The Politics Thread

[Blackpool Rock]

Listening to the Menzies story breaking yesterday how much lower can the
Tories go?hes also got history.Why don’t they just call an election as they are finished.

So far 100 MP's have announced they are standing down at the next GE, the majority of them are Tories which you'd expect being the largest party but the % of Tories standing down is far higher than the other parties and the average age is also lower, it basically says they know they will lose

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[Blackpool Rock]

I know the 20MPH limit in Wales has previously been discussed and think it was on the Politics thread so I'll post this here, basically they have now decided to change some of them back to 30MPH, so how much will this double change cost 

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[petermisc]

I know the 20MPH limit in Wales has previously been discussed and think it was on the Politics thread so I'll post this here, basically they have now decided to change some of them back to 30MPH, so how much will this double change cost 

I suppose it depends on how many they actually change back.

They went for a quick and nasty implementation to get the limits introduced as soon as possible.  This has saved lives, but also got a lot of people's backs up.  If they had required a detailed consultation on each case, how much would that have cost?  And how many lives would have been lost while the consultations ground on?

[snaitram99]

I know the 20MPH limit in Wales has previously been discussed and think it was on the Politics thread so I'll post this here, basically they have now decided to change some of them back to 30MPH, so how much will this double change cost 

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Part of the introduction of the 20mph scheme was that local authorities could keep some at 30 mph. Some Councils diligently tried to decide where it made sense to keep 30mph, whereas others designated very few, so most defaulted to "20mph where there are street lights" even on roads where it was probably envisaged that they would be exempted. In my area we have some very short preserved 30 mph sections which could probably have been longer.
There is also the confusion that if you are not sure, because of a lack of 30mph repeater signs in some places where that has been designated , you have to default to 20mph until you are sure.

[petermisc]

There are cases where the council has put in a 20mph in the middle of an existing 30, resulting in a short stretch of 30, followed by the 20, followed by another short stretch of 30 - it would have been more sensible to make it all 20.  Likewise where you get a stretch of 20, then a short stretch of something higher, followed by another 20.  Again it would be more sensible to have just continuous 20, as there is little point in accelerating in the middle, but they probably wouldn't have been allowed to do that.  All the additional changes of speed are as much of an inconvenience as the 20s themselves.  And some more reminders of what is 20 and what 30 would be a help, as it is easy to lose track with the constant changes.

[myothernameis]

Listening to the Menzies story breaking yesterday how much lower can the
Tories go?hes also got history.Why don’t they just call an election as they are finished.

Some news stories suggest Rishi Sunak, may call for a general election in June, and parliament would finish at the end of Apr.   Council elections in England in the next week, and its expected many Conservative councilors will lose there seats.

So if Rishi Sunak doesn't call for a general election in June, he could face a challenge for the leadership of the Conservative party.   So the only possible way for him to remain as PM, might be to call a June election

[PumpDump]

There are cases where the council has put in a 20mph in the middle of an existing 30, resulting in a short stretch of 30, followed by the 20, followed by another short stretch of 30 - it would have been more sensible to make it all 20.  Likewise where you get a stretch of 20, then a short stretch of something higher, followed by another 20.  Again it would be more sensible to have just continuous 20, as there is little point in accelerating in the middle, but they probably wouldn't have been allowed to do that.  All the additional changes of speed are as much of an inconvenience as the 20s themselves.  And some more reminders of what is 20 and what 30 would be a help, as it is easy to lose track with the constant changes.

It's a mess in South London. Roads change from 20 to 30, back to 20 again. Nobody knows what the fucking limit is. And everyone slows down to 20mph for speed cameras even if the limit is 40.

[Blackpool Rock]

Got a postal vote through this morning then when I opened it I saw it was for the Police & crime commissioner, 3 candidates all somehow affiliated to various political parties 

Straight in the fucking shredder with that cunt as I refuse to vote for anyone now they have politicised the police 

[PepeMAGA]

I suppose it depends on how many they actually change back.

