A Political Thread pt. 2

[ncurd]

Isn't this the sort of thing that politicians normally do AFTER winning the election?

The pledge was made before Truss blew up the economy and they'd already said 28bn was no longer the plan months ago for thier term as parliament.

It's a real shame but it looks like it's just unaffordable at this present time and needed scaling back.

 

[ncurd]

From 5th Jan

Keir Starmer: £28bn green pledge is 'confident ambition'

Labour is facing questions over whether its flagship investment policy could be watered down further.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Saintjay]

I think the main issue was announcing a big spending pledge two/three years ago. That has now back fired the way it has. Without factoring the economy might not be as it was even a few years ago . It was probably better to wait and announce as an election pledge if feasable.

My issue is it took them so long to ditch it. When every indication was it wasn't possible. He did appear to flip flop over ditching it. Yes i think Starmer is right to ditch it but it doesn't help the flip flopper narrative and risks losing people who really supported the policy

 

[ncurd]

I think the main issue was announcing a big spending pledge two/three years ago. That has now back fired the way it has. Without factoring the economy might not be as it was even a few years ago . It was probably better to wait and announce as an election pledge if feasable.

My issue is it took them so long to ditch it. When every indication was it wasn't possible. He did appear to flip flop over ditching it. Yes i think Starmer is right to ditch it but it doesn't help the flip flopper narrative and risks losing people who really supported the policy

Yeah I'm not happy to lose it, I can understand the announcement though. Nationalised Green Energy is something the Tories won't touch with a barge pole so it gave them a massive platform to campaign on over the years without the idea being stolen.

Otherwise Labour just get told they have no plan or ideas.

 

[Which Tyler]

Otherwise Labour just get told they have no plan or ideas.

This especially.

Come on labour - what do you stand for? what are your policies? why are you hiding behind 'we're in opposition'?

Now it's - why on earth would you want to tell people what your policy is? you can have no idea just how badly we're going to trash the economy to prevent you spending anything!

 

[Which Tyler]

FactCheck: 35,000 patients wait for 12 hours on hospital trolleys every month in England

This was virtually unheard of in the early 2010s.

www.channel4.com

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

The extent of Republican hypocrisy is really coming to the fore now as there is no way to hide it any more. Even Republicans are getting frustrated with how much of a hypocritical cult of Trump the party is now.

 

[Reiser99]

FactCheck: 35,000 patients wait for 12 hours on hospital trolleys every month in England

This was virtually unheard of in the early 2010s.

www.channel4.com

It's at times like these that facts speak for themselves. Under the Conservatives, the quality of public services has plummeted. Maybe Labour won't fix it, but they can't make it worse.

 

[Reiser99]

The extent of Republican hypocrisy is really coming to the fore now as there is no way to hide it any more. Even Republicans are getting frustrated with how much of a hypocritical cult of Trump the party is now.

It's bad in the UK, but at least it feels like some cross party legislation is still possible. America is just ******. Two sides that flat out refuse to work together unless absolutely forced to by necessity. Personally Republicans are far worse, but I'm sure the Democrats aren't entirely innocent. However, Republicans especially are trying to rig the system in their favouring through gerrymandering. They successfully took control of the supreme court by stonewalling Obama. Most legislation they do try to pass come from lobbying groups. I honestly don't see how much longer the system will cope.

 

[Saintjay]

It's at times like these that facts speak for themselves. Under the Conservatives, the quality of public services has plummeted. Maybe Labour won't fix it, but they can't make it worse.

I pretty sure it'll get worse under Labour. Not saying it'll be there fault but if service demand is up 10% since 2019 i fail to see how it won't increase. The only solution is more resources which means more money (spending, borrowing)

The next issue is bed blocking and lack of social care. Again only solution resources and spending etc.

Finaly NHS pay and strikes. If Labour are as poor as the Tories with this then it'll be more strikes. Or they'll offer better pay and conditions. Again more spending.

