out his full term as President. He is clearly in mental decline and will be in his 80s if he served the full duration. I can see him being forced aside if he does not pop his clogs first. Just have a gut feel that he will not ride his luck this time around.

 

[Ian Thumwood]

The media wasn't or isn't as silent as you're being lead to believe funnily enough. There are of course the rabid right wing media reports, Mail GB News etc etc. This from the time of the budget and as other less sensational reports belies any comparison. Time will, as you say, tell.
"Why it’s unfair to compare the current market movement to catastrophic Truss mini-Budget.
Ignore the comparisons, writes Howard Mustoe – any suggestions that market concerns over Rachel Reeves’s Budget bear any similarity to the chaos that followed Liz Truss’s economic disaster are wide of the mark"
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/budget-2024-reeves-liz-truss-mini-budget-b2639510.html

Jambo


I usually agree with 100 % you but think that the media has moved on wth people not reading newspapers these days like they did. Is The Sun really that influential these days!

This is one argument which I feel no longer applies. Are Right Wing newspapers really setting the agenda ? I do not see that they are that influential anymore.

Most of the influence is coming from social media or online media outlets of unknown origin. Whenever I fire my laptop up, there are all sorts of alternative news sites offering outlandish views which make GB News seem like a bastion of sanity.

Back in the 1980s, some one like Musk or a media outlet like GB News would be ridiculed. The issue for me is that they are given too much credence. Why hasn't GB News been shut down yet....there has been plenty of opportunity to do this.

 

[Ian Thumwood]

You support a genuinely evil party.

The Tories were corrupt and mostly inept. But Labour under Starmer are genuinely, disgustingly evil.

How anyone can support these despicable humans is beyond me

Well, the disappointing thing for me is that Starmer is not really they different from , say , David Cameron. I do not see him as being the least bit despicable but more of a massive disappointment. Would much have ireferred Richard Burgon to be in charge.

Not quite sure how old you are but I get the impression you are early twenties. You do come come across as being mature as your opinions demonstrate a lack of understanding of how things are.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

I think it would be fascinating to see just how successful Farage government would be. They would quickly lose support and the economy would tank faster than you could say Liz Truss.

There are a few things I think will happen in the near future...

1. There will be an effort to remove Farage as MP for Clacton as he does not spend sufficient time with.his constituents.

2. I think that Trump will not see out his full term as President. He is clearly in mental decline and will be in his 80s if he served the full duration. I can see him being forced aside if he does not pop his clogs first. Just have a gut feel that he will not ride his luck this time around.

12 Reform councillors (they only have 50 in total) are threatening to resign over Farage’s leadership.

The interesting thing is that Farage is the majority shareholder in Reform Ltd. How does anyone actually remove him?

I agree about Trump, there are clear signs of dementia before he even takes office. The likely scenario is that the 25th Amendment is invoked and Vance becomes President.

 

[StJabbo1]

I think it would be fascinating to see just how successful Farage government would be. They would quickly lose support and the economy would tank faster than you could say Liz Truss.

There are a few things I think will happen in the near future...

1. There will be an effort to remove Farage as MP for Clacton as he does not spend sufficient time with.his constituents.

2. I think that Trump will not see out his full term as President. He is clearly in mental decline and will be in his 80s if he served the full duration. I can see him being forced aside if he does not pop his clogs first. Just have a gut feel that he will not ride his luck this time around.

1. What is rotten in the kingdom of Clacton? A dozen Reform UK councillors have given notice of their intention to resign in protest at Nigel Farage’s leadership. It's a company in which Farage holds a controlling interest. The councillors alleged the party was being run in an “autocratic manner” and accused Farage of “disloyalty” to long-term members. There are splits within the party over the jailed far-right activist Tommy Robinson, who is supported by Musk.

2. Quite possible if not probable. I wonder what will happen to the Trump tribe if/when he goes.

 

[Ian Thumwood]

Chilco

The Reform Party constitution has been amended so Farage can be removed. They are trying to make it more democratic yet they are cursed because they are nothing without Farage.

I just feel we are coming to the end of popularism as a movement. It will be hastened once Trump starts to fail but Reform are disaster waiting to happen. The most successful thing they have done is take the Tories down with them.

I have been disappointed by Starmer but this will be nothing in contrast with how Farage led government would perform. It is the only thing I agree with Musk about.

I think that Trump's administration will be a disaster and fail very quickly. The people will turn against him.

 

[StJabbo1]

Jambo


I usually agree with 100 % you but think that the media has moved on wth people not reading newspapers these days like they did. Is The Sun really that influential these days!

This is one argument which I feel no longer applies. Are Right Wing newspapers really setting the agenda ? I do not see that they are that influential anymore.