They went for a quick and nasty implementation to get the limits introduced as soon as possible.  This has saved lives, but also got a lot of people's backs up.  If they had required a detailed consultation on each case, how much would that have cost?  And how many lives would have been lost while the consultations ground on?

How many lives have been saved?

[Squire Haggard]

Got a postal vote through this morning then when I opened it I saw it was for the Police & crime commissioner, 3 candidates all somehow affiliated to various political parties 

Straight in the fucking shredder with that cunt as I refuse to vote for anyone now they have politicised the police 

My flabber has never been so gasted. This is new to me.

[petermisc]

How many lives have been saved?

Too early to say yet.  But the scheme in Edinburgh certainly seems to have succeeded.

[Bertiebeenthere]

Got a postal vote through this morning then when I opened it I saw it was for the Police & crime commissioner, 3 candidates all somehow affiliated to various political parties 

Straight in the fucking shredder with that cunt as I refuse to vote for anyone now they have politicised the police 

Where have you been since November 2012?
That was when the first elections for PCCs were held.
As of now all the present PCCs are party political.

[RedKettle]

Got a postal vote through this morning then when I opened it I saw it was for the Police & crime commissioner, 3 candidates all somehow affiliated to various political parties 

Straight in the fucking shredder with that cunt as I refuse to vote for anyone now they have politicised the police 

The idea was to make the police accountable to the local people via the elected PCC.  Realistically very few of us tend to vote for independents so they have to have a political party behind them.  Personally i thought it was a crap idea at the time and a case of if it is not broken don’t fix it.

[Blackpool Rock]

Where have you been since November 2012?
That was when the first elections for PCCs were held.
As of now all the present PCCs are party political.

I'm aware that they have been affiliated to political parties for over a decade, I was opposed to it then and i'm still opposed to it now

[Blackpool Rock]

The idea was to make the police accountable to the local people via the elected PCC.  Realistically very few of us tend to vote for independents so they have to have a political party behind them.  Personally i thought it was a crap idea at the time and a case of if it is not broken don’t fix it.

I believe they are always a very low turnout, ironically an independent standing on a ticket of not being hamstrung by a party may actually pick up some votes 

[hullad]

The idea was to make the police accountable to the local people via the elected PCC.  Realistically very few of us tend to vote for independents so they have to have a political party behind them.  Personally i thought it was a crap idea at the time and a case of if it is not broken don’t fix it.

The idea was flawed and replaced a system that worked quite well. I have noticed that certainy around Humberside and Cleveland theTory candidates are showing no tory stuff on there literature and adverts. The official notice of ballot does list them as memvers of the conservative party  I suspect its to catch a few unwary people in voting for them, I expect every one nearly to lose.

I have had years of experience at local level politics going vack to the early 70s. Most independants I have met have been at least Tory leaning, tje day if independants has long gone.

[JontyR]

an independent standing on a ticket of not being hamstrung by a party may actually pick up some votes 

The difficulty here is that the areas of the PPC are so vast, you need an infrastructure to campaign in any kind of fashion. With concurrent local elections in many areas the kind of investment required to compete is significant. I remember once getting a booklet which contained the literature for all candidates in the PCC elections. I'd welcome this.

Most independants I have met have been at least Tory leaning, tje day if independants has long gone.

There are exceptions for sure, but that broadly matches what I have found. I heard an interview with an candidate who had received support from a network  trying to support those standing as an independent. They said they had to remove themselves from the whatsapp as it was full of viewpoints that may have made even Yaxley-Lennon blush.

[Squire Haggard]

I wonder if he would like all those that came in dinghies from France to be sent back to France? He could then demonstrate his ''European values'' by keeping them in France.  Methinks that he is full of merde.

''Macron criticises Rwanda-style asylum schemes days after UK passes bill.''

''Emmanuel Macron has criticised migration policies that involve sending people to African countries as “a betrayal of our [European] values”, just days after the UK government passed its Rwanda deportation bill.''

