Westminster Politics

Came here to ask ye about that, seeing there's no thread bumped

Net positive IMO, HKers seem to be a highly educated and Democratic bunch
Most legal non eu immigrants tend to be highly educated and democratic. It means nought. I can't see the dyed in the wool Tories who pushed for Brexit being happy with 3 million Asians getting a blue passport.
 
This was discussed extensively in the covid thread yesterday, it's not even about withholding data here. The data on pillar two is about as much use as a hole in a condom and has been since 22nd May.



How come there’s an awful lot of stuff from Leicester (among numerous other councils) complaining that the government has not being sharing the true data with them then?
 
How come there’s an awful lot of stuff from Leicester (among numerous other councils) complaining that the government has not being sharing the true data with them then?

Probably to make a point, however the point is that they're not sharing because the data is sh*t. Pillar two, which is the data that is tests which are outside of hospital settings can't even tell people how many people have had the test and more importantly there is duplication between people in pillar one and pillar two tests, which mean there's double counting. They can share all they like, but if it's fecked at source, then it's merely a gesture and nothing of use.
 
Most legal non eu immigrants tend to be highly educated and democratic. It means nought. I can't see the dyed in the wool Tories who pushed for Brexit being happy with 3 million Asians getting a blue passport.

There’s loads of talent in HK across all sectors. The Chinese are already the highest earning ethnic group in the UK. The Brexiteers aren’t happy but it should be a win for UK as a whole.
 
The Barnett formula used by the treasury and devised in the late 70's that relates how block grants are worked out for Scotland, Wales and NI is the source of discontent for many as these three nations always seem to get more per head than in England.
We have to put up with you lot to be fair.
 
There’s loads of talent in HK across all sectors. The Chinese are already the highest earning ethnic group in the UK. The Brexiteers aren’t happy but it should be a win for UK as a whole.

It suspect this will end up being an uncharacteristically shrewd move from this government, if a cynical one.

Most HK residents will not be able to afford to relocate to the UK and the actual guidelines as to who can come will be stricter than the headlines, so it's great optics about being benevolent to former colonies/open to the world etc. with a relatively low risk of the sort of immigration Tories don't like. Those who do come will be relatively wealthy, well-educated, fluent in English and, importantly, ideologically aligned with the Conservatives. And, given the Chinese government's past form, those leaving HK will likely not want to risk leaving many assets there and could bring a lot of investment here.

Edit - incidentally, the number of HK residents applying for BNO passports at the moment is staggering.
 
It suspect this will end up being an uncharacteristically shrewd move from this government, if a cynical one.

Most HK residents will not be able to afford to relocate to the UK and the actual guidelines as to who can come will be stricter than the headlines, so it's great optics about being benevolent to former colonies/open to the world etc. with a relatively low risk of the sort of immigration Tories don't like. Those who do come will be relatively wealthy, well-educated, fluent in English and, importantly, ideologically aligned with the Conservatives. And, given the Chinese government's past form, those leaving HK will likely not want to risk leaving many assets there and could bring a lot of investment here.

Edit - incidentally, the number of HK residents applying for BNO passports at the moment is staggering.
That will somewhat depend how liquid their assets are - If a million flats come up for sale in HK prices will crash - equally I'm not sure what the Chinese government will be to the UK offering citizenship to some chinese citizens but there may not make it straight forward to take assets - for example insisting people use chinese ID with banks (and china does not recognize dual citizenship)
 
That will somewhat depend how liquid their assets are - If a million flats come up for sale in HK prices will crash - equally I'm not sure what the Chinese government will be to the UK offering citizenship to some chinese citizens but there may not make it straight forward to take assets - for example insisting people use chinese ID with banks (and china does not recognize dual citizenship)
Blimey that sounds so uncomplicated, and effective.
 
A lot will depend upon what actual stance China takes, no doubt it would be pleased to see people it thinks of as 'trouble makers' leave HK, it might even charter a number of Chinese jumbo jets to whisk them to the UK. For those who excel at business and make money, they are likely to be retained, or made offers they cannot refuse. I can't see the Chinese letting go of the 'cash cow' that HK is for the Republic.

The new law is a threat to hold over dissent heads, probably used very sparingly, but if it does start to drive the business community out, then that is when the pot will boil over. Also if by then the remainer 'project fear' has come true in the UK, then I can't see that many of the HK business community wanting to come here under such circumstances. Unless Boris is intent on the UK having a Singapore style economy down the road?
 
