UK Politics Thread part II

[Catfish]

And forgotten are brexit, Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson, and Nigel Farage's role in it, along with Cambridge Analytica and Stephen Bannon. Good that leaving the EU has freed up the £ 350m for the NHS. And Nigel's Reform Yuck is all over it again

[JU_88]

Originally Posted by Catfish

And forgotten are brexit, Dominic Cummings, Boris Johnson, and Nigel Farage's role in it, along with Cambridge Analytica and Stephen Bannon. Good that leaving the EU has freed up the £ 350m for the NHS. And Nigel's Reform Yuck is all over it again

Brexit was a waste of time - because the EU will be lucky to make it to the end of this decade without some kind of implosion (most likley financial), Europe is NOT in very good shape either. In fact cant think of a more Doomed institution. Nations can bounce back from anything as they have Language history and culture to back them up, the EU is backed up by nothing of any substance and must rely on ECB money printing and top down lawfare for its own survival, because when it blows up (and it mathmatically has to), there is no come back for what is little more than a bunch of ideological pen pushers.
I dont trust Farage, but Conservatives and Labour just need to Die completely, Zero seats, Let Reform, Libdems and Greens take a shot, its not like they can do much worse, given the current state of the UK, Kill off those two utterly stupid arrogant corrupt parties have done enough damage between them.

To anyone here still thinking in terms of 80s/90s Tories Vs Labour, and is unable to recognise that they are essentially the same party in terms of actual policy, well, good luck to you.

[Skybird]

^ The EU will take a bit longer to fall apart than just until the end of this decade, but ultimately falling apart it will and must.



However, it wont be a smooth transition or a pleasant ride, but quite disruptive. But as the saying goes: better an end with horror than a horror without end.

[JU_88]

Originally Posted by Skybird

^ The EU will take a bit longer to fall apart than just until the end of this decade, but ultimately falling apart it will and must.



However, it wont be a smooth transition or a pleasant ride, but quite disruptive. But as the saying goes: better an end with horror than a horror without end.

It depends, you know the saying, "We have Decades where nothing happens, and then we have years where decades happen." We are due a 2008 global recession part II quite soon, but this time 'bailouts' will not really be possible without currency collapes, I guess We will see who is still left standing after that.

[Shadowblade]

it would be nice if Brussels eurobolsheviks would be gone.


They want to order emission allowances on fuel and heating which would make everything expensive here. Our current government is afraid to approve it because it would be its suicide for the next elections.



I hate that Greendeal madness and that band of robbers in Brussels.

[JU_88]

Here in spain, by 2033, effectivly one in four of all properties in the country will be unsellable and unrentable by new Net zero legislation which will have come in to force by that date. - unless people invest in upgrading, (estimated average cost is 10 -20k Euros for most properties)
Maybe you can apply for grants fromt he spanish government? (if your are lucky.).
Not great.

Cant help but get the feeling by 2030 there will be some emergency 'net zero non complient property liquidation service' probably courtosy of some horrible asset manager like black rock, they cant wait to gobble up all the cheap property for bargain bucket prices.
Net Zero will see a large transfer of assets from lower middle class to the super rich. -by design.

[Shadowblade]

Originally Posted by JU_88

Here in spain, by 2033, effectivly one in four of all properties in the country will be unsellable and unrentable by new Net zero legislation which will have come in to force by that date. - unless people invest in upgrading, (estimated average cost is 10 -20k Euros for most properties)
Maybe you can apply for grants fromt he spanish government? (if your are lucky.).
Not great.

Cant help but get the feeling by 2030 there will be some emergency 'net zero non complient property liquidation service' probably courtosy of some horrible asset manager like black rock, they cant wait to gobble up all the cheap property for bargain bucket prices.
Net Zero will see a large transfer of assets from lower middle class to the super rich. -by design.

yes, I have read about new requirements for buildings which would make them even more expensive. And we have overpriced properties by about +60% in Czech republic already.
Plus new EU requirements will ban 90% of boilers for heating on market.
More and more orders to make our life very expensive.

[Jimbuna]

Originally Posted by JU_88

Here in spain, by 2033, effectivly one in four of all properties in the country will be unsellable and unrentable by new Net zero legislation which will have come in to force by that date. - unless people invest in upgrading, (estimated average cost is 10 -20k Euros for most properties)
Maybe you can apply for grants fromt he spanish government? (if your are lucky.).
Not great.

