He means a safe space for vile commentary. He's one of a bunch that runs away from threads as soon as they're challenged with facts.
UK General Election - 12th December 2019 | Con 365, Lab 203, LD 11, SNP 48, Other 23 - Tory Majority of 80
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He means a safe space for vile commentary. He's one of a bunch that runs away from threads as soon as they're challenged with facts.
So you admit to talking bollocks then? Cool. I prefer to use things like my own eyes as evidence rather than come out with baseless statements. That and working with homeless charities who I can assure you are stretched to breaking point currently. We're talking about people and families here who've just had some shit luck. Not just your stereotypical drug addicts, alcoholics etc... 2,000 food banks in one of the supposed richest countries in the world but you carry on walking around with your blinkers on.
Expanding a party's appeal to include the middle class (the policy that actually allowed Labour to gain power) in no way means they abandoned the working class. They vastly increased funding for the welfare state including the NHS and instituted programs such as the one @EwanI Ted mentioned above the help the homeless.
How is that "abandoning the working class"?
"Hans...are we...are we the baddies?"
I assume the work experience person was on duty for this rib tickler.
A good deal of Tory's are centre ground these days.
No. It is a real thing. Did you see Obama referring to a similar idea recently? If only we had someone of his quality in the UK. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-50239261
So you prefer your own opinion over facts? Check out the website I linked you to, it is great for cutting through the bullshit of left vs right political statements.
Genuinely don't know why anyone takes anything he says seriously. Ignorant is too polite of a word to describe his posts.
No I prefer the opinion of professionals working in the sector and the evidence of my own eyes.
Professional opinion is fallible. I prefer data and numbers.
In addition to their reduction of child poverty, pensioners' poverty, introduction of the national minimum wage, Sure Start centres, devolution etc. etc.
There's a lot to be critical of new Labour (not diversifying the economy enough for example, and not reversing many of Thatcher's changes), but Corbyn's disciples portray Blair and New Labour as something they are not and are often dismissive of their achievements.
Yes but what deal, Corbyn's proposal will never be done. If it was a choice between a soft Brexit i.e. staying in the customs union and the single market, it would never pass parliament because leavers would say it wasn't really leave and the remainers would say it's not really remain. Also don't forget that every possibility has already been rejected by parliament, Corbyn's three times, and there's no way on earth Labour are getting a majority government.
Yes, 50% - can vote for another couple of years or so and then my 15 year limit would be up.
However, I'm not voting , and there's not one party I would vote for.
There must be plenty of people like me but who live in the UK and who will vote but have no-one to represent them.
PS don't rate Poch.
Data and numbers, which must be generated, modeled and interpreted, generally through the prism of professional opinion as an aside, are not infallible. Professional opinion, especially collectively, is a valuable source of data and ignoring it is foolish...and I say this as a professional analyst.
Is the deal not irrelevant as remain would win and it would never happen anyway?
This protest of you can't even get a deal from people who don't want a deal and don't think we'll need a deal is odd.
I thought it was only a couple of weeks ago we were all congratulating Paul on getting his French citizenship.
So no vote at all, although I'm fairly sure it would be a once in a lifetime LibDem vote if he did.
I don't think they're dismissed by many to be honest. Overshadowed is a better word. Of course the iraq war generates a lot of gate but its the attacks from the centrists in defence that have ended making it such a battle when it doesn't need to be.
I think you've said previously you'd vote Blair, would you support Labour increasing taxes to what they were under Blair?
Several pundits on different venues, including LBC, have claimed Cummings is running the Tories campaign.
They also claimed Cummings hates Farage, which works against a deal between the two parties.
I notice Farage is getting a lot plugs from LBC because of the Trump which can’t please the Tories.
Dual nationality , can vote but won't
Obviously the purpose of another referendum is for remain to win. What I don't see is what the other alternative will be.
Parliament can't agree on anything and no doubt won't agree on what the alternative is.
