Anything Political


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A colleague of mine, some years ago, was desperate to give up smoking, or so he said. Oxford educated, he was a highly intelligent bloke but I was amazed at his antics when required to be engaged in meetings for hours at a time. He'd appear covered in nicotine patches and at regular intervals shoved nicotine chewing gum into his mouth. As soon as there was a break in the meeting, he'd rush outside for a cigarette. He must have absorbed far more nasty substances than someone who chain smoked.

 

Many of our colleagues had no patience with him but I pitied him,  really. He was so severely addicted, he had no chance of quitting.

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True enough but none quite so 'in your face' or as blatant. To paraphrase Mone "I didn't lie to hide the the fact we're making £60 million and hiding it in a trust, it was to to protect my family

Why do you feel the need to influence others? What is your motivation for so doing? Is it because you think you know better than they? Is it because it feeds your ego if and when you succeed?  Is it b

HSR: Col is given a 'free rein to spout his opinions' for exactly the reasons you are, only he does so with more civility.   Recently there have been a couple of attacks on the validity of t

I'm sure I've mentioned this before, but on the subject of quitting smoking, I had a mate back in the early 60s, when I worked at Raleigh. He decided to substitute every other fag with a Polo mint. The result was he finished up not being able to smoke a fag until he'd eaten a Polo first. The outcome was two habits to pay for instead of one.

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I gave up cigs 14 years ago after  few false starts. In the end, I just decided to stop.  It's a mental process. I'm not minimising the difficulty folks can face giving up.  I struggled for years and still don't quite know how I did it except to say that the key was a DECISION to stop.

 

As for Labour 'banning smoking'...as far as I can see this is a gross distortion coming from the usual right wing sources. I think it's pretty clear that Labour are looking at ways of reducing smoking and few sensible folk would argue with that.. But.. they are not looking at banning smoking. They are considering making it illegal for people born after a certain date to purchase tobacco.  That's just an extension of the current legal age for purchasing Tobacco.  Storm in a tea cup in my view.

 

So.. moving on..  I haven't had a proper rant for a while..

 

A few things have been spinning round my fevered brain for a while, so here, in no particular order, are a few of them: I'd be interested in others' views.

 

- Even if you are a 'natural' conservative..by instinct, upbringing etc..., I'm at a loss to understand how anyone can continue to vote for the current shower.  They are so obviously corrupt.  As a circulating internet meme says.. 'Not so much a Party, more a Criminal Organisation'. It's so obvious that they don't even seriously try to hide it.  They know that their current majority will allow them to continue thievery, corruption, dishing out public money to their pals and party donors etc, for a while yet.  They also know they are doomed at the next election, so in a way, they have even more incentive, to grab what they can before they are booted into the long grass for a long while.

 

-I'm truly saddened that the UK electorate are so easily manipulated by these criminals. Let's look at the Rail industry. Govt subsidies have increased massively  since privatisation. (See the link below) Now, I don't know about you, but I thought that the whole point of privatisation was that 'efficient' and 'lean' private enterprise, was supposed to make our railways cheaper, more efficient etc..  That worked...

https://fullfact.org/economy/how-much-does-government-subsidise-railways/

 

And of course, while the Private Sector heroes running our rail industry continue to fail spectacularly, their shareholders continue to get dividends..in the £Billions.

https://www.tuc.org.uk/news/rail-firms-have-paid-over-ps1-billion-shareholders-last-6-years-finds-tuc

 

And of course the TUC would say that...  so look at this..

 

https://www.opendemocracy.net/en/firstgroup-abellio-rail-strikes-rmt-shareholders-payout/

 

So, while this Tory Govt. allows failing Rail Companies to dish out 'Profits', to shareholders, it uses OUR money, in the form of taxation, to subsidise those profits..while colluding with the Rail Companies to to attack the Rail workers pay and conditions, and the safety of rail passengers.

Does this add up to responsible Govt.?, or does it add up to legalised theft? I'd be interested in members' views.