Cant help but get the feeling by 2030 there will be some emergency 'net zero non complient property liquidation service' probably courtosy of some horrible asset manager like black rock, they cant wait to gobble up all the cheap property for bargain bucket prices.
Net Zero will see a large transfer of assets from lower middle class to the super rich. -by design.

Looks like I'm selling my property just in the nick of time

[Jimbuna]

Ed the Chipmunk strikes again!!

Low winds leave south of England reliant on French power

Southern England has been left reliant on French power after low winds curtailed domestic energy supplies.

More than half of the electricity used in the South East was imported on Tuesday morning, according to data from the National Energy System Operator. The bulk came from France, alongside imports from Belgium and the Netherlands.

Similarly, the North East also imported 52pc of its electricity, largely from Norway, as wind power contributed to just 2pc of the region’s power.

It comes amid mounting pressure on Ed Miliband’s clean power revolution, as the Energy Secretary has vowed to turbocharge the roll-out of renewables to hit net zero by 2050.

An increasing reliance on wind and solar has sparked fears of energy shortages across Britain, particularly after net zero was blamed for recent blackouts across Spain and Portugal.

Overall, around 25pc of the power consumed by the UK over the last 24 hours came from overseas, with France providing around 12.7pc.

The picture was, however, very different in the South West, where high levels of sunshine on Tuesday meant the region was drawing nearly 70pc of its electricity from solar.

The UK’s reliance on imported power has grown in recent years after the mass closure of coal and gas-fired power plants.

Strain on the UK’s energy supplies has also been exacerbated by the power grid’s inability to transmit large swathes of power from northern wind farms to cities in the South.

Pressure often builds during periods of low wind, such as this week when speeds dropped to as low as 1mph.

The UK’s growing reliance on electricity generated by its European neighbours is both politically awkward and expensive.

The system works via an expanding network of subsea, high-voltage power cables connecting the UK to France, Norway, Belgium, Holland, Denmark and Ireland.

In theory, electricity can be exported or imported, but the UK’s lack of reliable generation means the traffic is largely one-way.

This means the UK is increasingly reliant on costly energy imports from Europe, which are ultimately paid by consumers.

According to the Office for National Statistics, electricity imports cost the UK £3.1bn last year, up from £1.2bn in 2018.

Andrew Bowie, Tory MP, said: “Far from providing energy security, Ed Miliband’s ideological obsession with net zero means that the UK has to pay extortionate prices to import electricity from other countries when the wind doesn’t blow and the sun doesn’t shine.
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/money/othe...d3b36b4a&ei=62

[Catfish]

Originally Posted by Shadowblade

it would be nice if Brussels eurobolsheviks would be gone.

They want to order emission allowances on fuel and heating which would make everything expensive here. Our current government is afraid to approve it because it would be its suicide for the next elections.

I hate that Greendeal madness and that band of robbers in Brussels.

You are so right. It's not this climate change fraud, ignore all that could be inconvenient. Just look at what you have to pay, not scientific research which should be deleted or cut off anyway like in the US. Kill the messenger, not the cause, it is the EU bolshevic gender gay communist socialist women's rights black revenge transgender weapons of the third Reich muslim euro climatechange andwhatever conspiracy but never yourself or your fault and you are so helpless.
But wait, didn't brexit solve it all, no? And if not, UK REFORM will? So don't be afraid and "desperation is the english way", it will all be better with some splendid isolation and ignoring everything learned in the past centuries.
So easy, really

[Shadowblade]

Originally Posted by Catfish

You are so right. It's not this climate change fraud, ignore all that could be inconvenient. Just look at what you have to pay, not scientific research which should be deleted or cut off anyway like in the US. Kill the messenger, not the cause, it is the EU bolshevic gender gay communist socialist women's rights black revenge transgender weapons of the third Reich muslim euro climatechange andwhatever conspiracy but never yourself or your fault and you are so helpless.
But wait, didn't brexit solve it all, no? And if not, UK REFORM will? So don't be afraid and "desperation is the english way", it will all be better with some splendid isolation and ignoring everything learned in the past centuries.
So easy, really

sorry, but we cannot afford the Greendeal here. Maybe Germany can afford that, but Germans have 3x higher salaries than us. The inflation hit hard here, we have the highest electricity costs in Europe, our government increased taxes for us. And more EU taxes are waiting for approval.


Greendeal is good just for killing industry and make everything expensive for us.

