Tories are still lying *******s

[James310]

Does govt set interest rates?


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They used to, first thing Gordon Brown did when he became Chancellor was to make the BoE Independent from Government.

[Moulin Yarns]

It's 3.5% now

My bad, I read it as inflation. Oops it was a long day.

[grunt]

All this talk of interest rates compared to years ago is interesting, but only part of the issue. Yes, my first flat was bought with a mortgage with an interest rate of 15%, but the house prices were much lower, and it was only 3 or 4 times my salary. So while the interest rates were v high, it was still relatively affordable. That's not the case these days. IMO "mortgages would have been more expensive" is a simplistic response to a much more complicated issue.

[Ozyhibby]

All this talk of interest rates compared to years ago is interesting, but only part of the issue. Yes, my first flat was bought with a mortgage with an interest rate of 15%, but the house prices were much lower, and it was only 3 or 4 times my salary. So while the interest rates were v high, it was still relatively affordable. That's not the case these days. IMO "mortgages would have been more expensive" is a simplistic response to a much more complicated issue.

Correct. The percentage of our wages spent on housing has risen.


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[Stairway 2 7]

All this talk of interest rates compared to years ago is interesting, but only part of the issue. Yes, my first flat was bought with a mortgage with an interest rate of 15%, but the house prices were much lower, and it was only 3 or 4 times my salary. So while the interest rates were v high, it was still relatively affordable. That's not the case these days. IMO "mortgages would have been more expensive" is a simplistic response to a much more complicated issue.

Add in minimal council houses and it's the reason kids on average leave home at 25 now. Rose from 22 in just over a decade. I read by the end of the decade, over 50% of 25-34yos will be living with parents. Hate to be young now

[grunt]

This Tory party should be renamed the Bankers Support Party.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/Fl2ZsDlWAAADOkj?format=jpg&name=large

[Santa Cruz]

Didn't know where to post this, could rightly apply to the Labour Party thread too (David Lammy not coming out this looking good). Posted here as Tories are the highest earners.

If interested you can search to see how much each MP declared as additional earnings (and gifts).

It's not the most user friendly website I've looked at, jumps about a bit imo.

https://news.sky.com/westminsteraccounts

[Lendo]

Didn't know where to post this, could rightly apply to the Labour Party thread too (David Lammy not coming out this looking good). Posted here as Tories are the highest earners.

If interested you can search to see how much each MP declared as additional earnings (and gifts).

It's not the most user friendly website I've looked at, jumps about a bit imo.

https://news.sky.com/westminsteraccounts

Dougas Ross being paid by a foreign nation raises a few questions

[Kato]

Dougas Ross being paid by a foreign nation raises a few questionsWhat's that all about then?



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[Mibbes Aye]

Didn't know where to post this, could rightly apply to the Labour Party thread too (David Lammy not coming out this looking good). Posted here as Tories are the highest earners.

If interested you can search to see how much each MP declared as additional earnings (and gifts).

It's not the most user friendly website I've looked at, jumps about a bit imo.

https://news.sky.com/westminsteraccounts

The vast majority of David Lammy's outside earnings are from him being paid for his weekly talk radio show on LBC.

On that show he's dealt civilly but firmly with callers telling him he can't call himself English because he is black. He has also used it as a vehicle to absolutely tear into Johnson, Truss and Sunak for their dishonesty, lack of honour and general fecklessness.

He won't be able to keep the job if he ends up at the Cabinet table but for the meantime I'm extremely comfortable with him doing it.

[Santa Cruz]

The vast majority of David Lammy's outside earnings are from him being paid for his weekly talk radio show on LBC.

On that show he's dealt civilly but firmly with callers telling him he can't call himself English because he is black. He has also used it as a vehicle to absolutely tear into Johnson, Truss and Sunak for their dishonesty, lack of honour and general fecklessness.

He won't be able to keep the job if he ends up at the Cabinet table but for the meantime I'm extremely comfortable with him doing it.

It's not the vast majority of cash earnings that jumped out at me. It's the 59 different sources. Might be small amounts in the scale of things alonside his payment from LBC, but how does he justify taking £3k here and there from the likes of Google, Facebook, M&S, etc. If he was my MP and I'm looking at that as I contact him to ask for support with my own financial concerns, I'd be asking does he fully focus on his main job of representing my needs. Thinks ths is for another thread btw. :aok:

[Lendo]

What's that all about then?



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Appears he have received a £7,850 “gift” from Qatar’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.

[cabbageandribs1875]

Inside the Westminster Accounts - how the database was created | Politics News | Sky News (https://news.sky.com/story/inside-the-westminster-accounts-how-the-database-was-created-12762435?fbclid=IwAR2-TVS6AMniYCTDHUXQNOioC9qCjnmDGepPmAGzwTM-T9D3ARIkQl1_NmE)

Westminster Accounts: Following the money | Politics News | Sky News (https://news.sky.com/story/westminster-accounts-following-the-money-12781998?fbclid=IwAR19VhqqoDG2eeRwB4H8SQUCGsfVKQtd 2eIVGaeDRYw-YH9Y6alMkgmS7h0)

Westminster Accounts: Transparency in politics often feels like it falls short - we want to shine a light on that | Politics News | Sky News (https://news.sky.com/story/westminster-accounts-transparency-in-politics-often-feels-like-it-falls-short-we-want-to-shine-a-light-on-that-12781109?fbclid=IwAR0e9TkIDpFi3lQqAKQ79cMLhzwbncAw SEjcXF6Rborr8oO7Zr77Hvf8y7Y)

[Kato]

Appears he have received a £7,850 “gift” from Qatar’s Ministry for Foreign Affairs.It'll be one of those nightgoon things they gave Messi.

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[grunt]

A CONSERVATIVE peer who advised the Government during the coronavirus pandemic helped a company secure PPE contracts worth £50 million after he was introduced to the firm by a fellow Tory peer.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/23236901.peer-helped-secure-50m-ppe-deal-firm-linked-fellow-tory/

https://t.co/kZhNc8H3Jd

We need to get far away from this criminally corrupt Tory Government.

[grunt]

"No tricks, no ambiguity".

https://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/exclusive-rishi-sunak-accused-quietly-editing-one-of-pm-promises_uk_63b844f4e4b0d6724fc39a07?utm_campaign= share_twitter&ncid=engmodushpmg00000004


Downing Street has been accused of “quietly editing” one of Rishi Sunak’s five new promises to voters.

[grunt]

A third of Conservative peers in the House of Lords have not spoken in the chamber in months – despite the party demanding minimum service levels for public servants who plan to go on strike.

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/01/09/conservatives-branded-hypocrites-over-minimum-service-law-threat-to-unions-as-lords-are-no-shows/

[Stairway 2 7]

Businesses will be decimated as the energy support goes

https://archive.ph/pcbVn

[grunt]

I used to love these spot the difference puzzles when I was young ...

Virgin Orbit tweet June 2022:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FmG5dHCXEAACCYQ?format=jpg&name=medium

Grant Shapps tweet yesterday:

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FmG5juGXEAIzGwc?format=jpg&name=medium

[grunt]

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/rishi-sunak-travelled-to-leeds-by-jet-plane-for-hospital-visit-373550


Rishi Sunak travelled to Leeds by jet plane for hospital visit

[Bostonhibby]

https://www.joe.co.uk/news/rishi-sunak-travelled-to-leeds-by-jet-plane-for-hospital-visit-373550[emoji16]

It's been pointed out to me that's what Stalin used to do. Every time he had people of any significance around him executed he had them taken out of photos so photos could be reused.

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[Bostonhibby]

Slippery Shapps (if that's the name he is still using) Having a busy day fibbing with authority today?

https://twitter.com/PeterStefanovi2/status/1612837324890542081?t=UdGKDSY3UUBFNRss93c0Zg&s=08

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[Bostonhibby]

Amateurshttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230110/99bc9fccfc4b2e887c69f61ee3fa09b2.jpg

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[JimBHibees]

Slippery Shapps (if that's the name he is still using) Having a busy day fibbing with authority today?

https://twitter.com/PeterStefanovi2/status/1612837324890542081?t=UdGKDSY3UUBFNRss93c0Zg&s=08

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Did he change his name? Why would the interviewer not correct him?

[Bostonhibby]

Did he change his name? Why would the interviewer not correct him?https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/15/grant-shapps-admits-he-had-second-job-as-millioniare-web-marketer-while-mp

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[Hibrandenburg]

https://twitter.com/savanQadir/status/1611747732191838209?t=C5_rAa7B125ZFCqIJwn9cA&s=19

Tactics devised in a 1920's German prison cell.

[Kato]

https://twitter.com/savanQadir/status/1611747732191838209?t=C5_rAa7B125ZFCqIJwn9cA&s=19

Tactics devised in a 1920's German prison cell.Coupled with the adage "there's one born every minute" = poison.

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[Stairway 2 7]

Absolute prick. Teachers are striking because their wages have been slaughtered and they are being asked to take another wage cut.

https://mobile.twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1612826294827495425

Jonathan Gullis says striking teachers are "Commies and Bolsheviks" deliberately "making sure that kids suffer."

[wookie70]

Absolute prick. Teachers are striking because their wages have been slaughtered and they are being asked to take another wage cut.

https://mobile.twitter.com/PoliticsJOE_UK/status/1612826294827495425

Jonathan Gullis says striking teachers are "Commies and Bolsheviks" deliberately "making sure that kids suffer."

Who is thick enough to fall for that utter tripe. Surely even working Tories must understand that this is simply propaganda with not a shred of truth. The saddest thing is I checked just to be sure he was a Tory as you can never be sure these days. It always interests me that they use Russian references as he will likely have Putin to thank in part for his election win. What does Baron mean in this context. It is of course the lowest peerage and what the Tory MPs view themselves while doffing their caps to those above them and standing on the shoulders of those that make wealth. They are the lowest form of life imo.

[Stairway 2 7]

When you think they couldn't get lower. Conservative mp Andrew brigden invokes the holocaust whilst talking about vaccines. To be fair tory mp Simon Clarke calls it disgraceful

https://mobile.twitter.com/SimonClarkeMP/status/1613122294955802625

[JimBHibees]

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/politics/2015/mar/15/grant-shapps-admits-he-had-second-job-as-millioniare-web-marketer-while-mp

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Wow

[Kato]

When you think they couldn't get lower. Conservative mp Andrew brigden invokes the holocaust whilst talking about vaccines. To be fair tory mp Simon Clarke calls it disgraceful

https://mobile.twitter.com/SimonClarkeMP/status/1613122294955802625Since losing out on his case with a property dispute with his family he's probably struggling. What better way to earn a buck for a lying conniver than to attempt an anti vax grift. Plenty platforms love these toads.

