Off Topic The "Discuss Anything Else" Thread

Not sure which thread to post this on as it covers so many areas (many not Eurozone):

Mayor of London, Sadiq Khan tweets: “I want to send a clear message to Londoners, business and investors around the world #LondonIsOpen”

At the ‘Pride’ parade in London, Jeremy Corbyn responded to a Brexit heckler, “I did all I could” (forgetting the caveat about being somebody who does not really believe in the EU and had to use spurious workers’ rights and environment ideals as reasons to say vote Remain).

London-centric Labour MP David Lammy (should I be xenophobic and point out that he is black?) is suggesting that he should put a motion before Parliament that it does NOT ratify the result of the EU Referendum, despite the fact that the 52-48 decision is a greater margin of victory than most MPs enjoy. I have tweeted Mr Lammy to point out that the Labour IN campaign chairman saw his own constituents vote 67% LEAVE, which is clearly undemocratic of the Labour sheep.

A Morgan Stanley spokesman has told LBC that stories about moving 2,000 investment banking jobs out of London because of Brexit are “totally false”.

Bloomberg report that their new London offices will be opening next year, so their 4,000 employees need not worry.

The German Finance Ministry has drawn up a proposal recommending that the UK be given “associate partner country” status with the EU – if only we knew what that means (other than no tariffs on German car imports).

The USA, Canada and Germany reportedly all want to arrange special trade deals with the UK. Iceland are reportedly intending to raise the possibility of a trade deal through the EFTA. Seems like being outside the EU is not all Eurogeddon as described – if we can find enough people to negotiate the deals!

JP Morgan brokerage note: “Economists may have got carried away with negative forecasts.”

Andrew Neil reports that the UK government can borrow at just 1.08 per cent for ten years or just under 2 per cent for thirty years. Somebody get on the dog and bone to HM Government and tell them to borrow the money and start spending it on infrastructure NOW. This is the gift horse that should be grabbed with both hands to create sustainable growth in the economy (to end austerity). Sod Keynes and all the other theories – start building things we need at home and the money gets spent in the economy generating taxes that pay back the loan. Only garrulous ideologist George Osborne cannot see it. This is not an EU membership issue so grab it.

 

I don't want to sound like too much of a knob, but who is it?

 

An amazing wet race at Assen. The race has been stopped with 12 laps to go, not too many of the riders were happy with the red flag. These blokes have either big nads or no brains. Hope it restarts in the rain, it certainly makes for exciting racing.

 

Straying slightly off the (theoretical) subject of this thread, the last couple of days have been a microcosm of what I think is happening in global politics (and has been happening unreported for quite some time). That is that everybody is fed up with the accepted political establishment.

Here in Britain, the ruling Conservative Party once again finds itself fractured over Europe, a subject that has finished off the last three Tory Prime Ministers. They may be able to get away with it this time because the official opposition is in even more of a mess. Quite who will be PM in October is anybody’s guess but it will not be Boris.

There is no doubt in my mind that Vote Remain lost the Referendum because of the Labour Party. When campaigning started, Vote Leave already had 4 million UKIP votes in the bag (those that voted for UKIP at the last general election even though their votes only generated one seat in Parliament). Labour should have been able to at least cancel this out with half of the 9 million voters that stuck with Miliband.

Whilst the vast majority of the Parliamentary Labour Party supported Remain, they are totally out of touch with their constituents in the North and the Midlands, who ignored the official party line and voted Leave. The leader of the Labour IN group saw two-thirds of his West Hull & Hessle constituents vote Leave, no doubt watching from his home in South London.

It seems almost inevitable that there will have to be another schism of Labour similar to when Roy Jenkins, David Owen, Bill Rodgers and Shirley Williams split to found the SDP. Once again the centre-ground Labour MPs will have to break away and leave the unelectable loony left Corbyn and his acolytes to wither and die with their hard-core Militant and Trot supporters.

Nicola Sturgeon clearly has some ideas beyond her actual powers, as the Referendum Act was legislated in the UK Parliament at Westminster so she has no power to veto the ratification of the result just because she does not like it. Her fifty MPs can vote against it and so can any other MPs that are Remain-minded but defying the will of the people could have very serious consequences.

 

So hold on a minute...did you really just say you want the totally unqualified unelected inheritant of an outdated medieval institution to take charge of the sinking ship David Cameron just abandoned?

You think that way, and you are part of the electorate the soon to be ex PM chose to consult about our nation's future? Jesus. We're more ****ed than I realised.

 

I'll get over my anger - eventually. Not sure there's any cure for monumental stupidity though.

 

There is a long tradition in the Royal Family: whatever qualifications William has got are dependent on how clever his Royal Protection officer was when he sat the exams. Just like his dad. Not sure it would be so smart dragging him into this as the nation’s youth are probably only interested in their prospects of getting a Selfie with him and Kate.

Would rather have the Royal Family as a bunch of publicity generating figureheads than a joke elected president. Look at the mess the French have been in since they lopped the heads off all their Aristos.

The concept of the sovereign dates back way before the medieval era. The sinking ship is called the European Union. We have decided to abandon it. Others may opt for the lifeboats too.

Monumental stupidity = the Labour Party leadership

 

Am all for "democracy", but I fail to see this virtue in many of the Brexit leaders, especially the fascist Farage and the goon Johnson. I wish the Scots luck in their veto attempt, hope they succeed. The Royal Family are ceremonial figureheads, that's all. Charles is useless, William and Kate are very nice people but Will is hardly the Duke of Wellington. Harry is, well, very brave but in all honesty just one of the lads. Good guy though.

The EU ship has not sunk yet, far from it.

 

Those protestors that I have seen on the news holding up placards stating “I am not British I am European” should bugger off and live in France, where unemployment is 10 per cent (youth unemployment 25 per cent).

 

Really?

http://www.dw.com/en/dustmann-brexit-campaigners-did-not-hesitate-to-lie/a-19358149

 

Some really revealing posts on here -this referendum has made people drop their guard and show their true colours or lack of........

Tory party totally incapable of governing -labour has a couple of hundred careerists who are doing everything to save their pathetic roles -and then there is a huge vacuum that is up for grabs -interesting times -royalty are a figurehead for the ruling class -and in times of crisis they become a refuge for weak hearts -who do soldiers swear allegiance to -not the government -......

 

What is required at this precise moment is a figurehead leader. Somebody capable of sorting out this mess and leading the country through troubled times. Name me one candidate!