UK Politics

As a near neighbour I have been amazed in the last few years how little opposition there has been to what I would consider "loony" privatisations like prisons and whatever Group 4 was paid to do, it's like watching Robocop.

Corbyn will do you a service if these types of polices begin to be questioned.

The type of consensus you have (as we in Ireland also have) labelled TINA by one of our better journalists - "There is no alternative."

There are alternatives and it will be good to have them discussed because current policies in USA, UK, Russia and some of the EU are f87kin5 up the world. Even the Pope looks radical at the moment.

SJB

John Major left school at 16 with just three "O" levels, and he became PM.

What's your point?

But he had a full degree as a mature student! He could not do well earlier on, not because he was not bright, but because of the financial matters of his family, that is my point. A man who is in charge of the UK should be able to make the decisions right based on his sharp/ analytical mind, and I am worried about that on behalf on the great nation.

Peter, if exams were a measure of intellect, you might have a point; but they are not. You have provided no evidence that Corbyn is a thicko, apart from the fact he had mediocre exams results and that he dropped out of higher education.

Those who have worked with him say Corbyn is a very intelligent man and that you underestimate him at your peril.. It is slavish adherence to outdated far Left dogma, rather than lack of intellect, that is likely to be the issue.

In any case, I get the sense that people like him because he didn't go through the usual political establishment route of private school/Oxbridge.

I agree with the above post.. However despite this Corbyn is the leader of the Labour Party.. the party that some of us do or have supported in the past,  this morning appears to be starting to tear itself apart.. and now with the appointment of McDonnell I will be safely watching this one out from the sidelines.

its true many of the new recruits have no memory of regular weekly power cuts (where the power was pulsed to give you a few seconds warning.. our Naim won't like that), enforced shortened working weeks,  crippled nationalised industries, appaling  discrimination, nner city race riots, high crime, reckless planning, cheap sub standard social housing, major divisions in employment relations, poor schools, high unemploymen, high interest rates and very high inflation .. I don't want Labour to mean this again there is so much more it has positively done.. but what goes around comes around, but I really hope we have moved on from this because in that world only the very wealthy can insulate themselves from it.     and this time we won't have North Sea oil to bail us out....

Simon

That is my mantra every time I get into these discussions - I started my adult life during those times & the memories are still painful & will never vote for any left wing centric party no matter who is the leader.  Plus the moment they start talking nationalisation & union support,  I'm out.

RE North Sea oil to bail us out  ............

We do have gas - & enough for hundreds of years of complete & total UK gas supply independence.  Problem is its got the completely unjustified fear of fracking attached to it, none of the green bunny hugging anti brigade have any experience or even understanding of fracking whatsoever. Overcome the fears, welcome this resource & use it to pay for & develop the far more expensive renewable technologies,  then in 50 or so years we might be able to move on with the sun wind & tides,  plus the new fission & its hybrids,  & leave the other 300 years supply of gas in the ground.

Will be watching PMQs tomorrow lunchtime 

But those in favour of fracking do? You are being very naive, if that's what you believe! Nobody in Oil gives a damn about the environmental hazards resulting from its exploitation, whether it's drilling or fracking. Nor do they give a f*ck about peoples' health and well being. All they ever cared about is one thing, monetary gains for themselves and their shareholders. The past and present are full of horrific examples. If you calculated the real cost of oil and gas, it would quickly turn it into a rather expensive source of energy. One we had better move away from. Same with nuclear energy. In real terms it is more expensive than renewables. That's if you factored in the cost of deconstructing old plants and waste disposal. But of course, as long as the tax payer is paying for government subsidies in the building process and picks up the bill for all costs at the end of the cycle, the energy firms will continue to laugh all the way to the bank.

Why on earth wait another 50 years and continue to wreck the planet in the meantime? The technology is here and we need to get on with it now! Without a fundamental paradigm shift in energy production and supply we are headed towards some catastrophic times. And the frightening thing about it? It's no exaggeration on my part.

We will agree to disagree totemphile

Its very naive to believe we can go head first into sustainable power

- I truly wish we could !!!

For at least the next 50 years we need a mix of growth in sustainable's in parallel to a program of efficiency & pollution reduction gains with fossil fuels,   & not forgetting nuclear.  

Failure to do so will mean an ever growing dependency on imports,  gas from Russia & electricity from France - Russian gas is fracked & French electricity is predominantly nuclear.

If we develop our own newly discovered gas reserves we can both be sure its managed with all due regard for environmental protection & the profits/tax can be positivity directed into the accelerated growth & development of the various sustainable's

Have you ever seen a fracking operation, the process of drilling & what's left after the well-head is operational 

Take time to find out - my local farm has milk sheds that take up more room & is a hell of a lot untidier & smelly 

Apparently immediately after the election result in 2010 Guss O'Donnell (the Cabinet Secretary) showed David Cameron some figures that were truly frightening and advised that he had to form a stable gov't that would endure a full term.

I think you will find its still heading in the wrong direction according to publicspending.co.uk/

National Debt Chart
Fiscal Years 2008 to 2014

Never mind,  Corbyn & McDonnell will make that look like a dream balance sheet if they get the chance 

I am not an expert on finances, could someone please advise me to whom does UK owe all this debt to?  Is it bankers, (in UK or foreign), or the Queen (someone told me she is extremely rich because of Banking?)  This might be naive but I thought the Tories were friscal  yet allowed the debt to increase significantly?  Are they saying you need to invest inorder to accumulate like labour have been saying for a long time, its all so confusing.

Asking for advice about politics ,spending and debts is pointless . Everyone has their own ideas and agenda's .

cheers

I smiled with your comment on the Queen, these days she appears to have slipped down to the personal wealth standings, and being head of state, she probably is over 1.5 trillion pounds in debt 

But a good question none the less

http://www.debtbombshell.com/uk-national-debt.htm

and yes regarding your question on increasing debt, like an oil tanker you can't change it instantly .. There is a lot inertia in slowing state spending.. abrupt changes tend to produce riots...... interestingly increasing spending can be far more responsive..

...... interestingly increasing spending can be far more responsive..

With that logic I could end up with a 552/500, alright a bit ambitious a 282/300 then.  (122x/150x owner)

I suspect the chief whip might have been responsible for the spin in gettin old man jezzer in...

what with falling interest in politics lately, after Corbynmania everyone has suddenly got interested....

Thank you for the link, very interesting.  If the creditors to the Government all call in the debt  there would be chaos because of the amount of the debt?

How many Labour leaders have won an election since Harold Wilson scraped in in 1974 - 41 years ago? I'll save you counting - one. Odds on Jezzer doing better than Callaghan, Foot, Kinnock, Smith, Brown, Miliband? Not great.

I wonder if Tim Farron reads this forum... several posts back predicted exactly this 

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-34305994

Who's Tim Farron?

I'm sure conservatives will be very worried that Corbyn is leader of the opposition. As far as they're concerned he's a bit of a loose cannon. Unlike the other four contenders his actions will be unpredictable, just like the consequences of his actions.

I agree. LibDems are a busted-flush for this parliament and the anonymous Fallon isn't going to change that.  I really can't see significant numbers of those who voted Labour at the last election switching to the Lib Dems. The Lib Dems are more likely to attract some moderate Conservatives voters who worry that the party is getting too right-wing. I suspect Corbyn will be aiming to attract those who don't vote, especially the young, and those in Scotland who switched from Labour to the SNP.