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[Santa Cruz]

Parody Rishi on Andrew Brigden yesterday, before his own tweet today. Shouldn't laugh, but sometimes you just have to, that's how ridculous it has become.

https://twitter.com/Parody_PM/status/1612823541321277440?cxt=HHwWgIC9need8-EsAAAA

[Stairway 2 7]

Pippa Crerar
@PippaCrerar
·

Chief Whip SImon Hart said: “Andrew Bridgen has crossed a line, causing great offence in the process... Misinformation about the vaccine causes harm and costs lives. I am therefore removing the whip from Andrew Bridgen with immediate effect, pending a formal investigation

[CropleyWasGod]

A metaphor for the current Tory party? We know we stole it from you, but you're not getting it back. Finders keepers.

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1613197281796169729?t=5CszH33q0Ce1qgPmf3vIag&s=19

[grunt]

A metaphor for the current Tory party? We know we stole it from you, but you're not getting it back. Finders keepers.

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1613197281796169729?t=5CszH33q0Ce1qgPmf3vIag&s=19Indeed.

She was on the @TheNewsAgents podcast. Her voice really grates. She managed to hold (IMO) two completely contradictory views on BBC impartiality in relation to Gary Lineker and Robbie Gibb.

[Bostonhibby]

A metaphor for the current Tory party? We know we stole it from you, but you're not getting it back. Finders keepers.

https://twitter.com/BBCPolitics/status/1613197281796169729?t=5CszH33q0Ce1qgPmf3vIag&s=19Nasty Party being nasty and playing to it's inward looking support base. Whodathunkit.

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[Santa Cruz]

PM in Edinburgh tonight to meet with the FM. MSM making reference to the GRA legislation and energy and health crisis.

[grunt]

Tories are still lying ...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FmNK8qZXEAw_C2X?format=jpg&name=large

[grunt]

PM in Edinburgh tonight to meet with the FM. MSM making reference to the GRA legislation and energy and health crisis.
FM now meeting her 5th Tory PM. Strong and stable?

[grunt]

Partygate #435

https://t.co/Y20mn3B1sE


Johnson aides ‘had sex’ at No 10 lockdown party | News | The Times

[cabbageandribs1875]

always well turned out

https://scontent.fman1-1.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/322497660_1482597958930524_1993015784571043959_n.j pg?stp=cp6_dst-jpg&_nc_cat=103&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=8bfeb9&_nc_ohc=eXlkwigSvlAAX-dIYm4&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-1.fna&oh=00_AfB5lykzcMFvk2tze9sLKwCla0Eq5HyjwlhcmLiQnyse Dw&oe=63C583A7



Boris Johnson staff ‘had sex at No 10 lockdown party’ (msn.com) (https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknews/boris-johnson-staff-had-sex-at-no-10-lockdown-party/ar-AA16fBvg?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c2af3d1bf03f45eca808a888ccc3a5c8)

[grunt]

Thank you Tories.

https://www.reuters.com/world/uk/imf-warns-that-uk-faces-sobering-economic-outlook-2023-01-12/


The outlook for the UK economy is sobering: for 2023, output is expected to contract and inflation to remain elevated.

[grunt]

Thank you Tories.

https://www.theneweuropean.co.uk/happy-new-year-the-worst-is-yet-to-come/


What should happen instead is that we finally start to see ourselves as we really are: ageing, cold, poor, badly governed and appallingly led by a selfish and uncaring, divisive elite, pursuing damaging fantasy policies that have brought us to this pass, and yet still with delusions of grandeur.

Welcome to 2023. Have a happy new year.

[cabbageandribs1875]

https://scontent.fman1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/323095346_3065974467029248_3725419839118382378_n.j pg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=VTFm8suDdBEAX9ZePT8&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-2.fna&oh=00_AfARGtD1Hd2Q1a9HRnh7iHZUIsfnFto4vUwWt_s_4e3_ nQ&oe=63C5323E

[Moulin Yarns]

Partygate #435

https://t.co/Y20mn3B1sE

So much more social distancing 😂

[JimBHibees]

https://scontent.fman1-2.fna.fbcdn.net/v/t39.30808-6/323095346_3065974467029248_3725419839118382378_n.j pg?_nc_cat=107&ccb=1-7&_nc_sid=730e14&_nc_ohc=VTFm8suDdBEAX9ZePT8&_nc_ht=scontent.fman1-2.fna&oh=00_AfARGtD1Hd2Q1a9HRnh7iHZUIsfnFto4vUwWt_s_4e3_ nQ&oe=63C5323E

Sickening

[JimBHibees]

Tories are still lying ...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FmNK8qZXEAw_C2X?format=jpg&name=large

They can't stop doing so

[Bostonhibby]

https://twitter.com/carolvorders/status/1614176074837159937?t=9VJ5_CszbbgTNR32-_oefQ&s=08

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[Jones28]

I see Suella Braverman has outdone herself again by refusing to acknowledge her language around refugees is poison. It was put to her by a holocaust survivor.

I despair when people in Scotland think we’re better off being a part of the UK when things like this happen.

[Kato]

I see Suella Braverman has outdone herself again by refusing to acknowledge her language around refugees is poison. It was put to her by a holocaust survivor.

I despair when people in Scotland think we’re better off being a part of the UK when things like this happen.The Scottish cultural equivalent to the Tory Party is the worst of those who support The Rangers FC.

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[ronaldo7]

I see Suella Braverman has outdone herself again by refusing to acknowledge her language around refugees is poison. It was put to her by a holocaust survivor.

I despair when people in Scotland think we’re better off being a part of the UK when things like this happen.

They're all on the independence thread pretending to be swing voters. 😂

[Moulin Yarns]

They're all on the independence thread pretending to be swing voters. 😂

I never realised that there were so many swingers in the Hibs support. Mind you, some are swingers who never post about hibs. 😉

[J-C]

I never realised that there were so many swingers in the Hibs support. Mind you, some are swingers who never post about hibs. 😉


:agree:

[Ozyhibby]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21046397/chancellor-nadhim-zahawi-tax/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebarweb

Chancellor not paying his taxes. That’s what the UK has become.


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[Bostonhibby]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/news/21046397/chancellor-nadhim-zahawi-tax/?utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social&utm_campaign=sharebarweb

Chancellor not paying his taxes. That’s what the UK has become.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkI nearly said the poor man had his stables to heat and think of the horses.

Then I remembered the tax payer was also paying to heat his stables.

Epitome of the current shameless brass necked culture that is endemic throughout the Nasty Party and he is rarely clever enough not to get caught.

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[Ozyhibby]

I nearly said the poor man had his stables to heat and think of the horses.

Then I remembered the tax payer was also paying to heat his stables.

Epitome of the current shameless brass necked culture that is endemic throughout the Nasty Party and he is rarely clever enough not to get caught.

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Doesn’t matter if they are caught. There are no consequences.


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[Kato]

Doesn’t matter if they are caught. There are no consequences.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThey make the rules.

The rules are designed for their advantage.

They take advantage of the rules.

When has the Tory Party been different?

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[Bostonhibby]

They make the rules.

The rules are designed for their advantage.

They take advantage of the rules.

When has the Tory Party been different?

Sent from my SM-A528B using TapatalkYou missed they are laughing at us, especially tragic when you consider all the newly impoverished who voted for this nest of vipers.

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[Kato]

You missed they are laughing at us, especially tragic when you consider all the newly impoverished who voted for this nest of vipers.

Sent from my SM-A750FN using Tapatalk...and 30 new billionaires in 2022...

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[Ozyhibby]

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-claim-alister-jack-has-questions-to-answer-over-ps2million-covid-loan-from-uk-government-3989137

Busy day for Alistair Jack. Looks like his company trousered £2m from the govt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[CropleyWasGod]

https://www.scotsman.com/news/politics/snp-claim-alister-jack-has-questions-to-answer-over-ps2million-covid-loan-from-uk-government-3989137

Busy day for Alistair Jack. Looks like his company trousered £2m from the govt.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm not getting the controversy over this, tbh.

[Ozyhibby]

I'm not getting the controversy over this, tbh.

Think the company hasn’t filed their accounts in a timely manner and is under investigation.


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[CropleyWasGod]

Think the company hasn’t filed their accounts in a timely manner and is under investigation.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

The accounts are less than 3 weeks overdue. Companies House don't mount "investigations" into companies whose accounts are that overdue. They fine them and, ultimately, strike them off.

Jack and his family, according to the last Confirmation Statement, have less than 1% of the shares. He isn't on the Board.

It was a loan. There has been no suggestion that the loan hasn't been, or won't be, repaid.

There are many things to decry the Tories about. IMO I can't see this as being one of them.

[James310]

The accounts are less than 2 weeks overdue. Companies House don't mount "investigations" into companies whose accounts are that overdue. They fine them and, ultimately, strike them off.

Jack and his family, according to the last Confirmation Statement, have less than 1% of the shares. He isn't on the Board.

It was a loan. There has been no suggestion that the loan hasn't been, or won't be, repaid.

There are many things to decry the Tories about. IMO I can't see this as being one of them.

Does this fall into the 'desperate' category when trying to score political points?

[Hibbyradge]

Does this fall into the 'desperate' category when trying to score political points?

Possibly, but yours definitely does! :greengrin

[grunt]

Now we learn from the Sunday Times about an arrangement where a distant cousin of Johnson’s, a rich Canadian named Sam Blyth, guaranteed the cash-strapped prime minister an £800,000 line of credit to help fund his wallpaper habit.

https://thecritic.co.uk/clear-them-all-out/


Should a prime minister be allowed to accept a very large gift from a rich foreign person and keep it a secret? This does not feel like one of the trickier propriety and ethics questions. And yet, somehow, it turns out that it was.

[CropleyWasGod]

Does this fall into the 'desperate' category when trying to score political points?

In what way? It's publicly available information.

[James310]

In what way? It's publicly available information.

Because it's a non story.

[CropleyWasGod]

Because it's a non story.

My post?

[James310]

My post?