Most of the influence is coming from social media or online media outlets of unknown origin. Whenever I fire my laptop up, there are all sorts of alternative news sites offering outlandish views which make GB News seem like a bastion of sanity.

Back in the 1980s, some one like Musk or a media outlet like GB News would be ridiculed. The issue for me is that they are given too much credence. Why hasn't GB News been shut down yet....there has been plenty of opportunity to do this.

I should have included the online media, spiked, disclose tv and similar more extreme examples.

 

[ChilcoSaint]

You must log in or register to see media

 

[saintlyhero]

I think it would be fascinating to see just how successful Farage government would be. They would quickly lose support and the economy would tank faster than you could say Liz Truss.

There are a few things I think will happen in the near future...

1. There will be an effort to remove Farage as MP for Clacton as he does not spend sufficient time with.his constituents.

2. I think that Trump will not see out his full term as President. He is clearly in mental decline and will be in his 80s if he served the full duration. I can see him being forced aside if he does not pop his clogs first. Just have a gut feel that he will not ride his luck this time around.

I have not watched any Trump interviews/speeches since he has been elected, but I’ve not noticed any dementia, certainly no where near the scale we saw with Biden.

Republican do need to find a successor behind his cult of personality, but the democrats are in a similar situation

 

[Archers Road]

Well, the disappointing thing for me is that Starmer is not really they different from , say , David Cameron. I do not see him as being the least bit despicable but more of a massive disappointment. Would much have ireferred Richard Burgon to be in charge.

Not quite sure how old you are but I get the impression you are early twenties. You do come come across as being mature as your opinions demonstrate a lack of understanding of how things are.

Would David Cameron’s government have begun bringing the railways back into public ownership, banned no fault evictions by private landlords, committed to the biggest investment in social housing in a generation, announced a £1billion investment in homelessness services, and begun rolling out free breakfast clubs for every primary school child, within the first six months? Unlikely.

 

[Archers Road]

I have not watched any Trump interviews/speeches since he has been elected, but I’ve not noticed any dementia, certainly no where near the scale we saw with Biden.

Republican do need to find a successor behind his cult of personality, but the democrats are in a similar situation

Trying to wave Biden through in the hope no one would notice his cognitive decline, was a disaster for the Democrats.

Trump as President though? A garden gnome in a MAGA hat would have been a safer option for America and the world.

Time to declare the USA a failed experiment?

 

[San Tejón]

I normally stay away from financial arguments because I don’t know enough about how they work (doesn’t stop some though) but spotted this today.

What has spooked the financial markets?

Firstly, it’s not unique to the UK, regardless of what critics of the Labour government would have you believe. That said, ongoing concerns about Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget haven’t helped.

Globally there has been a rise in the cost of government borrowing sparked by investor concerns that Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China will push up inflation with worldwide implications.

In the UK, that has driven up government bonds – gilts – with the rate on 10-year gilts reaching the highest since 2008.

 

[thereisonlyoneno7]

I have not watched any Trump interviews/speeches since he has been elected, but I’ve not noticed any dementia, certainly no where near the scale we saw with Biden.

Republican do need to find a successor behind his cult of personality, but the democrats are in a similar situation

Agree with the last sentence, and a bit with the first.

The 'cognitive measure' against Biden is a low bar.

He isn't anywhere near cognitive impairment, but IMO the signs are there and in the next 5 years who knows. Lol I'm no doctor though, so what do I know. That said, the microscope is out for every step and word he makes, so we will notice it more than I do say on my 83 year old Dad.

 

[StJabbo1]

I normally stay away from financial arguments because I don’t know enough about how they work (doesn’t stop some though) but spotted this today.

What has spooked the financial markets?

Firstly, it’s not unique to the UK, regardless of what critics of the Labour government would have you believe. That said, ongoing concerns about Chancellor Rachel Reeves’ autumn Budget haven’t helped.

Globally there has been a rise in the cost of government borrowing sparked by investor concerns that Donald Trump’s planned tariffs on imports from Canada, Mexico and China will push up inflation with worldwide implications.

In the UK, that has driven up government bonds – gilts – with the rate on 10-year gilts reaching the highest since 2008.

That won't suit the agenda of the rabid right they're not at all concerned about accurate reporting or posting. they don't let the truth get in the way of a bit of Reeves bashing

 

[saintlyhero]

Trying to wave Biden through in the hope no one would notice his cognitive decline, was a disaster for the Democrats.

Trump as President though? A garden gnome in a MAGA hat would have been a safer option for America and the world.

Time to declare the USA a failed experiment?

Trumps bark is worse than his bite really, mainly a lot of hot air