General Politics Thread

[sparky88]

6 hours ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

A cynic might think this whole Orkney story was being deliberately created to cause discomfort to the independence movement.

Finally a story that causes discomfort to the independence movement. It's been ages since we had one of them.

[lichtgilphead]

13 minutes ago, DeeTillEhDeh said:

I also question the motivations behind this move - there is no great move for self-determination in Orkney - it smacks of mischief making for other purposes.

I wonder when this stoty was last given an airing by the UK press?

Oh! It's Better Together's greatest lies all over again!

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/07/03/orkney-has-exposed-the-lie-at-the-heart-of-snp-scotland/

"And Orcadians voted 67 per cent against independence from the UK in 2014. There was talk at that time of Orkney and the Shetlands seceding from any independent Scotland. "

[tamthebam]

Could Norway be persuaded to take the Western Isles back too

[Lurkst]

8 minutes ago, tamthebam said:

Could Norway be persuaded to take the Western Isles back too

Largs also, after all Nardini's have been selling at Norwegian prices for years now.

 

 

[lichtgilphead]

18 minutes ago, Lurkst said:

Largs also, after all Nardini's have been selling at Norwegian prices for years now.

 

 

If Norway regained Kintyre, I'd be disappointed to lose Tarbert, but it would be more than made up for by the loss of Campbeltown 

[Miguel Sanchez]

The nick of this:

 

[StellarHibee]

5 minutes ago, Miguel Sanchez said:

The nick of this:

 

"Nobody takes us Canadians seriousleh!"

[BukyOHare]

I wouldnt claim to be an expert on politics by any means but I cannot recall a time when the standard of individuals and parties generally seemed to consistently show  pathetically low levels of ability, morals, leadership and ability to make actual improvements to the country.

Is this fair or is it all generally as a result of a long list of impacting factors that we are all aware of?

For those more educated on the subject than I a couple of questions:

As the figures involved in running the UK don't balance does it actually matter who's running the country and generally is there a light at the end of the tunnel for the general malaise we all seem caught up in?

Can "better" times return?

[Mark Connolly]

2 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

Can "better" times return?

I can answer this one, but it depends on your answer to the following question:

Are you a major donor to the Conservative Party?

[O'Kelly Isley III]

2 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

I wouldnt claim to be an expert on politics by any means but I cannot recall a time when the standard of individuals and parties generally seemed to consistently show  pathetically low levels of ability, morals, leadership and ability to make actual improvements to the country.

Is this fair or is it all generally as a result of a long list of impacting factors that we are all aware of?

For those more educated on the subject than I a couple of questions:

As the figures involved in running the UK don't balance does it actually matter who's running the country and generally is there a light at the end of the tunnel for the general malaise we all seem caught up in?

Can "better" times return?

No, better times will not return.  For decades now the UK has adopted the transatlantic economic model of essentially a survival of the fittest with minimal safety net for large swathes of the population, and Brexit will only exacerbate this.  Years ago I read a prediction that the two main UK parties would eventually reflect their US counterparts and that is exactly why we now have an extreme right wing version (Tories) and a more basic right wing version (Labour).  

As for Scotland, when a so-called leading Labour figure like Anas Sarwar attempts to to justify his UK leader's disgraceful shitebaggery on a matter of important socio-economic policy that it might 'spook the markets' then you really need little further evidence of the above paragraph.

And anyone up here voting Labour expecting meaningful change never mind progress needs their head examined.

 

[BukyOHare]

1 hour ago, Mark Connolly said:

I can answer this one, but it depends on your answer to the following question:

Are you a major donor to the Conservative Party?

Sorry I don't get the humour.

[Mark Connolly]

2 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

Sorry I don't get the humour.

To put it simply, “better times” can only return once politicians stop shafting the public in favour of handing out billions in tax breaks and just plain cash to their pals

[BukyOHare]

12 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

To put it simply, “better times” can only return once politicians stop shafting the public in favour of handing out billions in tax breaks and just plain cash to their pals

I get it now, apologies.

[BFTD]

We're fucked, and there's worse to come, as support for democracy will plummet in the decades ahead.

Fully expect some Tory-adjacent like Farage to start coming out with lines about how "democracy has failed" in the near future and pick up a lot of support.

[Salt n Vinegar]

22 minutes ago, Mark Connolly said:

To put it simply, “better times” can only return once politicians stop shafting the public in favour of handing out billions in tax breaks and just plain cash to their pals

It is sad, but that's substantially true. Our economic model transfers wealth from those with few or no assets to those with assets.  Without a more significant transfer via taxation from the income rich to the income poor things will get worse. It is odd, because as the less well off fall further behind in the national game of monopoly, they will have proportionally less to spend on the goods and services provided by the wealthier.

Funny old world.

[StellarHibee]

2 minutes ago, Salt n Vinegar said:

It is sad, but that's substantially true. Our economic model transfers wealth from those with few or no assets to those with assets.  Without a more significant transfer via taxation from the income rich to the income poor things will get worse. It is odd, because as the less well off fall further behind in the national game of monopoly, they will have proportionally less to spend on the goods and services provided by the wealthier.

Funny old world.

The wealthiest are so wealthy that they no longer need to produce goods and services for the rest of us. They will have AI to produce the goods and services that they need themselves, while the rest of us are left to rot.

[CityDave94]

6 hours ago, BukyOHare said:

I wouldnt claim to be an expert on politics by any means but I cannot recall a time when the standard of individuals and parties generally seemed to consistently show  pathetically low levels of ability, morals, leadership and ability to make actual improvements to the country.

Is this fair or is it all generally as a result of a long list of impacting factors that we are all aware of?

For those more educated on the subject than I a couple of questions:

As the figures involved in running the UK don't balance does it actually matter who's running the country and generally is there a light at the end of the tunnel for the general malaise we all seem caught up in?

Can "better" times return?

Depends if you have a mortgage to pay off or not.

[BukyOHare]

1 minute ago, approximately dave said:

Depends if you have a mortgage to pay off or not.

Absolutely true.

[Miguel Sanchez]

I do enjoy a shite attempt at humanisation.

 

[Wee-Bey]

Yer boy here has just read The Orange Book and is oot his nut on plastic bag taxes and shan versions of proportional representation.