No, the story about Alistair Jack.

[CropleyWasGod]

No, the story about Alistair Jack.

Ah ok.

In that case, I agree with Radge :greengrin

[Hibbyradge]

Ah ok.

In that case, I agree with Radge :greengrin

:smug:

I've bookmarked that!

[Smartie]

Is it because so many arguments (Scottish Independence, Brexit, Westminster Politics in general) are now blighted by straw man arguments, irrelevance, triviality, mudslinging and utter bollocks that the Tories are more than ever able to hide in plain sight for the genuinely deplorable things that they do?

Subjects I once found engaging and interesting I'm finding more and more to be a chore to follow.

[CropleyWasGod]

:smug:

I've bookmarked that!

Desperate

[Hibbyradge]

Desperate

I'll take anything I can get!

:hilarious

[Kato]

Is it because so many arguments (Scottish Independence, Brexit, Westminster Politics in general) are now blighted by straw man arguments, irrelevance, triviality, mudslinging and utter bollocks that the Tories are more than ever able to hide in plain sight for the genuinely deplorable things that they do?

Subjects I once found engaging and interesting I'm finding more and more to be a chore to follow.

Not far off Johnsons strategy of making so many gaffs people don't know which one to concentrate on.

There is so much noise and so many in public office acting in bad faith that switching off for some is guaranteed.

https://twitter.com/Deadferrets/status/1488769272805572608?t=LCs6hh60j3jYq9FUI1Ll_g&s=09

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[grunt]

****ing Tories.

https://www.theguardian.com/technology/2023/jan/17/donelan-confirms-stiffer-online-safety-measures-after-backbench-pressure?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other


Under a further change to the bill, video footage that shows people crossing the Channel in small boats in a “positive light” will be added to a list of illegal content that all tech platforms must proactively prevent from reaching users.

Donelan said posting positive videos of crossings could be aiding and abetting immigration offences. Natalie Elphicke, the Conservative MP for Dover, had originally tabled an amendment proposing the change.

[grunt]

****ing Tories #2


Human Rights Watch investigates and reports on abuses happening in all corners of the world. We are roughly 550 plus people of 70-plus nationalities who are country experts, lawyers, journalists, and others who work to protect the most at risk, from vulnerable minorities and civilians in wartime, to refugees and children in need. We direct our advocacy towards governments, armed groups and businesses, pushing them to change or enforce their laws, policies and practices. To ensure our independence, we refuse government funding and carefully review all donations to ensure that they are consistent with our policies, mission, and values. We partner with organizations large and small across the globe to protect embattled activists and to help hold abusers to account and bring justice to victims.

https://www.hrw.org/news/2023/01/12/human-rights-watch-issues-damning-verdict-uk


(London) – The United Kingdom (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023/country-chapters/united-kingdom) government repeatedly sought to damage and undermine human rights protections in 2022, Human Rights Watch said today in its World Report (https://www.hrw.org/world-report/2023) 2023.

“In 2022, we saw the most significant assault on human rights protections in the UK in decades,” said Yasmine Ahmed (https://www.hrw.org/about/people/yasmine-ahmed), UK director at Human Rights Watch. “From your right to protest to your ability to hold institutions to account, fundamental and hard-won rights are being systematically dismantled.”

[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/marinapurkiss/status/1615376446121205763?s=46&t=INWfDt3CWVYUBCBE0kVFog


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[Kato]

https://twitter.com/marinapurkiss/status/1615376446121205763?s=46&t=INWfDt3CWVYUBCBE0kVFog


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThis is just levelling up by building back better, or one of those, no? Seems like intelligent business people running rings around the Anti-Growth Coalition. Stuff like that.

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[Stairway 2 7]

Fraser Nelson is a tory prat but he exposes Hunt here for trying to claim its his doing that inflation is about to fall

https://mobile.twitter.com/FraserNelson/status/1615621982250221569

[Ozyhibby]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2023/jan/18/strikes-have-cost-government-more-than-a-settlement-would-have-rail-minister-confirms-video?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1674050765

Strikes have now cost more than it would have cost to settle the dispute.


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[TrumpIsAPeado]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/video/2023/jan/18/strikes-have-cost-government-more-than-a-settlement-would-have-rail-minister-confirms-video?utm_term=Autofeed&CMP=twt_gu&utm_medium&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1674050765

Strikes have now cost more than it would have cost to settle the dispute.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I'm sure the tories were more than aware that this would ultimately be the case and will use it to double down on anti-union coverage.

[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/pippacrerar/status/1615843218104410112?s=46&t=keanZtXCHaIclWcdysCc2g

Levelling up funds all going to already wealthy areas.


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[James310]

https://twitter.com/pippacrerar/status/1615843218104410112?s=46&t=keanZtXCHaIclWcdysCc2g

Levelling up funds all going to already wealthy areas.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Is Granton a wealthy area?

[Bostonhibby]

https://twitter.com/pippacrerar/status/1615843218104410112?s=46&t=keanZtXCHaIclWcdysCc2g

Levelling up funds all going to already wealthy areas.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkThe Richmond one is outrageous hardly the poorest part of the country, wonder who the MP is.

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[grunt]

https://bylinetimes.com/2023/01/19/landmark-ruling-in-strasbourg-as-mps-challenge-uk-government-over-failure-to-investigate-russian-interference-in-brexit/


Landmark Ruling in Strasbourg as MPs Challenge UK Government over Failure to Investigate Russian Interference in Brexit

[Ozyhibby]

Is Granton a wealthy area?

You never miss an opportunity to defend the Tories.[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]


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[James310]

You never miss an opportunity to defend the Tories.[emoji122][emoji122][emoji122]


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

You said all the money was going to wealthy areas, just pointing out that's wrong. Facts matter don't they? You don't want to be spreading misinformation? You were simply just wrong, that's all.

Elsewhere in Scotland:

A multi-storey car park in Dundee has been granted £14m for its redevelopment into a sustainable transport hub.

Nearly £20m will be spent to help demolish and reroute the A78 dual carriageway to reconnect and transform Greenock town centre.

The regeneration of Riverside Park in Fife and improved access to the River Leven will be accelerated with the award of more than £19.4m

In Cumbernauld, more than £9m will support the demolition and regeneration of two shopping centres and a vacant office block

Nearly £11.3m of funding will help free up land at a former coal-fired power station in East Lothian

Almost £18m will help Dumfries and Galloway turn redundant spaces and buildings into new cultural and leisure opportunities

[grunt]

You never miss an opportunity to defend the Tories.

Ah.

No conversation about the £2bn round 2 of the levelling-up fund should ignore the cut in annual government funding to councils [in E&W] from £41bn to £26bn since 2010

[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/benrileysmith/status/1615980760887951360?s=46&t=keanZtXCHaIclWcdysCc2g

Levelling up is now dead. Sunak cuts Scottish funding, which was already £300m down from what the EU gave us.


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[Ozyhibby]

You said all the money was going to wealthy areas, just pointing out that's wrong. Facts matter don't they? You don't want to be spreading misinformation? You were simply just wrong, that's all.

Elsewhere in Scotland:

A multi-storey car park in Dundee has been granted £14m for its redevelopment into a sustainable transport hub.

Nearly £20m will be spent to help demolish and reroute the A78 dual carriageway to reconnect and transform Greenock town centre.

The regeneration of Riverside Park in Fife and improved access to the River Leven will be accelerated with the award of more than £19.4m

In Cumbernauld, more than £9m will support the demolition and regeneration of two shopping centres and a vacant office block

Nearly £11.3m of funding will help free up land at a former coal-fired power station in East Lothian

Almost £18m will help Dumfries and Galloway turn redundant spaces and buildings into new cultural and leisure opportunities

That’s £300m less than the EU used to give to Scotland. And Scotland got to decide which projects it was spent on.
You are literally giving Scotland less money and telling us we should be grateful. And at the same time bringing back direct rule from London.
All you dreams come true James.


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[Mon Dieu4]

Is Granton a wealthy area?

I'm sure the poor folk currently living in Granton will be over the moon about them building homes that none of them can afford but at least they are getting a park as well

[James310]

That’s £300m less than the EU used to give to Scotland. And Scotland got to decide which projects it was spent on.
You are literally giving Scotland less money and telling us we should be grateful. And at the same time bringing back direct rule from London.
All you dreams come true James.


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That's obviously a different point, all I was doing was pointing out all the money wasn't all going to wealthy areas as you had said it was. That's all, facts do matter.

[James310]

I'm sure the poor folk currently living in Granton will be over the moon about them building homes that none of them can afford but at least they are getting a park as well

You should take it up with Edinburgh Council who applied for the funds.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/download/14939/granton-gasholder-levelling-up-fund-submission


They obviously felt it was worthwhile doing.

[Bostonhibby]

I'm sure the poor folk currently living in Granton will be over the moon about them building homes that none of them can afford but at least they are getting a park as wellWe have considerable family connections in the area, and that's exactly how it is with new housing unfortunately.

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[grunt]

That's obviously a different point, all I was doing was pointing out all the money wasn't all going to wealthy areas as you had said it was. That's all, facts do matter.
It's the whole point. Arguing about the relative wealth of recipient areas is a complete red herring.

[James310]

It's the whole point. Arguing about the relative wealth of recipient areas is a complete red herring.

It wasn't me that brought the wealth of the area into the conversation. I was merely pointing out the error.

[grunt]

You should take it up with Edinburgh Council who applied for the funds.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/downloads/download/14939/granton-gasholder-levelling-up-fund-submission


They obviously felt it was worthwhile doing.If there's funds available it would be negligent of them not to apply. You'd be the first to criticise them for not applying.

This is what the Tories have done - they've created a hunger games scenario where desperate councils compete with each other for scraps off the Tory table.

They're disgusting.

[ronaldo7]

If there's funds available it would be negligent of them not to apply. You'd be the first to criticise them for not applying.

This is what the Tories have done - they've created a hunger games scenario where desperate councils compete with each other for scraps off the Tory table.

They're disgusting.

Those happily espousing their policies as wins are equally as disgusting.

[Kato]

https://twitter.com/pippacrerar/status/1615843218104410112?s=46&t=keanZtXCHaIclWcdysCc2g

Levelling up funds all going to already wealthy areas.


Sent from my iPhone using TapatalkA pittance anyway. The funding won't level up any area in any way.