[Catfish]

Sorry when this was too rude, it was rather meant with a smiley. I just can't look at someone like Farage w/o almost vomiting. Truth is most here cannot afford the green projects either, and a lot refuse them because the change was commanded instantly "per ordre mufti", instead of a slow transition that would let the people time. Well, the greens here got their bill with the elections.

[Shadowblade]

Originally Posted by Catfish

Sorry when this was too rude, it was rather meant with a smiley. I just can't look at someone like Farage w/o almost vomiting. Truth is most here cannot afford the green projects either, and a lot refuse them because the change was commanded instantly "per ordre mufti", instead of a slow transition that would let the people time. Well, the greens here got their bill with the elections.

ah, ok. Yes, slow transition would make sense, eg. keep both classic cars and electrocars and improve their technologies and let people choose the better.
Not the way of commands like EU does - ban classic cars and make them more expensive.

[Jimbuna]

Bit rich coming from 'Rachel from Accounts' who is quite happy to seeing those pensioners many of whom pay tax paying for her energy bills.

Reeves insists she understands voters’ concerns after Labour election setbacks

Rachel Reeves refused to back down over the decision to strip winter fuel payments from millions of pensioners but insisted she understood voters’ concerns about the cost of living.

The Chancellor’s decision to means-test the payment has been blamed for contributing to Labour’s hammering at the ballot box in contests across England last week.

The Chancellor said: “That policy stands, it was necessary to put the public finance on a firm footing.”

She told reporters: “I do get people’s concerns about the cost of living.

“That’s why, whether it’s the triple lock, the national living wage, the cuts in interest rates, we are determined to put more money into people’s pockets.”

The decision last July to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners was intended to save around £1.5 billion a year, with more than nine million people who would have previously been eligible losing out.

Anger about the policy on the doorstep has caused unease within the Labour ranks after Reform UK won hundreds of council seats and took the previously safe Runcorn and Helsby seat in last week’s parliamentary by-election.

The Red Wall Labour group told the Prime Minister that “responding to the issues raised by our constituents, including on winter fuel, isn’t weak, it takes us to a position of strength”.

They called on the Government to “break away from Treasury orthodoxy otherwise we will never get the investment we desperately need”.

Welsh First Minister Baroness Eluned Morgan, mindful of her party’s own electoral battles at next year’s Senedd contests, has also called for a “rethink” on the winter fuel policy.

The Business Secretary Jonathan Reynolds told Good Morning Britain that he understands “where people are coming from” and has heard concerns from his own constituents.

Mr Reynolds said: “You’ve got to be clear, sometimes you can’t do everything at the same time, sometimes there are difficult decisions, and means-testing winter fuel payments to the people who need it most, making sure every pensioner is better-off by having the triple lock in place, I think is the right decision between those two key policy areas.”

He told the ITV programme: “We want to go faster, and we will, but we understand where people are coming from and I say again, those were a tough set of election results, I’m not shying away from that at all.”

It comes as new YouGov data suggests Labour are polling at their lowest level since the era of Jeremy Corbyn.

The latest voting intention figures show Reform on 29%, with Labour lagging behind on 22% and the Conservatives on 17%.

According to YouGov, this is the lowest the party has polled since October 2019 under Mr Corbyn, as Mr Farage’s party continue to out-poll the Government.

In another sign of discontent within Labour, former Cabinet minister Louise Haigh suggested hostile briefings appeared targeted at female ministers.

After reports Lisa Nandy and Bridget Phillipson could face losing their jobs in the next reshuffle, she said: “I was really angry at the weekend to see the response to the electoral defeat that we had suffered at the hands of Reform to be that we should sack two female northern cabinet ministers and two of our best communicators with those voters that we need to communicate with most.”

She told BBC’s Newsnight: “I only ever seem to read briefing against my female former colleagues.”

Asked whether she thought the briefing was sexist or misogynistic she said “all of the above”.

The Prime Minister’s press secretary said: “No one wants to see any briefing against any member of the government.”

Asked if the Prime Minister agreed with Ms Haigh’s analysis that the hostile briefings were sexist, the press secretary said: “I’m just going to condemn any briefing against any member of the government.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...c391d9ba&ei=22

[Jimbuna]

Speculation over Rachel Reeves’s future as demands for winter fuel cuts U-turn mount

Sir Keir Starmer is under growing pressure from his own MPs and political opponents to reverse his decision to strip 10 million pensioners of winter fuel payments.

The row has exploded after Reform’s huge surge in the local elections last week, causing panic among many MPs that Nigel Farage’s party could win their seats.

