Westminster Politics
- Thread starter altodevil
- Start date
Right, I guess when you said GNI earlier you actually meant GNI per capita. To be honest I didn't make that clear either when I replied, so I'll shut up.
Are we not way past the wars of ships already? All ships carry more weapons than ever before. We don’t need as many.
Tell that to the Chinese, who plan to build nearly 200 new ships and submarines over the next 10 years. The entire Royal Navy has 70.
The reality is that Britain don't have the economic capacity to compete with the likes of China.
The British empire and all its associated spoils are nearly all gone. Many people are disappointed when because they think we should still have this colonial power.
We dont but we still need to have that deterrent and we can defend ourselves against almost anybody, including the Chinese. The US is still, by far, the only Navy that can take a fight to anywhere in the world.
For all the doom and gloom, the Royal Navy is still arguably the second or third most capable on the planet.
I thought Brexit was about going back to the glory days of sending gunboats to china to kill civilians till they agreed to sell our opium for us in india as our slaves were not picking tea fast enough whilst high... looks like we are going to have to implement plan B and re-start selling slaves to America... and if that does not work I guess its time to ebay the elgin marbles
On a serious note I think the spending on cyber defences (and probably offences) is logical as is reassessing and reinvesting in equipment given the changing nature of potential deployments and the next generation of drones / planes, battle tanks (which need new support vehicles) etc but I think cutting the aid budget by a relativley small amount is absolutly the wrong signal and they should be increasing soft power options at least as much as hard power options because if UK are not part of the EU I believe UK probably loose some influence or at a minimum are perceived to and increasing aid / soft power would be a way to somewhat offset that rather than cutting which only seems to highlight the issue
We’re a tiny little island of no real consequence. We don’t need an obscene naval fleet. It’s 2020.
Well that's the issue isn't it? We don't need the second most capable navy fleet on the planet. It's absurd.
I can however understand the cyber investment because it's a much needed national defence even in peacetime and increasingly crucial to many industries.
Sorry, but that's just nonsense. We're the 5th largest economy in the world, and the second biggest contributor to the largest military alliance. Downsizing the military would be a surefire way to ensure we really do become a tiny little island of no real consequence.
What do we do when Russian bombers fly into our airspace to test our defences (as they regularly do), if we don't have enough planes? What about Chinese submarines in the Atlantic, if we don't have ships capable of detecting them? You and @Smores may think we don't need it all, which is understandable as we don't face a Soviet or Nazi threat right now, but the military's 2021 budget is not for what's out there in 6 months time, or even 10 years time. The ships and aircraft we build now are being designed to face threats 30 or 40 years into the future.
I assume you think we’ll send up a flying boat?
I suppose Boris has a really difficult choice on his hand. Keep the current researcher in post so that Carrie's crimes don't risk seeing the light of day, or replacing them with his tennis partner that probably has some dirt on him.
Probably just calculating how many days it will be until something else will come along to distract everyone so that it can be swept under the carpet until a few years down the line when someone somewhere will ask "Hey remember when we found out Carrier Symonds abused he expenses? What ever came of that?".
https://amp.theguardian.com/politic...s-family-not-declared-in-ministerial-register
Oh dear, yet another Boris cabinet minister not entirely being honest. Maybe he should also resign, but I guess I’m only saying that because he’s not white..
Lies lies lies!
Oh dear, yet another Boris cabinet minister not entirely being honest. Maybe he should also resign, but I guess I’m only saying that because he’s not white..
Lies lies lies!
Haven't we all, at some time, failed to declare the multi-million pound assets and business interests of our spouses and families while being Chancellor of the Exchequer? Typical moaning lefties.
Seems everyone has lapped up this ”what about France” Tory whataboutism. Your post is pretty much exactly what my Mum wrote to me in whatsapp the other day to defend Britain reducing it’s budget and changing the law.
Covid is going to be the perfect argument for the the Tories with Brexit, plays right into their hands.
0.7% is crap as it is, our ”Western” countries enslaved, conquered and stole resources from so much of the World to enrich ourselves.
We shouldn’t be using France as an argument to pay less, we should be shaming them for it.
Meanwhile Scandinavia is shaming the rest of the World again, with around 1% in Norway & Sweden.
Just came to post this. Those headlines are shocking and it’s amazing it was only 20 years ago.
Yeah it seems like something from the 1950's(I think a lot people myself included forget just how right wing and reactionary the 2000's were).
Crazy how much has changed in such a sort amount of time. Also it shows how the transphobia stuff in the media is updated homophobia from the late 90's.
Harsh benefit cuts to blame for rising poverty, former Conservative Cabinet minister admits
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefit-cuts-conservatives-rishi-sunak-b1762725.html
https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/politics/benefit-cuts-conservatives-rishi-sunak-b1762725.html
It is crazy that was only 20 years ago. I remember people genuinely assuming MPs just wanted to be able to shag 16 year old boys, rather than seeing it as another step towards a society built on equality.
A lot of the snide comment pieces on Mandelson at the time would be very jarring to read today too.
I do wonder how many of those 56 would have abstained or reluctantly voted with the government if Labour were not abstaining though - I suspect enough to ensure the government would not have lost
Every country has some sense of exceptionalism, even my country of birth, Nigeria. But no one does it quite like the UK.
The Millwall of nation states tbh.
The government grandstanding over using a vaccine produced in other countries is as embarrassing as it puzzling.
Thought that cringeworthy Alok Sharma tweet yesterday was bad enough and he still has it pinned at the top of his feed, despite being roundly mocked for it.
I guess it's an attempt to both distract from the awful job the government has done and the desperate need for this pandemic to be over. Its such a lazy and stupid move though as it's so clearly a joint international effort(It couldn't be anything but that) but I guess thats the appeal of this current trend of right wing nationalism.
Like yourself I just find it so puzzling but I'm sure around 40% of the country will lap it up.
It's just so fecking crass given we've got the highest death rate in Europe and have suffered the deepest economic contraction . You're right though, an idiot percentage of the population will see British exceptionalism as somehow restored or enhanced by this.
Honestly. The way the government is preening itself over the vaccine approval and claiming the morale high ground is cringe worthy and downright embarrassing.
Symptomatic of Imperial Britain at its worst.
They really are such pathetic cretins. And that is being overly kind to them.
If you have not got anything better to say then shut the fxxk up and concentrate on doing your job properly.
I hadn't seen that by Sharma, what an idiot
I can't think of a single reason that last sentence is needed. The only way that we'll even be remembered as the first to buy it is if it goes horribly wrong.
So pompous and the fact he still has it pinned, despite the abuse he's had, shows that he hasn't got a shred of self-awareness. It's like the government ministers have got a bet between themselves on who can be the most despised by the end of the year.I hadn't seen that by Sharma, what an idiot
I can't think of a single reason that last sentence is needed. The only way that we'll even be remembered as the first to buy it is if it goes horribly wrong.
There's a lot of people like that, though. They have teams of people who do all the work yet they are the ones at the end who take credit for it, pose for the photos, take the awards home. Or they pay someone to arrange every aspect of their parties and then reap the plaudits from their guests, telling them all how tiring it was getting everything ready.I hadn't seen that by Sharma, what an idiot
I can't think of a single reason that last sentence is needed. The only way that we'll even be remembered as the first to buy it is if it goes horribly wrong.
That's a decent possibility if this is true.
BBC really helping matters here.
I completely missed that the UK is exempting the wealthy from quarantine and country red list rules from Saturday.
All in this together...
All in this together...
It'll be an honour to catch the virus off a rich person.