General Election

[allandwf]

My only hope is that this gives Scotland an opportunity to peg back the SNP and their playground politics. My constituency has been Tory, more recently Labour for years and now SNP (like everywhere up here). It's just possible that a decent candidate could see a swing back to Tory. I don't really care who it is, and will vote tactically, so long as it's not SNP.

I can see it going scarily the other way. The 62% who voted to stay in the EU, mainly young will see it as ,possibly, an opportunity to stay in.

 

[highlander]

I can see it going scarily the other way. The 62% who voted to stay in the EU, mainly young will see it as ,possibly, an opportunity to stay in.

Nope. With 56 of 59 seats, most mainly gained by a protest vote they will lose about 10 of these I reckon. For the SNP, a snap election at this time was the worst thing that could have happened. We are in for rough and unpredictable political couple of years I think up here.

 

[Terry]

Well he was with the lovely Diane Abbott once upon a time. Must be a glutton for punishment.

Sorry, and I hate to be dense, but are you saying that Diane must be a glutton for punishment to be with him, or he must be a glutton for punishment to be with her? Or is it a case of mutual sado-masochism?

 

[Terry]

She has to stop our lot interfering, as 62% voted to stay in EU. Interesting times, not sure that's the correct word :/

I wish you lot would join Europe or Canada or anywhere else that is willing to subsidise you to the tune that we do. I could afford a later model car but for the amount that I have to pay to you!

 

[Navcorr]

Or is it a case of mutual sado-masochism?

Political S&M .... not sure what you mean. Perhaps:

[video=youtube;rAiI9z7X2_c]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rAiI9z7X2_c[/video]


If you want a real giggle watch the episode where B'stard discovers oil on Hackney Marshes. Priceless.

 

[outrun]

Nope. With 56 of 59 seats, most mainly gained by a protest vote they will lose about 10 of these I reckon. For the SNP, a snap election at this time was the worst thing that could have happened. We are in for rough and unpredictable political couple of years I think up here.

Here's hoping you're right Greg. I hope to be able to see Sturgeon on stage with Janette Krankie at the King's in a couple of years' time as she clings on to the dregs of her infamy. They are creating division and turmoil where there was none and setting back an entire generation. This is at best unhelpful.

 

[Navcorr]

Like you I hope the SNP fade away to the minority protest group they once were. I fear the nationalistic genie has been let out of the bottle though.

 

[bigbob]

Here's hoping you're right Greg. I hope to be able to see Sturgeon on stage with Janette Krankie at the King's in a couple of years' time as she clings on to the dregs of her infamy. They are creating division and turmoil where there was none and setting back an entire generation. This is at best unhelpful.

Unfortunately you are right. Division is being created in Scotland for no reason other than personal political gain and a desire on the part of some for separation irrespective of cost. The economy up here is stalling as the government does not understand that the public sector gets its monies to spend from tax receipts and the latter needs policies to stimulate economic growth, business creation and incentive to invest. It is actually not difficult and many countries around the world pull it off but the Scottish Government seems to want to take us back to a land that time forgot.

 

[bigbob]

Nope. With 56 of 59 seats, most mainly gained by a protest vote they will lose about 10 of these I reckon. For the SNP, a snap election at this time was the worst thing that could have happened. We are in for rough and unpredictable political couple of years I think up here.

The SNP got 50% of the Scottish vote but 95% of seats. Little democracy in that. All they do is criticise and talk of 'toxic tories'. If instead they put some effort into creating policies to grow the economy in Scotland then they would show that they are worthy of the responsibility they have.

 

[Corranga]

I'd also like to see the SNP take a kicking as all they seem to do is ignore the will of the people and push for another once in a lifetime neferendum.

I fear it's not as simple as that though. They may well have picked up a few of their 56 seats with protest votes, but I think a lot of them were won simply by the people of Scotland being fed up with the same stagnant **** in politics. The SNP appeared to offer something different (or at least, presented themselves as the Anti-Tory party, which seems to be the same thing up here). Now they are in, and the opposition is in tatters.
In strong opposition areas I suspect we will see change - the Borders will likely go back to Lib Dems, and places with strong Tory support may flip that way too, but SNP will still have an easy majority of Scottish seats.
Labour are pretty much non existent, so I presume those areas in which they were once strong will stay SNP.
If the people 'protest vote' against the SNP, who will they vote for?
Could we simply end up with the majority of votes split between Lab, Con, Lib and leaving SNP winning overall.

Perhaps the May council elections will give a decent indicator.

 

[jasst]

2 days in and I'm sick of it already, cant we make the forum a politics free zone?