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[James310]

Those happily espousing their policies as wins are equally as disgusting.

So the people of Granton and Dundee and Cumbernauld etc who will welcome this funding and development are disgusting? Yikes, many will be fellow Yes voters.

It was a SNP Edinburgh Council that saw this as a win and welcomed it! Not like you to be so critical of your party.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/13345/council-leaders-welcome-uk-government-levelling-up-funding-to-help-unlock-further-investment-in-1-3bn-new-sustainable-coastal-town

[grunt]

It was a SNP Edinburgh Council that saw this as a win and welcomed it! Not like you to be so critical of your party.

What do you expect them to say?

[James310]

What do you expect them to say?

Exactly as they did say, it is welcomed funding. What did you expect them to say?

[Ozyhibby]

So the people of Granton and Dundee and Cumbernauld etc who will welcome this funding and development are disgusting? Yikes, many will be fellow Yes voters.

It was a SNP Edinburgh Council that saw this as a win and welcomed it! Not like you to be so critical of your party.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/13345/council-leaders-welcome-uk-government-levelling-up-funding-to-help-unlock-further-investment-in-1-3bn-new-sustainable-coastal-town

The SNP will always work to bring funding to Scotland no matter how objectionable the model. It’s why they worked with the UK govt on the green Freeports.


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[ronaldo7]

So the people of Granton and Dundee and Cumbernauld etc who will welcome this funding and development are disgusting? Yikes, many will be fellow Yes voters.

It was a SNP Edinburgh Council that saw this as a win and welcomed it! Not like you to be so critical of your party.

https://www.edinburgh.gov.uk/news/article/13345/council-leaders-welcome-uk-government-levelling-up-funding-to-help-unlock-further-investment-in-1-3bn-new-sustainable-coastal-town


Those who see the money that the EU would have given us as somehow different. More than enough money to cover the "levelling up" crumbs from the tory table as somehow not relevant.

[grunt]

What did you expect them to say?
Here's a possibly better response from Alyn Smith in Stirling


Stirling Council have been awarded £19 million from the UK Government’s Levelling Up Fund, as part of plans to regenerate Forthside. Stirling politicians have welcomed the news, yet concerns remain over the total amount of EU funding Scotland has lost due to Brexit.

Figures released by the Scottish Government indicate Scotland is missing out on more than £300 million in European Union funding, when compared to the UK Government’s replacement programme the Shared Prosperity Fund. This represents a 60% funding shortfall in financial help.

Initial claims over the UK Shared Prosperity Fund promised it would replace lost EU funding in full to Scotland after Brexit. Yet EU funding worth around £549 million over three years was instead replaced with an allocation of only £212 million – a shortfall of £337 million.

https://alynsmith.scot/2023/01/19/stirling-shortchanged-by-eu-funding-replacement/

[grunt]

Who remembers Sunak saying this?

https://twitter.com/Parody_PM/status/1616012905287131136?s=20&t=YCh2PlLFDAnJ-5I5nco7FA

[Kato]

Here's a possibly better response from Alyn Smith in Stirling



https://alynsmith.scot/2023/01/19/stirling-shortchanged-by-eu-funding-replacement/When Levelling Up means a cut.

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[HNA2]

Yet again we have to delete personal abuse and snidey digs.

[grunt]

Good point from Labour MP Chris Bryant


The Levelling Up Fund is fundamentally corrupt because it is discretionary and competitive. It doesn’t allocate on the basis of need. It is politically biased because Tory MPs are secretly briefed about it and funds are allocated by party affiliation.

[Moulin Yarns]

Yet again we have to delete personal abuse and snidey digs.

Fight, fight! 😉 I'm joking, but I don't know if you guys make any notes on who the antagonists are?

[TrumpIsAPeado]

Got to say, I'm shocked to see a man who was caught on camera, gleefully stating that he pulled funding out of deprived suburban areas to give to more "deserving people" in Tunbridge Well's defend giving more money to the richer south-east of England.

Shocked I tell you.

[archie]

Good summary of the Nadhim Zahawi tax issues https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2023/01/19/zahawi_story/

[JeMeSouviens]

Good summary of the Nadhim Zahawi tax issues https://www.taxpolicy.org.uk/2023/01/19/zahawi_story/

Thanks for that.


I call a contact who is a leading expert in confidentiality law, and he snorts with derision down the line. I call a few more, just to be cautious – lots of snorting.

:greengrin

[McD]

Yet again we have to delete personal abuse and snidey digs.


feel sorry for you guys, genuinely

[Stairway 2 7]

Ooft is that his second fine in a year

@electpoliticsuk
·
BREAKING:

Rishi Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice for failing to wear a seatbelt

[Kato]

Ooft is that his second fine in a year

@electpoliticsuk
·
BREAKING:

Rishi Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice for failing to wear a seatbeltThe wholesale cocaracy/kleptocracy thing is awful but this petty crim "awright gadge" stuff is really beyond the pale.

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[wookie70]

Ooft is that his second fine in a year

@electpoliticsuk
·
BREAKING:

Rishi Sunak has received a fixed penalty notice for failing to wear a seatbelt

Breaking the law twice in around a year. Both incidents could have harmed others and also caused the NHS work it could have avoided. Integrity right enough.

[Stairway 2 7]

Breaking the law twice in around a year. Both incidents could have harmed others and also caused the NHS work it could have avoided. Integrity right enough.

Any other party he'd surely get his jotters. They think they are above the law as per usual.

[Ozyhibby]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230120/1abaa174e18adc89eb4c2b998c50fc30.jpg
Another couple of months of this and I think they’ll move against Sunak.


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[Hibbyradge]

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230120/1abaa174e18adc89eb4c2b998c50fc30.jpg
Another couple of months of this and I think they’ll move against Sunak.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I very much doubt it.

They need a fall guy...

[Ozyhibby]

I very much doubt it.

They need a fall guy...

Some won’t be wanting a fall guy, some will be wanting someone who saves their job. Although a 5% lift in the polls doesn’t win, it might save 50 Tory mp’s. Another couple of months and they will start to look to Johnson again.


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[Stairway 2 7]

Chanel 4 political correspondent

Paul McNamara
@PGMcNamara
Ooof - that didn’t take long…

Two
@Conservatives
backbenchers telling me “on principle”
@RishiSunak
should resign as this is his second fixed penalty notice

A @Conservatives backbench MP texts:

"So much for the grown ups being in charge. Naughty Rishi will have to get back in his booster seat and be safely strapped in."

Third Conservative MP texts…

“I thought the idea was Rishi wasn't Boris, now we know he isn't, he's worse.”

[Hibbyradge]

Some won’t be wanting a fall guy, some will be wanting someone who saves their job. Although a 5% lift in the polls doesn’t win, it might save 50 Tory mp’s. Another couple of months and they will start to look to Johnson again.


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I guess we'll find out in a couple of months.

[wookie70]

Any other party he'd surely get his jotters. They think they are above the law as per usual.

On its own I think he would be OK but combined with the other one and his narrative after taking over and any honourable person who step down or at least ask if his party still had confidence in him. I think there will be another push for Johnson to return purely out of self-interest and keeping jobs as others have said

[cabbageandribs1875]

QinetiQ, part-owned by Boris Johnson donor Christopher Harborne, wins £80m MoD contract | openDemocracy (https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/dark-money-investigations/boris-johnson-christopher-harborne-donation-mod-contract-80m/?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_campaign=Echobox&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1674170484) have yi ever saw such a scruffy man wearing a suit, the state of it:rolleyes: but anyway..

The man who gave a record £1m donation to Boris Johnson is the largest single shareholder in a UK defence company that secured an £80m government contract this week, openDemocracy can reveal.
Christopher Harborne, a Thai-based businessman and multi-million-pound donor to the Brexit Party and the Conservative Party, made the £1m donation to the Office of Boris Johnson Ltd, a company controlled by the former prime minister (https://find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk/company/14409444/persons-with-significant-control).
The donation was made in November and listed on the MPs register of interests (https://publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm/cmregmem/230109/johnson_boris.htm) last week. It’s believed to be the biggest donation to an individual MP (https://news.sky.com/story/boris-johnson-is-most-donated-to-mp-of-this-parliament-after-single-donation-of-1m-12784477) in UK history.

[cabbageandribs1875]

he's in a party as near to being tories so i'll just put it here :agree:


has anyone else saw the attempt by Willie Rennie for political point scoring, going by the comments i've saw he appears to be getting a kicking himself for putting the video online, some young girl giving another poor girl lying on the floor an absolute kicking in a Scottish School classroom.

absolutely sickening watching it and it should be taken down, some guy filming it but not one other kid helping her, probably too frightened to i imagine

[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/timcook32/status/1616138816582189056?s=46&t=AVcLNFjkSKEEaqaPpjuH8Q

Sunak pointing at his car door for a lackey to open it for him. Such a man of the people.


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[Bostonhibby]

Seeing Sunak running away from the reporter asking about his blatant disregard for seatbelt laws, you'd think the nasties would make it mandatory that all their leaders have to travel with a large Bozo style freezer so they have an appropriate bolt hole available.



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[Jack]

I get the feeling that Bawsack getting a fine for not wearing a seat belt, let's be honest a fairly trivial matter thousands of folk (not me) do on a daily basis, is the start of a campaign to further normalise the parties and s####### behind the closed doors of #10 during lockdown. Something very, very few of us did.

[TrumpIsAPeado]

https://twitter.com/timcook32/status/1616138816582189056?s=46&t=AVcLNFjkSKEEaqaPpjuH8Q

Sunak pointing at his car door for a lackey to open it for him. Such a man of the people.


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But he pretended to order a McDonald's once and borrowed a working class person's car at a gas station for a photo op. Just the person of integrity and principle the UK needs to rescue it.

[Glory Lurker]

But he pretended to order a McDonald's once and borrowed a working class person's car at a gas station for a photo op. Just the person of integrity and principle the UK needs to rescue it.

Wonder how that homeless guy is getting on in business.

[cabbageandribs1875]

no doubt he will remain in his position, has their ever been a more corrupt political party in the UK

Nadhim Zahawi’s legal threat to The Independent to stop tax revelations | The Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nadhim-zahawi-tax-legal-action-b2266128.html)

[Ozyhibby]

no doubt he will remain in his position, has their ever been a more corrupt political party in the UK

Nadhim Zahawi’s legal threat to The Independent to stop tax revelations | The Independent (https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/nadhim-zahawi-tax-legal-action-b2266128.html)

To be fair, most of Britain just doesn’t care.


