Let's Get Political!

[Batch]

His quoting is Mr Whippytastic

[pauld]

I questioned this before. He does it on purpose apparently.

To deliberately render his replies even more incomprehensible? Or just "Yeah, meant to do that"?

[Bob's Orange]

To deliberately render his replies even more incomprehensible? Or just "Yeah, meant to do that"?

I think its because he's a wank Clarke but who the fuck knows with him.

Why does s pa tul a change to Clarke?

[Flashheart]

Or worked how to provide a proper answer, based on facts, to a question as opposed to using media soundbites

I don't think he does answer, I think he reacts. It's as though it's more a response to stimuli for him.

Anyway, that's about as much attention I'm going to give him for now.

[michael]

About 1/3 the amount spend on debt interest alone.

So, if you had an area of Government you'd want fixed, which would be first on the list?

A better question you might want to consider is "what did the Roman's ever do for us? - what is the net benefit of being in the EU - so, we get a rebate, plus we get actual spending in the UK from EU funds.  On top of that we have pretty much zero trade barriers and not tariff's to pay - creating opportunities in import and export markets.  Add on top areas of Regulation that some would argue have benefited the UK - minimum wage, maximum working hours etc.  I appreciate that last one may not be a benefit some would be happy with, but MOST are.

Then you take the deficit - the cost to be a member, the fact you have to enable free movement of people (I include this because enough people in the UK consider this to be a downside, regardless of my own personal view), regulations in areas that people don't see as a benefit (no bendy banana's please), big areas of concern such as the CAP (whatever the good intentions of this, protecting food sources, it clearly went bad quite quickly is probably the single biggest rod to poke the EU with when it comes to corruption/waste).

Throwing around a headline number advances discussion little.

Anyway, we'll soon be spending that money on a USA Healthcare system, no?

Another rarely mention benefit of our EU membership is that, whilst a member, we are at the very forefront of the biggest and most powerful multilateral economic sanctions program in the world. This discounts, of course, the UN, which is multilateral too, but with Russia - like us - sat on the security council as permanent members, and having the right of veto over any UN applied sanctions, then it isn't truly international. It also discounts the US, but they are a special case given the US Dollar is used everywhere across the world, and their program isn't multilateral anyway.

The EU have applied economically painful sectoral sanctions against Russia for their annexing of Crimea. Undermining the EU's sanctions regime is an obvious reason why Russia would be keen for Brexit to happen.

[horlock07]

This guy seemed to have a pretty correct prediction 3 years ago on the BBC, and obviously he cannot be contradicted as he is from WTO (good) and not EU (bad)!

https://twitter.com/brexitjoke/status/1135487494932312065

[pauld]

This guy seemed to have a pretty correct prediction 3 years ago on the BBC, and obviously he cannot be contradicted as he is from WTO (good) and not EU (bad)!

https://twitter.com/brexitjoke/status/1135487494932312065

Ah, but he's an expert. Can't trust the experts. They actually know what they're talking about. Better leave it to the "make it up as you go along" amateurs like Gove, Johnson and Farage. Or the "shouty blokes on social media" who all know exactly what to do. But don't have any answers

[Ardiles]

Brexit Party juggernaut hits a bump in the road as Brexitty Peterborough returns another Labour MP.  Sadly, Corbyn will use this to justify continuing with his policy of obfuscation.

[Legends-Lounge]

Brexit Party juggernaut hits a bump in the road as Brexitty Peterborough returns another Labour MP.  Sadly, Corbyn will use this to justify continuing with his policy of obfuscation.

I called right last night discussing the result watching the England game with my mate. Kind of did a Smeeton in a way. I said Labour narrowly or Brexit Party would smash it. Be very interested how the result would play out in a GE nationally.

[chalkies_shorts]

Brexit Party juggernaut hits a bump in the road as Brexitty Peterborough returns another Labour MP.  Sadly, Corbyn will use this to justify continuing with his policy of obfuscation.

considering the party has been going 8 weeks and doesn't have the infrastructure of the main parties - they're doing alright. They will be disappointed not to have won but they did well. Will need bit more time before we know where its going. Labour will be very relieved.

[Ardiles]

I think it illustrates very clearly that tactical voting is getting much more important now.  The Tories have sussed that the only way they can survive now is by aping the Brexit Party.  Many MPs now threatened with deselection if they fail to back a hard/WTO Brexit...which would have been unthinkable even 3 yrs ago.  But it also raises the prospect of the Tories and the Brexit Party splitting the Leave vote in future elections and allowing the more Remain-friendly parties to come through the middle.  The clamour to end FPTP will only grow.

[horlock07]

I called right last night discussing the result watching the England game with my mate. Kind of did a Smeeton in a way. I said Labour narrowly or Brexit Party would smash it. Be very interested how the result would play out in a GE nationally.

You should have had a bet on it, I had a look online on Tuesday and BXP were 1/8 to win, didn't bother checking any others as the bookies seemed so sure.

[horlock07]

considering the party has been going 8 weeks and doesn't have the infrastructure of the main parties - they're doing alright. They will be disappointed not to have won but they did well. Will need bit more time before we know where its going. Labour will be very relieved.

They did OK, although the figures only really support them taking votes off the Tories and they will need to do a hell of a lot more than that as splitting the further right vote is only going to get them so far. The big step is whether they are actually going to become a party and not just a personal ego trip for Farage as the scrutiny will increase ten fold then in terms of funding etc.

I think it illustrates very clearly that tactical voting is getting much more important now.  The Tories have sussed that the only way they can survive now is by aping the Brexit Party.  Many MPs now threatened with deselection if they fail to back a hard/WTO Brexit...which would have been unthinkable even 3 yrs ago.  But it also raises the prospect of the Tories and the Brexit Party splitting the Leave vote in future elections and allowing the more Remain-friendly parties to come through the middle.  The clamour to end FPTP will only grow.

I know from the groups that I follow that there were a hell of a lot of Lib Dems and Greens who held their noses and voted Labour just to keep Farage out, the problem is in terms of tactical voting that much of the Labour faithful are incapable of looking at anyone other than the messiah so I fear in other marginals where Labour are not the second party the favour is unlikely to be repaid.

Be interested to see how many Lib Dem and Green voters are expelled from their parties for their votes?

[pauld]

considering the party has been going 8 weeks and doesn't have the infrastructure of the main parties - they're doing alright. They will be disappointed not to have won but they did well. Will need bit more time before we know where its going. Labour will be very relieved.

Equally, if they can't win that with all the momentum they had, the media hype, against a flailing party with a weak candidate replacing a jailbird, in a very strongly Brexit area, doesn't bode well for the General Election does it. Maybe coming up with some actual policies or allowing people to join like a normal political party might help, but then it would run the risk of not being Nigel's vanity project any more. TBF I don't think he wants to win power, he knows damn well they couldn't run a government, it's much easier to act as a protest group on the sidelines. Bit like Corbyn, in fact.

[Reg Smeeton]

 Farage made this about democracy, so it's good that the right have been halted in their tracks... for now.  Well done to all those, who put in the effort to defeat the politics of hatred.