I know it won't be the same set-up but if Labour do form a government in a hung parliament (which will be their only chance) the same problems will exist as now.
When I refer to opinion I mean the idea that people within an industry are more likely to moan about the state of things. Clearly data isn’t infallible in all circumstances but a well collected dataset should be the first port of call. Interpretation comes second.
Didn't know we could do that.
I thought about it years ago but was told it wasn't possible. Frau FBR wanted to do it as well.
Maybe it became possible with changes in EU legislation ??
Anyway....Congrats again.
There are, no doubt. Myself included and a lot of people I know now feel politically unrepresented and many of them now find lifelong political allegiances (both Tory and Labour) broken.
I was brought up in a traditional Labour household but now I find myself in a position where I don’t want to vote for any party but ultimately this time I will vote for whoever can keep this Labour rabble out of office.
The main reason Labour want to bring in votes for 16 year olds is because they know that when people grow up their extreme socialist vision become unappealing.
Cheers - It's certainly been possible for a long time, don't know how long though. Some countries don't allow it, Spain I believe don't and possibly Holland although they may have changed recently.
PS you can only vote for the first 15 years after you leave the UK.
Whereas if you a French citizen you can vote in France forever, wherever you live.
Which yours isn't by your own admission since it doesn't include rough sleeping. You can't just ignore it because the data is hard to collect.
These graphs are only going in one direction
https://www.homeless.org.uk/facts/homelessness-in-numbers/rough-sleeping/rough-sleeping-explore-data
and like I said they are backed up by working with homeless charities and the evidence of my own eyes in the town I live in.
Yes, I know interpretation comes second. It's literally my profession.
The point, which I know you get, is twofold:
i) The data collected, the measures generated from it and the modelling conducted are a huge factor. So, the definition of "homeless" is, as an example, key.
ii)Any analyst not factoring in and listening to industry expert's opinions into their analysis is doomed to failure. This does not mean blindly accepting subjective views.
So statements around considering professional opinion fallible and data and numbers being preferred is not very helpful.
I’m very much for increased taxes, yes.
I have some questions about registration / postal voting that I'd appreciate some help with.
The last time I voted was in 2017 GE, but I have not been in the country for over a year* and have zero ties to my previous constituency. My base UK address for admin/mail purposes is where my family live and I'm not sure where that leaves me on the electoral roll - I have not updated my details since I moved away from the previous address. So:
Where should I register?
Am I free to choose where I register, or does it have to be an address I have some real connection with?
Should I register as an overseas voter or just apply for a one-off postal vote? Are there legal differences?
Cheers,
Reginald Kite
*Except a 10-day trip earlier this year
The last time I voted was in 2017 GE, but I have not been in the country for over a year* and have zero ties to my previous constituency. My base UK address for admin/mail purposes is where my family live and I'm not sure where that leaves me on the electoral roll - I have not updated my details since I moved away from the previous address. So:
Where should I register?
Am I free to choose where I register, or does it have to be an address I have some real connection with?
Should I register as an overseas voter or just apply for a one-off postal vote? Are there legal differences?
Cheers,
Reginald Kite
*Except a 10-day trip earlier this year
I thought that with dual nationality you can vote in either countries GE, but don't you have to be resident in a country at the time of the election and be registered as such?
Agreed. Not my area but it’s incredibly complicated when you factor in all the different variables that result in people on the street - rough sleeping let’s call it rather than homelessness which seems to have a different definition.
I would remove your full name from the post first of all otherwise someone will just go vote in your name
Secondly you can vote wherever you are on the electoral roll but you need to have an address where you can in theory receive post in that constituency even if its your parents. You can also in theory keep yourself on the electoral register where you are and go vote in that constituency.
Thirdly if you're still abroad you can register for a proxy vote if you trust anyone to do it for you or postal both options which require you to definitly have an address in the constituency.
No as long as you are registered on the electoral roll in the UK and can vote by post. For France they set up polling stations throughout the world usually in embassies, consulates etc .