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[Glory Lurker]

To be fair, most of Britain just doesn’t care.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Nutshell. Including Scotland sadly.

[cabbageandribs1875]

To be fair, most of Britain just doesn’t care.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Emails show Hancock held talks to hand patient data and Covid test results to US tech firm - Mirror Online (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/emails-show-hancock-held-talks-29015256) i've said for a few years now that voters down south will only finally realise what the Tories end goal is when they start getting bills for attending a GP or a hospital appointment, most of them probably won't even realise little Rishi met with private health insurance reps last year in America.


they'll maybe start caring then

[TrumpIsAPeado]

Emails show Hancock held talks to hand patient data and Covid test results to US tech firm - Mirror Online (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/emails-show-hancock-held-talks-29015256) i've said for a few years now that voters down south will only finally realise what the Tories end goal is when they start getting bills for attending a GP or a hospital appointment, most of them probably won't even realise little Rishi met with private health insurance reps last year in America.

By the time those bills start coming through their letter box, they'll be convinced that it's necessary for some "greater good" because "socialism is bad". Decades of the press being 90% right-wing and owned by a handful of people with vested interests in privatisation has that effect.

[grunt]

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/revealed-scores-of-child-asylum-seekers-kidnapped-from-home-office-hotel?CMP=Share_AndroidApp_Other


Revealed: scores of child asylum seekers kidnapped from Home Office hotel

Call for inquiry after Observer investigation uncovers scale of trafficking by criminal gangs

[grunt]

https://t.co/H8Vk3pd0V4


The BBC chairman helped arrange a guarantee on a loan of up to £800K for Boris Johnson weeks before then PM selected him for the role

[Bostonhibby]

Emails show Hancock held talks to hand patient data and Covid test results to US tech firm - Mirror Online (https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/emails-show-hancock-held-talks-29015256) i've said for a few years now that voters down south will only finally realise what the Tories end goal is when they start getting bills for attending a GP or a hospital appointment, most of them probably won't even realise little Rishi met with private health insurance reps last year in America.


they'll maybe start caring thenAbsolutely right, in my experience of living in a staunchly Tory area with plenty of elderly daily mail readers about, they only really react when they are personally affected, particularly in the pocket area.

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[Bostonhibby]

https://twitter.com/mrjamesob/status/1616866014893060099?t=bgbIWQxZMEm2FOkrrpN0YQ&s=08

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[ronaldo7]

There's a distinct lack of supporters of the Tories/labour lackies on here. Anyone would think they're supportive of keeping Scotland down.

In my opinion of course.

[James310]

There's a distinct lack of supporters of the Tories/labour lackies on here. Anyone would think they're supportive of keeping Scotland down.

In my opinion of course.

That's Nigel Farage language, he used to go on about stop talking the UK down.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/stop-talking-the-country-down-nigel-farage-message/


"Nigel Farage has a strong message for Justin Welby to “stop talking the country down”

In my opinion of course.

[TrumpIsAPeado]

That's Nigel Farage language, he used to go on about stop talking the UK down.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/stop-talking-the-country-down-nigel-farage-message/


"Nigel Farage has a strong message for Justin Welby to “stop talking the country down”

In my opinion of course.

Language that strongly resonated with our southern neighbours.

[grunt]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/21/mi5-refused-to-investigate-russian-spys-links-to-tories-says-whistleblower?CMP=share_btn_tw


MI5 repeatedly refused to investigate evidence that an alleged Russian spy was attempting to cultivate influence with senior Conservative politicians and channel illegal Russian funds into the party, a Tory member has alleged in a new complaint lodged with the investigatory powers tribunal (IPT).

Sergei Cristo, a Conservative party activist and a former journalist with the BBC World Service, has lodged a complaint with the investigatory powers tribunal, filing the case after corresponding with the chair of parliament’s intelligence and security committee, Conservative MP Julian Lewis, who recommended he take the information to the authorities.

[ronaldo7]

That's Nigel Farage language, he used to go on about stop talking the UK down.

https://www.lbc.co.uk/radio/presenters/nigel-farage/stop-talking-the-country-down-nigel-farage-message/


"Nigel Farage has a strong message for Justin Welby to “stop talking the country down”

In my opinion of course.

Justin Welby, and Nigel Farage eh

Only one chased out of Scotland. The other is honoured with his place in the house of lords due to his religious position.

Nice of him to stand against the blessing of gay marriages.

It's very inclusive of him.

[CropleyWasGod]

Would love this to be true... 😀

https://secondnexus.com/conservatives-pink-floyd-rainbow-outrage?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1674248827

[Bostonhibby]

Would love this to be true... [emoji3]

https://secondnexus.com/conservatives-pink-floyd-rainbow-outrage?utm_term=Autofeed&utm_medium=Social&utm_source=Twitter#Echobox=1674248827Some great responses there[emoji16]

Most of the Nasties probably think this is some sort of new fangled pop music band like those young upstarts Bill Haley and his coronets.

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[Stairway 2 7]

Tories might take a punt on boris dear oh dear, new lows keep getting recorded

https://mobile.twitter.com/iainmartin1/status/1617100103101124613

@iainmartin1
"We might as well take one last gamble with the Big Fella,” says pro-Boris Tory MP via
@DPJHodges
. This is nuts. With the 800k credit line scandal developing and pro-Boris BBC chairman facing the chop there are Tory MPs who think "send for Boris"?

[Jack]

I'll bet a pound to a penny the £800,000 loan was of the type that never needed to be repaid.

Was sevcos EBT scheme not along the lines of 'wages' being paid to trust from which the players could then 'borrow' from but never had to be paid back? I reckon the Boris loan was the same sort of arrangement.

[CropleyWasGod]

I'll bet a pound to a penny the £800,000 loan was of the type that never needed to be repaid.

Was sevcos EBT scheme not along the lines of 'wages' being paid to trust from which the players could then 'borrow' from but never had to be paid back? I reckon the Boris loan was the same sort of arrangement.

What makes you think that?

[Jack]

What makes you think that?

I'm somewhat suspicious of anything BJ does, he's inherently dishonest. He's got history of mooching, getting others to pay his way in life, holidays, school fees, decorating, the list goes on ... and on.

[Kato]

UK Prime Minister caught lying about stripping basic rights of UK workers.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/64313013

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[Skol]

I had to stop watching James Cleverly this morning as he completely dodged the big questions by answering something he wasn’t asked. It’s not worth interviewing someone if that’s what heys o and they should be called out for doing so by the interviewer.

[Kato]

I had to stop watching James Cleverly this morning as he completely dodged the big questions by answering something he wasn’t asked. It’s not worth interviewing someone if that’s what heys o and they should be called out for doing so by the interviewer.Its all the same dodgers who lied for and a half on behalf of Johnson being trotted out to lie on behalf of one of their crew, who lied on behalf of Johnson as well.



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[Glory Lurker]

See he's been over to Ukraine. Like he's working his rep in advance of something.

[neil7908]

See he's been over to Ukraine. Like he's working his rep in advance of something.

Probably after a loan or something.

[Kato]

Probably after a loan or something.He'll be reporting back to his KGB pal he put in the House of Lords.

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[hibsbollah]

Drip drip drip of new revelations every day, none of them quite enough to force resignations. Then the news cycle (general strike in France as a result of their cuts that would take them to a level of state support that we could only dream of…, you’d never know it looking at the news) ticks just long enough for a new revelation and for us to forget the last one.

Meanwhile, they are taking everything from us and telling us nothing is ours. That’s the Tories.

[Bristolhibby]

As if there aren’t many reasons why our current Home Secretary should resign (AGAIN), this I think takes the biscuit.

Hundreds of vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children have gone missing from Home Office hotels. Likely to traffickers.

Christ knows what will happen to them.

She has to go.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/they-just-vanish-whistleblowers-met-by-wall-of-complacency-over-missing-migrant-children

J

[Ozyhibby]

Drip drip drip of new revelations every day, none of them quite enough to force resignations. Then the news cycle (general strike in France as a result of their cuts that would take them to a level of state support that we could only dream of…, you’d never know it looking at the news) ticks just long enough for a new revelation and for us to forget the last one.

Meanwhile, they are taking everything from us and telling us nothing is ours. That’s the Tories.


As if there aren’t many reasons why our current Home Secretary should resign (AGAIN), this I think takes the biscuit.

Hundreds of vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children have gone missing from Home Office hotels. Likely to traffickers.

Christ knows what will happen to them.

She has to go.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/they-just-vanish-whistleblowers-met-by-wall-of-complacency-over-missing-migrant-children

J

People just shrug their shoulders and carry on these days. I wouldn’t be surprised to see the Tories win next election. I think they will get at least a hung parliament.


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[ronaldo7]

As if there aren’t many reasons why our current Home Secretary should resign (AGAIN), this I think takes the biscuit.

Hundreds of vulnerable unaccompanied refugee children have gone missing from Home Office hotels. Likely to traffickers.

Christ knows what will happen to them.

She has to go.

https://amp.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/21/they-just-vanish-whistleblowers-met-by-wall-of-complacency-over-missing-migrant-children

J

People trafficking gangs telling them if they stay in the hotels they'll get deported to Rwanda.

Tory policy in operation.

[ronaldo7]

The Tories have left the UK Forces under valued and under funded. The broad shoulders of the Union are even housing families in dire housing stock not fit for animals.

There's a bit about Ajax armoured vehicle in here for Grunt. :wink:

A couple of paragraphs from the article.

"Forces fighting a losing battle with waste and underfunding".

"Kit from the 1960s
Last week’s broadside was not the first time Sanders appeared to try to bypass Wallace to shame the Treasury into handing over more money. At the end of last year, he irritated some in Whitehall with a podcast interview in which he said troops were relying on “1980s legacy equipment”.

Despite the bleakness of the assessment, it can be argued that Sanders was being somewhat optimistic in thinking much of the kit used by the army is only 40 years old. Its main reconnaissance vehicle is the Scimitar, which entered service in 1971. The most numerous armoured fighting vehicle used by troops is the FV432 personnel carrier, which first entered service in 1963.

“There’s been a combination of a long period of investment drought and a lot of inefficiency,” Professor Malcolm Chalmers, deputy director of the Royal United Services Institute, said."