 

NHS: I think you'd have to be blind, deaf AND stupid not to understand that the NHS is at breaking point.  You don't have to look far for the causes. Briefly, Govt have imposed real terms funding cuts for 12 years (at least), Govt. has deliberately cut Nurse and other medical training and Brexit has damaged the flow of Foreign workers on which the NHS has depended for decades. Add in real terms wage cuts for decades..and it's no surprise things are bad and getting rapidly worse.

 

I'll add that I'm convinced that the Tories..especially these Tories..who are influenced..if not directly controlled by, Far Right Neo Con forces such as the 'Institute of Economic Affairs', etc.. which are just fronts for anti Govt, anti Public Service, small state, low tax, 'sod the plebs' thinking..actually WANT the NHS to fail..and they are quite prepared to sacrifice the health of the nation to achieve their aims.

If the Tories really believe we'd be better with an alternative to the NHS..then why don't they own up..declare their 'solution', and 'sell' it, as  manifesto pledge? The answer is staring you in the face.  They don't care whether 'WE would be better off..they only care whether THEY, and their Private Sector backers/shareholders would be better off.

So today, we had the spectacle of the proven criminal and liar, Grant (4 names) Schapps, actually having the Brass Neck to stand up and claim that Ambulance Workers are 'risking lives' by taking Industrial Action. I'm trying very hard to avoid expletives here.. You, Me, Ambulance Workers, Patients and everyone else in the country knows that the Ambulance Service is being prevented from doing its job, because Hospitals can't accommodate patients, because Govt. STILL hasn't done anything to fix Social Care, causing 'Bed Blocking', causing queuing Ambulances, causing longer waiting times for Ambulances..etc..etc.. Did that smug, odious cretin Schapps, even acknowledge the problem that is really at the root of Ambulance delays, and which is also driving Ambulance workers to distraction?  Of course he didn't, because his Govt is never wrong.. It's always someone else's fault.

 

Seeing a pattern here yet?

 

Sunak.. today.. dribbling about any Nurses Pay award being 'affordable'.  Seriously?!!!  Does anyone recall him and his ilk being concerned with the 'affordability' of the £Billions thrown willy nilly at the likes of Dido Harding et.al. during the worst of Covid? Of course not.. because that was going into the PRIVATE SECTOR, so it was OK.

 

So Sunak and the rest of his bunch of thieves..are now exploiting the stupidity of the UK electorate by going on about the 'cost', of public sector pay, and wittering on about how it all has to come out of taxes.  Actually, it doesn't, but let's not burden ourselves with facts.. let's just remember that the 'tax burden', never seems to be an issue when money is flowing into the bottomless pockets of the already rich.

 

I can't be bothered at this time to delve into the facts and figures for why Water, Energy and other Companies are getting away with murder at the expense of the Tax Payer, the Environment etc... Suffice to say it's the same old story..  Public Bodies such as the Environment Agency, the Electoral Commission, etc., etc., quietly having their teeth pulled, while the utter criminal Private Sector B******s prioritising profit over Service, despite supposedly doing a better job than the Public Sector...are turning the UK into a Third World Country, the Laughing Stock of Europe, etc. Rivers of Sewage anyone?

 

So... It's no secret that I am a Democratic Socialist.  I believe in Democracy first and a Govt. which employs Socialist Principles when considering, for example, Disability, Poverty etc. a Govt. which recognises that unrestrained Capitalism will never address the ills of society and in fact creates many of them, so that Govt. needs to intervene, for the good of all.  We can't all be rich..but none of us need to be poor in this day and age.

 

So..and finally, I hear cries of 'Labour would be worse!!!' 

 

Really?  How.. in any conceivable Universe, could they be worse than the current bunch of thieving, incompetent crooks?  Tell me how!.. and show your working....

 

In all honesty, I'm no fan of Starmer.  He's way too far to the right for me.  I'll allow that he is very wary of saying anything that the Right Wing press can jump on. And let's be honest, all of the Press plus the BBC is basically right wing...  But he is proposing nothing radical.. Nothing that the bulk of the population can get behind. It's worrying. The whole World is turning Right. It's scary.

