Off Topic Politics Thread

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fatletiss said:
Add to this, the biggest selling national newspapers in order are: The Sun, The Daily Mail and The Mirror. The people reading these intellectual sources of information will have a great affect on the result. This is why I really don't like the idea of the referendum.

I rarely show my political hand, however I do have a concern on what the effects on my job could be should we vote "out."
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They may be the biggest selling dailies but the Sun has a circulation of only around 3 or 4 million. The Daily Mail, the bastion of Middle England, far fewer. On that basis do papers have such an impact on the mentality of Joe Public?
 
saintlyhero said:
I think in the main people don't like change and only do so when pushed.
A few people do pay attention to UKIP about the issues of being in Europe, but ultimately I don't suspect anyone has had their personal lives adversely effected by our EU membership and most of us take the advantages we've gained from being an EU member for granted.

I have not made my personal decision yet and will try and take in all the evidence I can and hope my bullshit filter serves me proud. Currently if the vote was tomorrow, I would remain....I don't like change!
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Bit like the General Election last May when all the papers and pundits were predicting a hung Parliament, and what did we end up with?
 
The Ides of March said:
They may be the biggest selling dailies but the Sun has a circulation of only around 3 or 4 million. The Daily Mail, the bastion of Middle England, far fewer. On that basis do papers have such an impact on the mentality of Joe Public?
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Also half of the Sun readers only look at the pictures. Of course this means they are even less informed. :(
 
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The Ides of March said:
They may be the biggest selling dailies but the Sun has a circulation of only around 3 or 4 million. The Daily Mail, the bastion of Middle England, far fewer. On that basis do papers have such an impact on the mentality of Joe Public?
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I'd still say yes. How many times are they quoted in here for football for example....
 
Lff said:
The immigration issue apart, I don't think that any of the other things you mention should be affected. But therein lies the problem, we actually have no way of knowing what the outcome would be should we vote to leave.

As for immigration, we are pretty much a nation of immigrants so immigrants themselves aren't the issue. The problem is one of benefits. Many people come here willing and able to work but some don't. Even those who do are entitled to maternity leave, for example.

I was talking with a Pole recently, a very nice and conscientious chap I should add, and I asked him why he thought so many east Europeans choose to come to England. He said, well you like a drink; imagine you are walking down a road with 6 pubs in it. One of the pubs is offering free beer. Which one are you going to choose?
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The greater bulk of benefits are paid to people in work because employers pay the statuary minimum wage which is not a living wage. Logic tells me that we are not subsidising poor people we are subsidising rich employers who pay their workers badly.
 
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St Godders said:
The greater bulk of benefits are paid to people in work because employers pay the statuary minimum wage which is not a living wage. Logic tells me that we are not subsidising poor people we are subsidising rich employers who pay their workers badly.
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I've always thought that was the problem with tax credits it just means that employers can pay less. If there weren't tax credits people would leave for other jobs and therefore employers would have to pay a better rate to retain them. I think they were probably introduced with good intentions but their introduction passed me by.
 
St Godders said:
The greater bulk of benefits are paid to people in work because employers pay the statuary minimum wage which is not a living wage. Logic tells me that we are not subsidising poor people we are subsidising rich employers who pay their workers badly.
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There a great deal of truth in what you say and it is a scandal. However, you have a certain way of looking at the world and you tend to interpret everything to fit your world view. Its not a criticism, its a fact. We all do it. However, it tends to oversimplify a tremendously complex issue and as much as what you are saying is true you must also accept that a number (how many, I don't know) of people come here to utilise our benefits system or the NHS.

Its no coincidence that when Cameron put in a proposal to limit benefits, the countries who complained were the likes of Poland. This is the problem with any kind of political integration, our systems are just so different. My proposal would be that people can move around Europe but, unless they change their nationality, their country of birth should actually be the one that foots the bill for any benefits received. That will never happen!
 
Whiteley Saint said:
I've always thought that was the problem with tax credits it just means that employers can pay less. If there weren't tax credits people would leave for other jobs and therefore employers would have to pay a better rate to retain them. I think they were probably introduced with good intentions but their introduction passed me by.
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This happened at the beginning of the 19th century with the Speenhamland Agreement which meant that farmers paid their labourers less because their wages would be topped up by the poor law overseers. The consequence was mass rioting and the transportation of rioters in 1830.
 
I was very disappointed to hear our prime minister stoop to personal insult at PMQs re the leader of the opposition's attire. May be Mr Corbyn should where a T shirt next week with the words, 'Are you ever going to answer a question'? on it... We have our niece staying with us this week. 25 years young and her comment was 'of all our political leaders Mr Corbyn is the only one who seems a nice guy'. May be over time this will become more and more apparent.
 
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The truly amusing thing about PMQs today is that, once again, the manufactured lefty outrage has allowed DC to control the narrative.
 
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