The MoD has scrapped plans to upgrade the Warrior armoured vehicle after spending £430 million; the Protector drone programme is five years late and £300 million over budget; but perhaps the greatest symbol of wasteful defence procurement is the Ajax armoured vehicle programme, which after 12 years and £4 billion of taxpayers’ money still has not delivered anything.

Good old Blighty eh.

https://www.thetimes.co.uk/article/e68d8ec6-9a7f-11ed-8201-2ed91f44d1e8?shareToken=b9f31f30e2464ae3424c2b7695 2a370f

[grunt]

There's a bit about Ajax armoured vehicle in here for Grunt. :wink:Thank you.


... perhaps the greatest symbol of wasteful defence procurement is the Ajax armoured vehicle programme, which after 12 years and £4 billion of taxpayers’ money still has not delivered anything.Indeed. Still, ferries, eh?

[grunt]

People trafficking gangs telling them if they stay in the hotels they'll get deported to Rwanda. Tory policy in operation.

Response from the Home Office ...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnLG_rUXkAEOPYb?format=jpg&name=900x900

https://www.theguardian.com/uk-news/2023/jan/23/uk-minister-admits-200-asylum-seeking-children-missing-home-office?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other


Two hundred asylum-seeking children who were placed in hotels run by the Home Office have gone missing, a minister has admitted.

They include one girl and at least 13 children under the age of 16, the Home Office minister Simon Murray told the House of Lords on Monday.

[TrumpIsAPeado]

Response from the Home Office ...

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnLG_rUXkAEOPYb?format=jpg&name=900x900


They expect us to believe that minors were just free to leave on their own accord without a guardian, never to be heard from again?

They really do just say anything at this point.

[Kato]

https://twitter.com/BestForBritain/status/1617587212513574913?t=au5leO_snqEx_LugTA6J3Q&s=19

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[Ozyhibby]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21141955/state-pension-age-rise/amp/

One of the worst pension in Europe getting worse. 68 the new age.


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[James310]

https://www.thesun.co.uk/money/21141955/state-pension-age-rise/amp/

One of the worst pension in Europe getting worse. 68 the new age.


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Not sure it is the worst, it's impossible to compare as each country is different.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

[Ozyhibby]

Not sure it is the worst, it's impossible to compare as each country is different.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

Good link.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230124/7930bde12649d430a96a10c6b29867bb.jpg


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[Kato]

Not sure it is the worst, it's impossible to compare as each country is different.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935Impossible?

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[hibsbollah]

Not sure it is the worst, it's impossible to compare as each country is different.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

Assessing differences is the actual definition of comparison:greengrin

It’s actually very easy to compare, our average pensioner receives a pittance compared to every other first world country.

[James310]

Good link.
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20230124/7930bde12649d430a96a10c6b29867bb.jpg


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Indeed, it's far more than just the basic state pension. Lots more at play.

[James310]

Assessing differences is the actual definition of comparison:greengrin

It’s actually very easy to compare, our average pensioner receives a pittance compared to every other first world country.

Not true, it's misleading to just compare basic state pension.

https://fullfact.org/online/pensions-countries-comparisons/

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00290/

[hibsbollah]

Not true, it's misleading to just compare basic state pension.

https://fullfact.org/online/pensions-countries-comparisons/

https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn00290/


It depends what you mean by misleading. If you take into account contribution to non state pensions, yes a British pensioner will receive more that that baseline, but that’s the point. You’re relying on the savings of the individual. Wouldn’t you rather not have to do that?

[James310]

It depends what you mean by misleading. If you take into account contribution to non state pensions, yes a British pensioner will receive more that that baseline, but that’s the point. You’re relying on the savings of the individual. Wouldn’t you rather not have to do that?

With auto enrollment becoming mandatory unless you opt out it's fair to bring that into the comparison and the range of other benefits available as well, plus the NHS that many comparison countries don't have. Someone may fall and break their hip, tens of thousands to fix and rehabilitation but they won't pay a penny in the UK.

There are so many factors it is misleading to look at simply one measure.

[OldEast]

With auto enrollment becoming mandatory unless you opt out it's fair to bring that into the comparison and the range of other benefits available as well, plus the NHS that many comparison countries don't have. Someone may fall and break their hip, tens of thousands to fix and rehabilitation but they won't pay a penny in the UK.

There are so many factors it is misleading to look at simply one measure.

You truly are what's wrong with this country. Do you have parents alive?, children? Are they all ok? On the housing ladder? The state pension and everything else in this god forsaken country is a ****ing mess and it's apologists like you that keep it that way

[James310]

You truly are what's wrong with this country. Do you have parents alive?, children? Are they all ok? On the housing ladder? The state pension and everything else in this god forsaken country is a ****ing mess and it's apologists like you that keep it that way

Calm down, like most things it could be better. But facts matter and misleading information doesn't help anyone. Are you ok?

[OldEast]

Calm down, like most things it could be better. But facts matter and misleading information doesn't help anyone. Are you ok?

I'm fine and if that was too full on I apologise. I'm just sick to the back teeth of seeing people excusing these tory *******s for their behaviour. Perhaps I'm not so eloquent as others hence the many swearwords which for me reinforce my passion and hatred of all things tory, including tory voters. Upper class, rich, independent, selfish, gullible get a pass mark as I wouldn't expect anything else but what I would call normal everyday folks need a slap 😂😂😂

[James310]

I'm fine and if that was too full on I apologise. I'm just sick to the back teeth of seeing people excusing these tory *******s for their behaviour. Perhaps I'm not so eloquent as others hence the many swearwords which for me reinforce my passion and hatred of all things tory, including tory voters. Upper class, rich, independent, selfish, gullible get a pass mark as I wouldn't expect anything else but what I would call normal everyday folks need a slap 😂😂😂

I was simply pointing out that if you just use the basic state pension as a comparison it's not like for like. We all should be informed and we all lose if it's the Tories or Labour or the SNP that use misinformation. Yes the state pension should be higher, I don't think anyone would say it shouldn't.

For example I am guessing no OAPs in Spain get cold weather payments, while in England they do. I think Scotland scrapped them for a blanket £50 for all.

So it's more than just the state pension that you need to factor in.

[hibsbollah]

With auto enrollment becoming mandatory unless you opt out it's fair to bring that into the comparison and the range of other benefits available as well, plus the NHS that many comparison countries don't have. Someone may fall and break their hip, tens of thousands to fix and rehabilitation but they won't pay a penny in the UK.

There are so many factors it is misleading to look at simply one measure.

A (English) friend of mine has now paid enough into the French system and is about to retire with a pension that shames what he would get in the U.K., plus a disability element which gets him weekly care that, again,just doesn’t exist in the U.K.

As an anecdotal, empirical example it doesn’t allow for subtleties but trust me, experience shows they know how to look after their old better than we do. And that’s before we start talking about health, transport, housing, adult education and cross cutting state resources that just make Life Worth Living when you’re old. But that’s what happens to a country when you strip its cupboard bare and flog it off to speculators. And that’s exactly why the French are striking. Because they see the U.K. as a cautionary tale.

[Santa Cruz]

A (English) friend of mine has now paid enough into the French system and is about to retire with a pension that shames what he would get in the U.K., plus a disability element which gets him weekly care that, again,just doesn’t exist in the U.K.

As an anecdotal, empirical example it doesn’t allow for subtleties but trust me, experience shows they know how to look after their old better than we do. And that’s before we start talking about health, transport, housing, adult education and cross cutting state resources that just make Life Worth Living when you’re old. But that’s what happens to a country when you strip its cupboard bare and flog it off to speculators. And that’s exactly why the French are striking. Because they see the U.K. as a cautionary tale.

I think this may be incorrect. If you receive PIP/DLA before state pension age you can continue to claim. If claiming after sp age you can claim Attendance Allowance afaik. Apologies if ths has changed and I have missed it.

[James310]

I think this may be incorrect. If you receive PIP/DLA before state pension age you can continue to claim. If claiming after sp age you can claim Attendance Allowance afaik. Apologies if ths has changed and I have missed it.

This is what I mean, lots of misinformation.

[hibsbollah]

I think this may be incorrect. If you receive PIP/DLA before state pension age you can continue to claim. If claiming after sp age you can claim Attendance Allowance afaik. Apologies if ths has changed and I have missed it.

What I mean is, he gets twice weekly nurse visits for his particular medical condition (a severe stroke) AND a significant financial element. It is an integrated provision that is alien to the U.K.

Not misinformed James. Just passing on real life examples.

[Santa Cruz]

This is what I mean, lots of misinformation.

Not necessarily. It's a pretty complex (shan) system. There are a number of benefits that stop but others become available. There needs to be more Welfare Officers imo at LA level to keep people right on what they are enitled to claim imo.

[grunt]

For example I am guessing no OAPs in Spain get cold weather paymentsBizarre comparison.


... cold weather payments, while in England they do. I think Scotland scrapped them for a blanket £50 for all.Wrong again.

[James310]

Bizarre comparison.

Wrong again.

From SG website, not for all yes.

"We will replace the DWP Cold Weather Payment (CWP) with a new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance in winter 2022. This will make a guaranteed annual payment of £50 to around 400,000 low-income households currently eligible for Cold Weather Payment"

[Santa Cruz]

What I mean is, he gets twice weekly nurse visits for his particular medical condition (a severe stroke) AND a significant financial element. It is an integrated provision that is alien to the U.K.

Not misinformed James. Just passing on real life examples.

Understood. That model of healthcare you describe does exist in some aspects here already. I have family who benefit from it. I was only just saying the other week to someone it's not just the pyhsical benefit, I've also noticed a very positive psychological improvement.

[grunt]

As an anecdotal, empirical example it doesn’t allow for subtleties but trust me, experience shows they know how to look after their old better than we do. And that’s before we start talking about health, transport, housing, adult education and cross cutting state resources that just make Life Worth Living when you’re old. But that’s what happens to a country when you strip its cupboard bare and flog it off to speculators. And that’s exactly why the French are striking. Because they see the U.K. as a cautionary tale.
Ahh but you can't compare. I expect James will be along shortly saying this is hearsay and in his mind inadmissible as evidence.

[grunt]

"We will replace the DWP Cold Weather Payment (CWP) with a new Low Income Winter Heating Assistance in winter 2022. This will make a guaranteed annual payment of £50 to around 400,000 low-income households currently eligible for Cold Weather Payment"
There's also a Winter Fuel Payment provided to all pensioners.