 

BUT, no matter how desperately we NEED, a change in our Democracy, brought about by Proportional Representation, to give a chance to fringe parties, that isn't going to happen anytime soon. So, we are stuck with an essentially two party, 'First Past The Post' system.  For me..'warts and all', our only hope of keeping Britain out of the hands of out and out Fascists, is to vote Labour.

 

P.S.  I have more than a few friends who argue against me, as they are of course entitled to do... until I beat them with facts and evidence.  At that point they usually seek to shut down the argument, because they 'Dont know enough'.  Well of course that begs the obvious question.. If you don't know enough..why are you so determined to vote?

 

As far as I'm concerned, the most important thing in all of our lives, is Politics.  It's not just another area of interest, like Sport, or Hobbies. It is the one thing which determines how you live..what you get.. or don't..etc.  Furthermore, whether you understand it or not.. it will carry on affecting every aspect of your life. It's not an abstract, or a spectator sport... it is central to your existence.

 

Please... Take notice... Be aware..Vote wisely.. or not at all.

 

And remember.. 'All That is Required for Evil to Succeed, is for Good Men to do Nothing".

 

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3 hours ago, DJ360 said:

And remember.. 'All That is Required for Evil to Succeed, is for Good Men to do Nothing".

Excellent rant DJ360

It also needs to be said "That it doesn't matter who you vote for you still get a politician"

The same thing was/is happening here in but at least we had the sense to vote out the morally corrupt and totally inept conservative government at the last election and vote Labour with quite a smattering of independents. It will take quite a time before the excesses of the Morrison government are corrected but so far Albanese is making a decent fist of it.

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A great posting DJ you have eloquently described how I feel, if I were to try to explain how I feel it would be full of expletives. For a few years I have tried to explain how they are trying to destroy the NHS and replace it with an American style health " service" and that the other privatised services are are costing a fortune with Government grants ,subsidies etc. I have had to use the NHS too much in the last few years and have yet to find a more dedicated workforce and they are underpaid and over worked.

But I have realised I am wasting my time as the majority of people do not want to know or they will not talk about " politics". Best of luck with your quest but do not let it destroy you.

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Just listened in disbelief to Sunak on a Party Political Broadcast.

I don't know what planet he's on..but it isn't  Earth....

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Just watching Politics Live on BBC2. Yet another Tory MP flatly refusing to accept that the NHS is in crisis and also flatly refusing to accept any responsibility.

They don't care.

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BBC News. Now. Ist item. Ambulance response times. Concrete evidence of deaths due to ambulance delays.

I waited 6 hours last year for an ambulance which was called for me by NHS 111 .  It never arrived and I was advised to make my own way to A&E. I did but my symptoms resolved and after 6 hours more I discharged myself.

 

A few weeks ago I attended a Walk In Centre and was told to go to A&E because they were closing early due to lack of staff.  I waited 10 hours in A&E before being told I was OK to leave.

Fortunately I wasn't seriously ill, but my small experiences help to highlight the issue.

Tories continue to stonewall, blame others, fail to acknowledge the issues or accept any responsibility.

In any other country, we'd be besieging Downing Street with shovels and pitchforks.

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • Cliff Ton changed the title to Anything Political

The catalogue of Tory scandal, corruption, damage and failure continues unabated.

Every day, it becomes more apparent just how much these criminals have broken, with their toxic mix of privatisation, chronic underfunding of public services and failed inspection, supervision and management.

Only today, as well as the ongoing Zahawi and Sharp issues, we have reports of abuse and neglect in Doncaster children's homes, plus the failure of the probation system which led to the murder of a young female Law Graduate.

Both of these result from privatisation. Privately run children's homes, run for profit and poorly inspected. It's sickening.

Privatisation of the Probation Service. As I recall, Probation used to be a specialism within Social Work, but that was scrapped and the Privatised Probation scam is now failing and poorly staffed with low paid, badly trained workers.
This is clearly only the tip of a sickening iceberg.
Disgusting..I can't adequately voice my rage at those responsible and those who still vote for this criminal damage to our country and our society.