 

[highlander]

2 days in and I'm sick of it already, cant we make the forum a politics free zone?

Fair comment. Let's vote on it
SMexit anyone?

 

[Slowly]

2 days in and I'm sick of it already, cant we make the forum a politics free zone?

I wondered about posting the following in the rant thread but in order to keep the politics to one thread (of 4767 in this forum, so one could argue that the forum is more politics-free than the roads are Maserati-free) this is the place....

Rant is lying politicians. John McDonnell "The burden in terms of the tax take is falling on middle and lower earners"... and Lady Nugee / Emily Thornbury, wealthy champagne socialist MP also peddling the same line on the "Today" programme - saying that those on average full time earnings of £25k pay their way but the rich (McD classes £70k as rich) don't.

Simply false; the burden is increasingly falling on the top decile of income taxpayers. The (small number of people who earn the) top 1% pay >25%, and the (again fairly small number in the) top 10% pay nearly 60% of income tax; a steadily increasing % of the total income tax take. Now J McD would probably claim that taxes on unavoidable consumption of energy etc to stay alive hits the poorer harder so I looked at the following:

https://www.gov.uk/government/stati...1-to-99-for-total-income-before-and-after-tax

Near the end of the last Labour Govt in 2007-8 a taxpayer on the equivalent point then to £25k now (£20800 income) had a post tax income of £17900 so paid 14% in taxes.
After a long Lib/Con govt in 2014-15 they earned £24900 and had £22100 post-tax income so paid 11% in taxes.
By comparison someone on the 98th centile earned £99900 before and had £71400 after tax (29% tax) in 2007-8 and £11200 before and £78900 after tax in 2014-15 (30% tax).
However these figures will have diverged more now as the hit on the top few % of earners is greater though the stats for 15-16 are not yet out, and will get greater still as e.g. the pension tax relief taper kicks in above £150k, whilst the increase in nil rate band (which doesn't exist for the higher earners of £100-123k) will reduce the tax on the median income earner still further.

The bottom line is that McD and Lady N are lying - tax has reduced significantly for the median earner and increased for the higher earners.

This site is good. The BBC "Reality Check"... http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-39641222

Still, it matters not what the facts are; post-Trump/Brexit we live in the era of alternative facts - it is just as correct to say that the "rich" don't pay their taxes as it is to say that all the poor are scroungers or that the NHS will have £0.3bn a week more once we leave the EU.

 

[Paul - H]

Based on the feelings of the people in other countries in the Euro Zone, there maybe no Union to extract ourselves from by the time the UK is expected to leave, and I mean leave in the way of stop subsidising it (2019 - 2022), it will fall over.

 

[campagnolo]

Given we have expensive Italian cars that often need expensive Italian parts, isn't it in our specific interest to remain within the EU's trade barriers?

 

[BennyD]

No. 10-15% on spare part prices is a small price to pay to get rid of the unelected trough snufflers in Brussels and Strasbourg. Bollox to them, they had their chance and all they did was to demonstrate what a racket the EU parliament really is. They spunk money all over the place and when they start to run out, they arbitrarily put up the membership fee to suit. W4nkers, the lot of them.

 

[midlifecrisis]

No. 10-15% on spare part prices is a small price to pay to get rid of the unelected trough snufflers in Brussels and Strasbourg. Bollox to them, they had their chance and all they did was to demonstrate what a racket the EU parliament really is. They spunk money all over the place and when they start to run out, they arbitrarily put up the membership fee to suit. W4nkers, the lot of them.

I really wish benny would get of the fence and speak his mind...

 

[campagnolo]

At least I now know the financial impact on imported European goods. Benny's articulately conveyed economic model, if somewhat alluded to, has reassured me as to the exact extent of any price fluctuations. I have to say that previously I'd not found any details on this anywhere.

Just by way of an aside, I don't find it spurious at all to observe Maserati owners using tax movements of 1% as a basis for outrage.

And finally, I'm also encouaged that our departure is likely to be managed by a dyed-in-the-wool leaver, Mrs May, who vowed when she wasn't elected to not force a snap general election (I do like this insight from the Spectator in March of this year: https://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2017/03/will-theresa-may-change-mind-early-general-election/#)

I doubt we can make anywhere a politics-free zone: it's what happens when you have people. But we could maybe make Sports Maserati a ******** free zone?

Apologies for not swearing.

 

[Paul - H]

What Benny said

 

[CatmanV2]

And finally, I'm also encouaged that our departure is likely to be managed by a dyed-in-the-wool leaver, Mrs May, who vowed when she wasn't elected to not force a snap general election

Ye gods! A grown up changing their mind! Much better if the carried on believing they were wrong, yes?

C