[James310]

There's also a Winter Fuel Payment provided to all pensioners.

There you go then, it's much more than the basic state pension is £X.

[Bostonhibby]

What I mean is, he gets twice weekly nurse visits for his particular medical condition (a severe stroke) AND a significant financial element. It is an integrated provision that is alien to the U.K.

Not misinformed James. Just passing on real life examples.I've quite a few in laws who are French, the great grandmother who lives in Strasbourg enjoys exactly the type of care you describe at no charge.

The French pensions system remains more generous than ours, it's probably why they fight to defend and retain it.

Whatever the UK propaganda the French seem to me to enjoy better economic and healthcare systems than we currently do.

For example, a 4 bedroomed bungalow in Aix en Provence costs them around €80 a month for gas and electricity, their post Covid and the Russian made crisis has seen a 7% rise overall. Their inflation rate has peaked at 7% also and their GDP is small, but in positive growth.



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[hibsbollah]

I've quite a few in laws who are French, the great grandmother who lives in Strasbourg enjoys exactly the type of care you describe at no charge.

The French pensions system remains more generous than ours, it's probably why they fight to defend and retain it.

Whatever the UK propaganda the French seem to me to enjoy better economic and healthcare systems than we currently do.

For example, a 4 bedroomed bungalow in Aix en Provence costs them around €80 a month for gas and electricity, their post Covid and the Russian made crisis has seen a 7% rise overall. Their inflation rate has peaked at 7% also and their GDP is small, but in positive growth.



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My friends are very near Aix! We must bump into each other down that way!

Absolutely , if we’re talking wide macroeconomic issues, then the fuel costs crisis is another area where the old suffer exponentially in the U.K…of course the French had their fuel bills capped very early at a rate I can’t recall but was under 10%, thanks to EDF being partially state owned (and the French ability to rely on nuclear).

But, cheese eating surrender monkeys, Waterloo and all that.

[Bostonhibby]

My friends are very near Aix! We must bump into each other down that way!

Absolutely , if we’re talking wide macroeconomic issues, then the fuel costs crisis is another area where the old suffer exponentially in the U.K…of course the French had their fuel bills capped very early at a rate I can’t recall but was under 10%, thanks to EDF being partially state owned (and the French ability to rely on nuclear).

But, cheese eating surrender monkeys, Waterloo and all that.Les milles, Martigue and Marseille.

Anyway, back on track, just checked todays news and it looks like the Tories are still steeped in lies........[emoji6]

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[grunt]

You truly are what's wrong with this country. Do you have parents alive?, children? Are they all ok? On the housing ladder? The state pension and everything else in this god forsaken country is a ****ing mess and it's apologists like you that keep it that way
:top marks

[ronaldo7]

My friends are very near Aix! We must bump into each other down that way!

Absolutely , if we’re talking wide macroeconomic issues, then the fuel costs crisis is another area where the old suffer exponentially in the U.K…of course the French had their fuel bills capped very early at a rate I can’t recall but was under 10%, thanks to EDF being partially state owned (and the French ability to rely on nuclear).

But, cheese eating surrender monkeys, Waterloo and all that.

Edf capped it at 4%. 🇫🇷

[neil7908]

Not sure it is the worst, it's impossible to compare as each country is different.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

Interesting. When the talk is of how the UK is worse than other countries, the topic is deemed too difficult to compare, so best ignored.

Does that same logic apply to issues where Scotland is perceived to be doing poorly?

[James310]

Interesting. When the talk is of how the UK is worse than other countries, the topic is deemed too difficult to compare, so best ignored.

Does that same logic apply to issues where Scotland is perceived to be doing poorly?

Who is ignoring it? Me by posting about it? 😂

If you can make a like for like comparison then that's great, why wouldn't that be a good thing? If you are comparing apples and pears then that suggests it's not going to be a good comparison.

Not really that interesting though.

Feel free to make as many comparisons as you like, nobody is stopping you.

[neil7908]

Who is ignoring it? Me by posting about it? 😂

If you can make a like for like comparison then that's great, why wouldn't that be a good thing? If you are comparing apples and pears then that suggests it's not going to be a good comparison.

Not really that interesting though.

Feel free to make as many comparisons as you like, nobody is stopping you.

So comparing countries pensions is apples and pears 😂😂.

It's a pretty simple metric to measure. Of courses there will be other factors to consider, just with literally any other comparison.

I look forward to you applying the same perspective when a topic comes up that reflects poorly on Scot Gov.

[James310]

So comparing countries pensions is apples and pears ����.

It's a pretty simple metric to measure. Of courses there will be other factors to consider, just with literally any other comparison.

I look forward to you applying the same perspective when a topic comes up that reflects poorly on Scot Gov.

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

"Apples and pears

Comparing the UK system with those across Europe is like comparing apples and pears"

If you are comparing like for like then it's a fact and hard to argue with.

Feel free to post as many comparisons as you like, nobody is stopping you.

[Kato]

If you are comparing apples and pears then that suggests it's not going to be a good comparison.

That's just ludicrous.



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[James310]

That's just ludicrous.



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What that comparing a bunch of Apples with a bunch of pears for similarities is going to give you a valid comparison?

Suggest you read the links I posted to see why it'sore complicated.

[hibsbollah]

What that comparing a bunch of Apples with a bunch of pears for similarities is going to give you a valid comparison?

Are they Tory apples?

[James310]

Are they Tory apples?

I don't know, are they?

This is about fairness and facts.

I mean it's not like I am a lone voice.

https://fullfact.org/online/pensions-countries-comparisons/

This comparison of pensions in different countries is misleading

https://fullfact.org/europe/pensioners-eu-uk/

"The figures for the UK, Spain and France are in the right ballpark, but differences between their pension systems means it’s not a fair comparison. Germany doesn’t have a maximum amount for its state pension"

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/pensions-retirement/news/french-may-retire-earlier-british-pensions-far-better/

"The French may retire earlier – but British pensions are far better"

Plenty more where they came from.

[Kato]

What that comparing a bunch of Apples with a bunch of pears for similarities is going to give you a valid comparison?

Suggest you read the links I posted to see why it'sore complicated."See these apples, they're the UK state pension. While the pears over there are other countries state pensions, so you can't really come to any comparison because I've called each pension the name of a different fruit."

Robert Halpern was way better, mate.



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[archie]

So comparing countries pensions is apples and pears 😂😂.

It's a pretty simple metric to measure. Of courses there will be other factors to consider, just with literally any other comparison.

I look forward to you applying the same perspective when a topic comes up that reflects poorly on Scot Gov.
Firstly, I think the state pension should be higher. But I can't agree that it is a simple metric to compare. Lots of details on pensions and comparison issues here https://www.oecd-ilibrary.org/finance-and-investment/pensions-at-a-glance-2021_ca401ebd-en

[Kato]

More guff.

The phrase "given a peerage under Liz Truss" appears in the article which was worth a guffaw. The rest is the usual day to day for the Tory, grifting cronyism.

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/2023/jan/23/conservative-health-minister-stake-covid-nick-markham-cignpost-investments?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

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[James310]

"See these apples, they're the UK state pension. While the pears over there are other countries state pensions, so you can't really come to any comparison because I've called each pension the name of a different fruit."

Robert Halpern was way better, mate.



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Ok, you obviously haven't bothered reading any of the articles than explain its not as simple as that.

[Mibbes Aye]

So comparing countries pensions is apples and pears ����.

It's a pretty simple metric to measure. Of courses there will be other factors to consider, just with literally any other comparison.

I look forward to you applying the same perspective when a topic comes up that reflects poorly on Scot Gov.

The trouble with simple metrics is they can all too easily lead to simplistic conclusions.

As often as not, and especially in social policy, we measure what's easy to measure, rather than measuring what's important. The identification or achievement of policy objectives becomes defined by 'simple' metrics. And so you end up hitting the target but missing the point.

[Hibbyradge]

The trouble with simple metrics is they can all too easily lead to simplistic conclusions.

As often as not, and especially in social policy, we measure what's easy to measure, rather than measuring what's important. The identification or achievement of policy objectives becomes defined by 'simple' metrics. And so you end up hitting the target but missing the point.

This is no reflection on your point, but I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption recently and I read that post in a cowboy accent.

It worked perfectly! :hilarious

[Mibbes Aye]

While I get the sentiment of this thread and am a committed member of an opposing party, it can be a bit of a churnfest, with post after post of people just posting a link to the news or Twitter, with no comment, highlighting the latest disgrace, crime or calumny the Tories have inflicted on us.

As a contrast I read this article about a Tory private member's bill and I'm struggling to identify anything wrong with it (i've not read the actual bill, but entrusted the Guardian to report it fairly). Am I missing something here? The MP is just your run-of-the-mill Tory backbencher, I didn't think I had heard of him, but I had - he was an NCO in Afghanistan or Iraq and got promoted to officer while deployed.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/24/tory-mps-bill-aims-to-stop-the-powerful-using-the-law-to-stifle-public-debate

Anyway, if there are some unforeseen consequences to this bill that go against social justice or addressing the power of wealth then at least the thread title is still accurate. And if the bill is what it says on the tin, maybe, just maybe, one of them is not quite pure evil :greengrin

[Mibbes Aye]

This is no reflection on your point, but I've been playing a lot of Red Dead Redemption recently and I read that post in a cowboy accent.

It worked perfectly! :hilarious
:cb :redindian:

[Smartie]

While I get the sentiment of this thread and am a committed member of an opposing party, it can be a bit of a churnfest, with post after post of people just posting a link to the news or Twitter, with no comment, highlighting the latest disgrace, crime or calumny the Tories have inflicted on us.

As a contrast I read this article about a Tory private member's bill and I'm struggling to identify anything wrong with it (i've not read the actual bill, but entrusted the Guardian to report it fairly). Am I missing something here? The MP is just your run-of-the-mill Tory backbencher, I didn't think I had heard of him, but I had - he was an NCO in Afghanistan or Iraq and got promoted to officer while deployed.

https://www.theguardian.com/media/2023/jan/24/tory-mps-bill-aims-to-stop-the-powerful-using-the-law-to-stifle-public-debate

Anyway, if there are some unforeseen consequences to this bill that go against social justice or addressing the power of wealth then at least the thread title is still accurate. And if the bill is what it says on the tin, maybe, just maybe, one of them is not quite pure evil :greengrin

Interesting that you post this now.