Blimey that sounds so uncomplicated, and effective.
People could try and offshore assets but it wouldn't be straightforwards and if there was any whiff of illegality in doing so the authorities will no doubt arrest and stop the money leaving China
If your rich enough you will probably have taken steps years ago to ensure your money was elsewhere... i was there around the time of handover and we left as it was pretty obvious right from day one China wasn't going to use the 50 years to make China like Hong Kong and nor were they going to leave Hong Kong free to run its own path for 50 years before getting involved.
I love china and would happily live there again but it was always naive to think that the handover wouldn't result in HK accommodating China rather than the other way round... its not impossible that China might kick up a bit of a fuss but in reality seeing up to 3 million people who are against the government leave and an influx of housing and reduction in the prices might actually make HK overall a lot easier to govern and integrate so they may turn a blind eye to people moving money about and leaving and it might be overall a bit of a win (unofficially) for the Chinese government - yet still one they can leverage against the UK (officially) when it comes to future trade deals etc
 
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People could try and offshore assets but it wouldn't be straightforwards and if there was any whiff of illegality in doing so the authorities will no doubt arrest and stop the money leaving China
If your rich enough you will probably have taken steps years ago to ensure your money was elsewhere... i was there around the time of handover and we left as it was pretty obvious right from day one China wasn't going to use the 50 years to make China like Hong Kong and nor were they going to leave Hong Kong free to run its own path for 50 years before getting involved.
I love china and would happily live there again but it was always naive to think that the handover wouldn't result in HK accommodating China rather than the other way round... its not impossible that China might kick up a bit of a fuss but in reality seeing up to 3 million people who are against the government leave and an influx of housing and reduction in the prices might actually make HK overall a lot easier to govern and integrate so they may turn a blind eye to people moving money about and leaving and it might be worth turning a blind eye
I get that thanks. I'm not sure there was any naivety about it though, I think everyone knew the reality of the situation but the UK government just tried to get the best apparent deal it could to save bad press, and maybe appease the diminishing number of colonel blimps writing to the telegraph. Must have been a fun ride home on the boat though.
 
People could try and offshore assets but it wouldn't be straightforwards and if there was any whiff of illegality in doing so the authorities will no doubt arrest and stop the money leaving China
If your rich enough you will probably have taken steps years ago to ensure your money was elsewhere... i was there around the time of handover and we left as it was pretty obvious right from day one China wasn't going to use the 50 years to make China like Hong Kong and nor were they going to leave Hong Kong free to run its own path for 50 years before getting involved.
I love china and would happily live there again but it was always naive to think that the handover wouldn't result in HK accommodating China rather than the other way round... its not impossible that China might kick up a bit of a fuss but in reality seeing up to 3 million people who are against the government leave and an influx of housing and reduction in the prices might actually make HK overall a lot easier to govern and integrate so they may turn a blind eye to people moving money about and leaving and it might be overall a bit of a win (unofficially) for the Chinese government - yet still one they can leverage against the UK (officially) when it comes to future trade deals etc

Not to mention HK's GDP made up approximately 25% of all of China's GDP I believe when the handover went through, which has obviously come down to about 3% now. HK was simply far more important in the 90s to China than it is now and ruffling feathers to bend it to its will will no longer carry the same penalties or be as painful as it would have done previously.

My friend's already asked if I know of any job openings in the UK :D. I actually think you're right though, in the end I don't think that many people will necessarily move. It's a very difficult thing to leave your home and family. And the reality is that day to day life probably won't even necessarily change that much for most people.

Edit: Where did you live in China by the way if you don't mind me asking? Fascinating country.
 
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Not to mention HK's GDP made up approximately 25% of all of China's GDP I believe when the handover went through, which has obviously come down to about 3% now. HK was simply far more important in the 90s to China than it is now and ruffling feathers to bend it to its will will no longer carry the same penalties or be as painful as it would have done previously.

My friend's already asked if I know of any job openings in the UK :D. I actually think you're right though, in the end I don't think that many people will necessarily move. It's a very difficult thing to leave your home and family. And the reality is that day to day life probably won't even necessarily change that much for most people.

Edit: Where did you live in China by the way if you don't mind me asking? Fascinating country.
Indeed if you were upper middle income in shanghai and you went to HK around the handover you were poor - vice versa now
I think those who have not been to China in the last two decades cant really appreciate just how quickly things have developed - its breathtaking when we go back to the wifes home city
 
Julian Barnes' 1998 novel England, England' seems prophetic: England becomes a crass and farcical theme park supposedly representing 'real Englishness', while the genuine England 'suffers a severe decline and increasingly falls into international irrelevance.'
 
They sure tried their best to keep today's number of deaths hidden away. I guess continuous news of 100-plus deaths per day is bad for Holy Business...
 