Follow this link, @RK - we registered for postal votes last month, when it looked likely that there was going to be a GE. You can send scans of your ID online, for quickness. It was only a couple of days before we got email confirmation of our registration.
https://www.gov.uk/voting-when-abroad
Farage confirming he's prepared to risk splitting the vote unless Johnson agrees to his alliance and drop the existing deal.
Both Farage and Johnson essentially trying to call one another's bluff. Knowing that if neither concede, they both risk losing.
Both Farage and Johnson essentially trying to call one another's bluff. Knowing that if neither concede, they both risk losing.
I'd go one step further and say the majority of Conservatives in power over the last 9 years have been tax and spend Blairites, rather than any kind of right wing austerity loons. The only difference being that Blair's tenure was during a global boom where growth was much higher.
Current tax levels as a % of GDP are up there with the highest they've ever been in a non-recession peacetime period. UK spend to GDP follows the same trend - our spend to GDP in 2000 under Blair was just over 34% compared with current spend at over 38% (see final image).
The amount of tax that is paid by the highest earners is likewise at a high. For example the mean amount of tax paid by all people earning over £2m is £1.88m (39%). The amount for people earning between £1m and £2m is £546k (40%). The mean amount of income tax paid for people earning between £500k and £1m is £271k (40%). Likewise the amount of income tax paid by the lowest earners is at its lowest level. People earning up to £12500 pay an average of £222 (1.6%). People earning between £12.5k and £15k pay an average of £871 of 5% and people earning between £15k and £20k pay £2.2k (9%). The poorest 50% of taxpayers pay less income tax than ever before and the richest 1% and 10% pay a far greater proportion than ever before.
At the same time the minimum wage has grown at a faster rate than before by an average of 24p per annum between 2010 and 2019 from £6.08 to £8.21 (3.5% per annum - 35% total), compared with inflation at 2.7% average.
Corporation tax receipts to GDP have grown from 2.2% (£26.5b) back in 2002 to 2.7% (£52.5b) in 2017 and are forecasted to be over £59b this year.
Likewise they've targeted big business and nearly tripled revenue in terms of insurance tax from £2.3m to £6.2b. The tax rate likewise has tripled from 4% in 1999 compared with the current rate of 12%.
Even the much criticised UK Public Health spend as a % of GDP is close to a record high at nearly 7.5%, compared with under 5% back in 2000 or 6.5% back in 2007. A further inflation busting 3.4% per annum has been allocated for the next 4 years.
UK pension spend is also at a historic high.
This is why I'm always confused by the accepted "austerity" caricature that was peddled by Labour and then worn as a badge of honour by the Tories to seem fiscally responsible. The below graph is a good illustration, given that there was a global recession the ability to increase spending year on year is quite phenomenal. Compare it to the actual austerity that is occurring across Europe and it's actually somewhat insensitive.
At the same time people state that pretty much every government department is experiencing austerity. It's a complete oxymoron.
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A serial liar (Trump) advices another serial liar (BoJo) to do a deal with another serial liar (Farage).
Deal with Johnson or no deal Farage will keep the spotlight on Brexit, which is bad news for Labour.
There's no way Johnson can drop his deal, their whole GE message on Brexit is they have a deal they can pass ready to go.
I don't see how Farage can back down from his position either. First bit of good news I've seen in a while.
Farage's best bet is to not field anyone. All tactical plans could all backfire badly. He'll be in danger of losing his beloved Brexit altogether if the Leave vote is split and there's a hung parliament.
His best bet is that Johnson is the only option for disaffected Labour leavers who will hold their noses and break a lifetime and even a generational habit and vote Tory.
Even if the Brexit party winds up propping up the government, he will never get his version of Brexit through. Better take some Brexit than none.
His best bet is that Johnson is the only option for disaffected Labour leavers who will hold their noses and break a lifetime and even a generational habit and vote Tory.
Even if the Brexit party winds up propping up the government, he will never get his version of Brexit through. Better take some Brexit than none.
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