24 hours ago I hadn't heard of a "SLAPP" but then I read the one you linked to after having read this one earlier today...

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/prigozhin-government-russia-ukraine-hack-libel-slapp/

My article doesn't look good for the government. But it appears that there are people out there who are sufficiently unhappy about the situation to want to do something to rectify it, which is (as you say) to be applauded.

[Kato]

And if the bill is what it says on the tin, maybe, just maybe, one of them is not quite pure evil :greengrin

Have you checked his voting record?

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[Ozyhibby]

https://t.co/YPRmFDiQty

On the subject of Slapps.


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[Ozyhibby]

https://twitter.com/joe_mayes/status/1618124638810443777?s=46&t=SwrRAkWIa4llyo6SfX1PIw

Levelling up news.


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[Moulin Yarns]

https://www.ii.co.uk/analysis-commentary/uk-state-pension-really-worst-europe-ii525935

"Apples and pears

Comparing the UK system with those across Europe is like comparing apples and pears"

If you are comparing like for like then it's a fact and hard to argue with.

Feel free to post as many comparisons as you like, nobody is stopping you.

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearmain

An apple that's also a pear. 😂

[James310]

https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Pearmain

An apple that's also a pear. 😂

The very first line of link you sent.

"A pearmain, also formerly spelled "permain", is a type of apple."

Kind of gives the game away doesn't it. 😂

[hibsbollah]

The very first line of link you sent.

"A pearmain, also formerly spelled "permain", is a type of apple."

Kind of gives the game away doesn't it. 😂

I think we’ve established you like this particular metaphor. The truth of it is, both items are fruits, hence they are pretty easy to compare, just like different countries and the way they structure provision for their old age population, are pretty easy to compare.

So the whole metaphorical tree/bush/cordon or fan trained espaliered Malus or Pyrus comes crashing down :agree:

[Moulin Yarns]

The very first line of link you sent.

"A pearmain, also formerly spelled "permain", is a type of apple."

Kind of gives the game away doesn't it. 😂

Whoosh!!!!

[James310]

Whoosh!!!!

Whoosh.

[grunt]

Tulip Sadiq asks the prime minister about the welfare of 200 unaccompanied migrant children who’ve gone missing.

Tory MP Jonathan Gullis heckles "well they shouldn’t have come here illegally".

[CropleyWasGod]

This is "interesting "

https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/britain-brexit-freedoms-bee-killing-neonicotinoid-2104102

[Mibbes Aye]

Have you checked his voting record?

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I couldn’t be bothered, I just assumed he usually votes for Tory **** and that.

Why, has he secretly been voting Labour?

[Mibbes Aye]

Tulip Sadiq asks the prime minister about the welfare of 200 unaccompanied migrant children who’ve gone missing.

Tory MP Jonathan Gullis heckles "well they shouldn’t have come here illegally".

Gullis is pretty abhorrent at the best of times but that’s shameful even by his extremely low standards.

IIIRC I’m fairly certain he is high-ish on their list of seats vulnerable to Labour should the polls translate into an effective majority. With little to lose, I fear that he will spend the next however long in the run-up to a GE in a one-man game of dare, to see just how ghastly he can behave.

[Kato]

I couldn’t be bothered, I just assumed he usually votes for Tory **** and that.

Why, has he secretly been voting Labour?I'm talking about his HoC voting record.

Seems like a good thing to do re-Slapps, though Chances of it becoming law? Zilch.

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[grunt]

This is "interesting "

https://inews.co.uk/news/environment/britain-brexit-freedoms-bee-killing-neonicotinoid-2104102

“Outside the EU we will have higher environmental standards - in every area.”

Michael Gove, 22 May 2018, Radio 4 Today Programme

[cabbageandribs1875]

annnnd another one..

REVEALED: Politically connected broker made £17m profit on ‘VIP’ PPE contracts - Good Law Project (https://goodlawproject.org/revealed-politically-connected-broker-made-17m-profit-on-vip-ppe-contracts/?utm_source=NB&utm_campaign=WORLDLINKUPDATE240122&utm_medium=email)

[Stairway 2 7]

Yougov poll pretty steady


@electpoliticsuk

Westminster Voting Intention:

LAB: 48% (+1)
CON: 26% (+1)
LDM: 8% (-1)
REF: 7% (=)
GRN: 5% (=)
SNP: 4% (-1)

Via
@YouGov
, On 18-19 January,
Changes w/ 10-11 January.


Reform could hurt tories further if they run in a lot of seats

electpoliticsuk
·
Westminster Voting Intention:

LAB: 49% (=)
CON: 24% (-5)
LDM: 9% (+1)
REF: 7% (+3)
GRN: 4% (=)
SNP: 3% (-1)

Via
@focaldataHQ
, On 17-18 January,
Changes w/ 28-30 October.

[Bostonhibby]

“Outside the EU we will have higher environmental standards - in every area.”

Michael Gove, 22 May 2018, Radio 4 Today ProgrammeWe will certainly knock those Johnny Foreigners into a cocked hat in the who's got most jobbies in their rivers competition

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[hibsbollah]

In England, good news in terms of policy making.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/new-farm-subsidies-regime-could-be-great-for-nature-properly-funded

[grunt]

In England, good news in terms of policy making.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/new-farm-subsidies-regime-could-be-great-for-nature-properly-funded
"... if properly funded ..."

:wink:

[hibsbollah]

"... if properly funded ..."

:wink:
:greengrin
In the interests of objectivity I thought I’d see if a rabid leftie as I could give them credit for a good policy launch that actually goes against their normal moneyed lobbying interests.

[grunt]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-ukraine-trip-sunak-b2267409.html


Boris Johnson trip to Ukraine paid for by taxpayers, say No 10

[Kato]

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/boris-johnson-ukraine-trip-sunak-b2267409.htmlWho else?

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[wookie70]

In England, good news in terms of policy making.

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2023/jan/26/new-farm-subsidies-regime-could-be-great-for-nature-properly-funded

On the face of it that seems like a good way forward. The lack of transparency is a massive red flag for me and I hope that the awards are policed and that all that is planned is checked as having happened.

[grunt]

https://t.co/6c7MGUbm8H


The release of the minutes and official correspondence related to Boris Johnson’s meeting with the now-disgraced data firm Cambridge Analytica in December 2016 would “directly undermine the trust and confidence between the UK and US”, the UK Information Commissioner’s Office (ICO) has said.


Carole Cadwalladr, the Observer journalist who exposed much of the wrongdoing committed by Cambridge Analytica, told Byline Times that this decision from the ICO means that there are now “more questions that remain unanswered about Cambridge Analytica’s involvement with the UK Government.”

She added that: “Cambridge Analytica was a commercial company. It was doing commercial work, most recently for a political candidate in the US. There is simply no good reason why its dealings with the UK Government should be a closely guarded state secret.

“The Foreign Office is relying on an exemption on the grounds that releasing the information could ‘prejudice relations’ with another state or jeopardise the ‘promotion or protection’ of UK’s interests abroad. But how?… I think this begs many more questions than it answers.”

[grunt]

It's not corruption if it's Britain!


https://youtu.be/sJc7OP8WM4Q

[Kato]

https://t.co/6c7MGUbm8HIt's all beginning to sound a bit traitory really.

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[grunt]

Saw this graph about net approval ratings after being made party leader.
Laughed till I cried at the line showing Liz Truss.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnZPGMKWYAAiagz?format=jpg&name=medium

[Kato]

Saw this graph about net approval ratings after being made party leader.
Laughed till I cried at the line showing Liz Truss.

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnZPGMKWYAAiagz?format=jpg&name=mediumShe her ardent supporters on here.

Went for "growth" with no plans to grow anything, a shrinking economy and no market to grow within.

When Thatcher put a similar budget in place the oil money was shooting up and British businesses were growing naturally due to access to the EU markets. So growth was guaranteed.

She couldn't grow toe-fungus but she's a (check notes) "patriot" so mugs fell for it.

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[grunt]

https://goodlawproject.org/ppe-losses-rise-to-14-9-billion/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=DHSC_Annual_Report260123&utm_medium=social%20media


PPE losses rise to £14.9 billion


The Department of Health and Social Care’s annual accounts for 2021-22 have revealed a further £6 billion write down in connection with PPE and other inventory. This follows a staggering £8.9bn write down in 2020-21.

[Kato]

https://goodlawproject.org/ppe-losses-rise-to-14-9-billion/?utm_source=Twitter&utm_campaign=DHSC_Annual_Report260123&utm_medium=social%20media"The annual accounts also reveal that storage costs were running at approximately £24m per month"

It would be a pretty good guess that some thieving Tory is in on this as well. They never miss a trick.

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[grunt]

"The annual accounts also reveal that storage costs were running at approximately £24m per month"

It would be a pretty good guess that some thieving Tory is in on this as well. They never miss a trick.

Uncanny prescience on your part!

Storage by Uniserve. Company founded by former Conservative MP Iain Liddell. Company referred to the "Tory Friends & Family" VIP procurement lane by Tory peer Lord Agnew.

Company got £300m PPE contract, £592m PPE logistics contract, and has billed £124m for PPE storage. Not bad eh?

[grunt]

Environmental Protection Bill last night in HoC.
Why were Ross and Jack voting on English issues again?

https://pbs.twimg.com/media/FnZcByiXwAAuGV3?format=jpg&name=medium

[Kato]

Uncanny prescience on your part!

Storage by Uniserve. Company founded by former Conservative MP Iain Liddell. Company referred to the "Tory Friends & Family" VIP procurement lane by Tory peer Lord Agnew.

Company got £300m PPE contract, £592m PPE logistics contract, and has billed £124m for PPE storage. Not bad eh?
About as uncanny as guessing hedgehogs are prickly.

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[Stairway 2 7]

Always thought Rod was an arse hole when he chose celtic when is da was Hibs

@breeallegretti
Blimey.

Rod Stewart rings into
@SkyNews
to say: “I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go at it.

[WeeRussell]

Always thought Rod was an arse hole when he chose celtic when is da was Hibs

@breeallegretti
Blimey.

Rod Stewart rings into
@SkyNews
to say: “I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go at it.

I think you’ve missed a fairly significant part of this Rod Stewart story, which doesn’t make him seem like such an arse hole.