They sure tried their best to keep today's number of deaths hidden away. I guess continuous news of 100-plus deaths per day is bad for Holy Business...
the media hardly make any new covid deaths as a main story. Just being normalized
 
That will somewhat depend how liquid their assets are - If a million flats come up for sale in HK prices will crash - equally I'm not sure what the Chinese government will be to the UK offering citizenship to some chinese citizens but there may not make it straight forward to take assets - for example insisting people use chinese ID with banks (and china does not recognize dual citizenship)

Very true, ultimately the reality of the situation is that the Chinese government holds the cards and I would imagine they are more than capable of preventing assets leaving HK is they don't want them to. In terms of Dual Citizenship, I believe eligible HK residents are allowed to hold BN(O) status in conjunction with Chinese citizenship as BN(O) is a nationality status, not a citizenship (it doesn't give rights to live/work/vote in another country). So a lot of HK residents hold both statuses currently, are already British Nationals and its long been felt in my area of work that the UK Government have a degree of responsibility for ensuring their safety that they have failed to exercise (albeit for obvious geopolitical reasons).

The first change to this situation is a lifting of the restrictions placed on existing BN(O)s with regards to their ability to live, work etc. in the UK free of immigration control. That should theoretically have no contradictions with Chinese nationality law. However, the other thing under discussion is the possibility of BN(O)s to be able to gain BC by some fast-track route, which would technically mean they'd have to cede their Chinese citizenship under Chinese law. Having said that though, I am personally aware of any number of situations where people hold dual citizenship of Britain and a country where it isn't allowed (e.g - South Korea, Iran). At no point in the process of issuing a British passport to a Chinese citizen will HMPO share that information the Chinese authorities, and there is no requirement for applicants to demonstrate to HMPO they've ceded other citizenships because Britain has no limit of dual (or more) citizenship.
 
Boris having a shocker on LBC. Refused to call out his dad for being a selfish prick, said he wouldn’t take the knee because he doesn’t believe in gestures (it’s okay to clap for carers though) etc. Talks so much fecking waffle.
 
Can't expect a person who as written and said some racist things to take a knee.
 
Looks like they'll be making a large play for the younger voters this Weds, according to Sunday Times. Increased incentives for hiring under 25s, more job centres, and temp stamp duty threshold rise (I don't see how this one is helpful long term though, as it will keep prices inflated). Excerpt below.

Also, I think the tax breaks mentioned, targeted for hospitality and leisure industry, are a good idea to give that sector a boost.

 
There's talk of a stamp duty freeze of upto 500k potentially being announced Wednesday.
It had better be immediate because if he says its coming in from October there will be zero transactions for 3 months
plus I'm due to buy a new house on Friday and Id like to save £20K (though would happily delay my sale and rent a nice air BnB for a few months and pocket the difference)
 
It had better be immediate because if he says its coming in from October there will be zero transactions for 3 months
plus I'm due to buy a new house on Friday and Id like to save £20K (though would happily delay my sale and rent a nice air BnB for a few months and pocket the difference)

Exactly what I was thinking as there was talk it wouldn't take effect until November. Surely many people like yourself would pull out and the market would be dead until then?
 
Exactly what I was thinking as there was talk it wouldn't take effect until November. Surely many people like yourself would pull out and the market would be dead until then?
Yeah and it only takes one in a chain for it all to collapse so I think it will need to be immediate otherwise there will be no sales for another 12 weeks on top of reduced sales for 12 weeks... the developers will fold under cash flow preassures if they do that
 
It had better be immediate because if he says its coming in from October there will be zero transactions for 3 months
plus I'm due to buy a new house on Friday and Id like to save £20K (though would happily delay my sale and rent a nice air BnB for a few months and pocket the difference)
Look at this guy wafting his wallet around buying multiple homes, probably to store all his brandy and ill gotten silver and gold stolen during his Viking raids of the taxpayers coffers.

Seriously though you'd think such a policy would have to be with immediate effect after the announcement other wise, like you say, people will just sit on their money. I don't trust this government to do anything that makes sense though.
 
Look at this guy wafting his wallet around buying multiple homes, probably to store all his brandy and ill gotten silver and gold stolen during his Viking raids of the taxpayers coffers.

Seriously though you'd think such a policy would have to be with immediate effect after the announcement other wise, like you say, people will just sit on their money. I don't trust this government to do anything that makes sense though.
True... and if I save 20k tax I'll probably just buy another new watch anyway
Buy yeah logically I think it needs to be with immediate effect and enough of the industry has come out and said that over the last 24 hours that i expect it probabky will be