Given the Tories have run the NHS into the ground how a fiscally prudent Labour as they claim to be can improve this without tax and spending i don't know.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Israel-Gaza war: US says it will not back unplanned Rafah offensive

Officials warn Israel over sending troops into Rafah without due consideration for refugees there.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[Bada-Bing!]

I pretty sure it'll get worse under Labour. Not saying it'll be there fault but if service demand is up 10% since 2019 i fail to see how it won't increase. The only solution is more resources which means more money (spending, borrowing)

The next issue is bed blocking and lack of social care. Again only solution resources and spending etc.

Finaly NHS pay and strikes. If Labour are as poor as the Tories with this then it'll be more strikes. Or they'll offer better pay and conditions. Again more spending.

Given the Tories have run the NHS into the ground how a fiscally prudent Labour as they claim to be can improve this without tax and spending i don't know.

Which is why they had to halve their £28B Green spending pledge. Especially with interest rates now 5.25%. Shows the folly of the Tories not borrowing and investing when interest rates were rock bottom.

 

[General Melchett]

Just watched Biden's memory lapses - jeez that was bad. He should be in an old peoples' home. A Biden v Trump run-off really is a nightmare.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

Just watched Biden's memory lapses - jeez that was bad. He should be in an old peoples' home. A Biden v Trump run-off really is a nightmare.

Even if he does win this November Trump will go again in 2028 unless he's locked up by then. Still, it wouldn't stop his supporters voting for him. Need an age limit in the constitution to stop the leader of the free world being a geriatric.

 

[Ragey Erasmus]

Just watched Biden's memory lapses - jeez that was bad. He should be in an old peoples' home. A Biden v Trump run-off really is a nightmare.

It really does highlight the lunacy of running with 2 people that old. 40-60 I think it the optimum age for someone running a country. Beyond that, you start declining quite badly physically and mentally. Before that, you are unlikely to have enough experience. If Republicans were running anyone but Trump, even for all their shithousery, they would stand a good chance against Biden. Both parties really have gone for the worst possible candidates they could have, with the Republican one just being the worst of the worst.

 

[Saintjay]

Tricky one. I'd hate to see anyone discriminated against a job based on age. Yes i accept it happens in the (real) world but in theory it's illegal in the UK at least.

Unless its a exempt occupation. I think people should get the job regardless of age and if they can't do it they are dismissed under capacity / health / capability grounds as usually happens. How you do that to a sitting US president would be anyone's guess.

 

[General Melchett]

It really does highlight the lunacy of running with 2 people that old. 40-60 I think it the optimum age for someone running a country. Beyond that, you start declining quite badly physically and mentally. Before that, you are unlikely to have enough experience. If Republicans were running anyone but Trump, even for all their shithousery, they would stand a good chance against Biden. Both parties really have gone for the worst possible candidates they could have, with the Republican one just being the worst of the worst.

You'd think logic would apply and that 'best person for the job' prevails but that really isn't the case anymore. I read that some of the early American Presidents had crazy high IQs because in those days they deemed intellect to be the be all and end all but it's totally different nowadays with 24/7 news and social media. It's all about who polls best against who and who has the media skills to appeal to voters.

Anyone can see that Biden isn't really in charge and that he's just a puppet President who is told what to say and do. For some bizarre reason the polling data shows that he is the only one who can give Trump a run for his money. The Democrats screwed up big time by making Kamala Harris VP. The thinking was she'd take over from Biden but she's just not popular enough and would get pummelled by Trump in a run-off. The Democrats have got themselves into a proper sticky situation by placing all their eggs in the Biden basket and days like yesterday just make things worse.

 

[Bada-Bing!]

He's still better than Trump though.

 

[Gavin]

He's still better than Trump though.

Even with his age, he seems so much on the ball.

 

[Saintjay]

Even with his age, he seems so much on the ball.

I was thinking all this talk on age, then people wheel out Bernie and Jeremy.