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Please open this link:

https://westcountryvoices.co.uk/children-in-care-big-business-for-international-investors/

 

This links to something called West Country Voices, which in turn quotes the Financial Times, in a report into the ownership of Children's Homes, by foreign owned companies. The Times spells out the obscene profits being made by these companies, and how much they are charging cash strapped local authorities to 'Care for' vulnerable children. (It seems typically £250000 p.a., PER CHILD!!)

This is what the the obsession with Privatisation has led to. This is not what Thatcher promised and although I detested her both for what she stood for, and as a person, I'm convinced she would be appalled at what is being done in her name.

This is not Economic Policy for the benefit of the electorate. This is LEGALISED THEFT, leading to INCREASED COSTS and ABUSE OF CHILDREN.

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38 minutes ago, letsavagoo said:

Don’t worry DJ. They’ll be out soon and the country will be on its feet in no time.

 

Not quite sure whether there's a hint of irony in there Letsav.. Sadly, it will take a long time to repair the damage the crooks have done to our Public Services, our Infrastructure and our economy. It will be Labour who are landed with this. The only way I can see to sort it out will be the 'de-privatisation' of Social Care/Probation/Education/Rail etc. It will cost a fortune, but will at least lead to the money being spent on service delivery and decent staffing, rather than obscene profits for foreigners.

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Well Labour made such a good job of everything last time they were in power, especially the genius selling of a all the gold reserves when prices were so low I have every confidence of a golden age around the corner. 
There is a more than a hint of irony of course as I don’t believe for a second that Labour will solve the problems the country is facing but the current government of the day are dire. I just don’t find the alternative appealing.

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Firstly Letsav, the gold sale may or may not have been unwise. Expert opinion seems divided, but eitherway it had little to no long term impact.

Other than that Labour were doing pretty well until the sort of people who are more closely allied to the Tories, I.E. International speculators etc..., brought about a World Economic Collapse. Brown was praised for his approach to tackling that, but inevitably it cost us dearly and the Tories were able to blame Labour and make people believe it. I'd love to have seen how May, Cameron, Johnson, Truss or Sunak would have tackled it. Recent evidence isn't inspiring. 

I've already said I'm no great fan of Starmer, but overall Labour are not bent on stealing our country from under our noses..or completely destroying our public services. That alone makes them a far better bet for me.

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Looks like Sir Rod Stewart gets the mood of the country.

 

"I personally have been a Tory for a long time but I think this government should stand down now and give the Labour Party a go, this is heartbreaking.

"In all my years in this country I've never seen it so bad... change the bloody government."

 

https://news.sky.com/story/sir-rod-stewart-calls-in-to-sky-news-to-donate-for-medical-scans-after-hearing-nhs-crisis-stories-12796105

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I saw that earlier, good old Rodders, must have been to see him in concert over the years at least 6 times, one of my faves. 

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So, Zahawi has finally been sacked. Not before time and in my opinion if he's not fit to be a minister, then he's not fit to be an M.P. and should be expelled from Parliament.

So,..the seemingly endless catal8gue of corruption, lying, misuse ofbpower etc. continues. Without doubt the most corrupt Govt in my lifetime.

They must go.

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  • 1 month later...

I'm not here to defend Matt Hancock, but I'm once again amazed by the arrogance and poisonous rhetoric of Isabel Oakshott. The woman masquerades as a 'journalist' and couches her arguments in a sort of 'populist' cum 'public interest' framework, when in reality she is just a 

self promoting bigot.

It is high time that the BBC stopped platforming her and similar self interested 'commentators'.

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Whilst there can be no doubt that the UK system of immigration control is completely  broken, it is instructive to note that the present Govt. is engaged in a massive campaign of scaremongering and misinformation around immigration. They are in fact whipping the issue up, knowing full well that simply taking an anti immigration stance is a vote catcher. Their proposals don't have to work..they just have to sound sufficiently punitive.

And of course while Braverman and Co keep immigration front and centre in the news, their abject failure in every other policy area creeps on under the radar.

 

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I see the people of skeggy have had enough of putting these refugees up in hotels , and bloody about time mentioned this , the uk  has become a dumping ground for refugees, 

Yet army veterans are sleeping rough , shouldn't the british government look after there own country folk first and foremost  ?

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