But it has also fuelled speculation that the prime minister could soon be forced to reshuffle his cabinet, with question marks over whether Rachel Reeves can survive as chancellor.

One Labour source suggested: “Rachel is running out of friends. It is just not working.”

Others have suggested that if Sir Keir is to reverse the decision on winter fuel cuts, Ms Reeves “would need to be replaced first”.

Questions remain over who would be a viable candidate to replace her in the Treasury, as another MP noted that Sir Keir has promised Ms Reeves will be chancellor until the next election. Meanwhile, Downing Street has continued to stand by the chancellor.

It comes as new polling from The Times and Sky News – conducted by YouGov – put Reform UK at its highest recorded vote share, sitting seven points ahead of Labour.

Mr Farage’s party was on 29 points, while Labour was on 22. Lagging behind were the Tories on just 17 points, while the Liberal Democrats were on 16.

The anger over the local election results and the fear of Reform seizing power at the next election has brought despair to many MPs.

One MP told The Independent: “I’m not exactly experiencing the sunny uplands at the moment.”

Another darkly added: “It feels very Weimar Republic at the moment. Post hyperinflation, but pre Nazi.”

Meanwhile, the red wall group of Labour MPs, made up of around 45 MPs from red wall constituencies, warned that Sir Keir’s response that he would “go further and faster” in delivering his plans had “fallen on deaf ears”.

They warned that voters across the UK had told the Labour Party “loudly and clearly that we have not met their expectations”.

“Responding to the issues raised by our constituents, including on winter fuel, isn’t weak – it takes us to a position of strength,” a statement added, urging the prime minister to “break the disconnect between Westminster and the red wall areas”.

The red wall is made up of areas in the Midlands and northern England which have typically supported the Labour Party.

On Tuesday, the prime minister acknowledged his government needed to “explain the decisions that we’ve taken” after a “disappointing” set of election results, but his press secretary said the government will not be “blown off course”.

While there were reports that the government was considering whether to increase the £11,500 threshold over which pensioners are no longer eligible for the allowance, the prime minister’s official spokesperson ruled out such a move, saying there will “not be a change to the government’s policy”.

The spokesperson added that the decision “was one that we had to take to ensure economic stability and repair the public finances following the £22bn black hole left by the previous government”.

But there is mounting pressure from within his own party – and from the opposition benches – for Downing Street to U-turn on the issue.

Veteran Labour MP Diane Abbott urged the government to restore the winter fuel allowance in full, saying a review of the policy alone wouldn’t be enough for pensioners, nor would it be enough to “restore Labour’s battered reputation”.

Meanwhile, Labour peer and Welsh first minister Eluned Morgan warned she is “losing patience” with UK Labour, urging the government to have a rethink.

And former transport secretary Louise Haigh said Labour’s “unpopular decisions are overshadowing the good ones”, calling for the party to explore a wealth tax to win back voters following Reform UK’s success in the local elections.

Speaking to BBC Newsnight, the MP for Sheffield Heeley said: “I don’t think we can underestimate how catastrophic those results were last week for the Labour Party. I think the unpopular decisions are overshadowing the good ones.”

Labour MP for Leeds West, Richard Burgon, told Times Radio Labour cannot be “stubborn” on winter fuel payments, saying the policy was both “deeply unpopular” and wrong.

“If the government wants to show that it actually gets it, in the words of the prime minister, then the government must fully reinstate the winter fuel allowance, not just tinker around the edges. And we can’t be dragged, kicking and screaming, into rethinking on this policy,” he said.

The issue blew up in Prime Minister’s Questions on Wednesday with Tory leader Kemi Badenoch going on the attack while Labour MPs watched uncomfortably from the other side.

Meanwhile, Liberal Democrat deputy leader Daisy Cooper also piled in, saying the government’s refusal to change course was “a completely tone deaf” response to the local elections.

“The public are rightly furious at the government’s decision to rip vital support from millions of the most vulnerable, yet ministers simply are not listening”, she said.

The decision last July to restrict the winter fuel payment to the poorest pensioners was intended to save around £1.5bn a year, with more than 9 million people who would have previously been eligible losing out.

But cabinet ministers acknowledged the winter fuel payment decision had hit the party at the ballot box.

Asked whether the cut had been part of Labour’s poor electoral performance, business secretary Jonathan Reynolds said: “I think that has been a feature. I think the prime minister himself has said that, and we’re not sugar-coating those results; they’re very challenging for us.”
https://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/uknew...c391d9ba&ei=57