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[jackdaw]

I wonder if he would like all those that came in dinghies from France to be sent back to France? He could then demonstrate his ''European values'' by keeping them in France.  Methinks that he is full of merde.

''Macron criticises Rwanda-style asylum schemes days after UK passes bill.''

''Emmanuel Macron has criticised migration policies that involve sending people to African countries as “a betrayal of our [European] values”, just days after the UK government passed its Rwanda deportation bill.''

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The French demonstrated a lot of their “values” by allowing a dinghy (still in French waters) that was so overcrowded people had just drowned to carry on to England.

[myothernameis]

Scottish Parliament

The Green party have broken the power sharing deal with the SNP, and now will call for a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf, and the Green party in only need 25 votes in favor of this. 

[Squire Haggard]

Scottish Parliament

The Green party have broken the power sharing deal with the SNP, and now will call for a vote of no confidence in Humza Yousaf, and the Green party in only need 25 votes in favor of this.

This imbecile has a vote on this. I've posted on here about her claim that prostitution is ''violence against women.''

She came last in the SNP leadership contest, then jumped ship to Alba.

''Alba's only MSP will set out a list of demands for Humza Yousaf in exchange for her support in a confidence vote over the First Minister's leadership.''

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[bigden40]

So Humza Useless will resign this morning rather than face a no confidence vote. 

Entirely predictable outcome, he was never fit to be first minister.  Notwithstanding that none of the current political class is particularly fit to lead he was always an exceptionally poor choice. 

The whole SNP/Green thing has been spectacularly bad for Scotland so quite pleased that it’s all over now.

[george r]

Just put sky news and bbc news and that's all they are showing ffs

[myothernameis]

So Humza Useless will resign this morning rather than face a no confidence vote.

Last week, this was talked about on some news outlets, and the challenge now is for the SNP to get a new first minister

Think they have around 28 days to get someone in place, but if no one gets the overall number of votes, then we could be heading for a very early Scottish election

Guessing Rishi Sunak will be watching this very closely, to see how this turns out, and if we have a Scottish general election, how are we voting, and what it means for the UK general election.

A win for labour in Scotland, could indicate what going to happen in the UK general election

[jackdaw]

Last week, this was talked about on some news outlets, and the challenge now is for the SNP to get a new first minister

Think they have around 28 days to get someone in place, but if no one gets the overall number of votes, then we could be heading for a very early Scottish election

Guessing Rishi Sunak will be watching this very closely, to see how this turns out, and if we have a Scottish general election, how are we voting, and what it means for the UK general election.

A win for labour in Scotland, could indicate what going to happen in the UK general election

A “win”...if defined as Labour winning more seats than SNP would be a seismic change. But not sure Labour just increasing their share of vote (but not winning a lot more seats) would mean very much.

And doubt if Rishi needs any vote for a Scottish Parliament to be pretty sure Labour will win next U.K. general election.

[bigden40]

I’ll put this under politics I guess ….

Afroman has remade his one hit “because I got high” inspired by Hunter Biden and it made me laugh ….

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Hey Hunter! Roll another one of those congressional blunts brotha …
He was gonna get his laptop fixed, but Hunter got high
He wasn’t gonna show all them dick pics, but Hunter got high
He shoulda let Hillary bleach his whole hard drive
Hunter got high, Hunter got high, Hunter got high

He wasn’t gonna mess with the hoes, but Hunter got high
He was gonna take em all out on a boat, but Hunter got high
He’s the smartest man that Joe’s ever knew in his life
Till Hunter got high, Hunter got high, Hunter got high

He was gonna go visit his dad, but Hunter got high
He thought he had a secret stash, but Hunter got high
The White House got shut down and we all know why
Hunter got High, Hunter got High, Hunter got High

He never could paint worth a fuck, Hunter got high
Now he gets, a half a mill and up, damn that’s high
Biden never use to start with B-U-Y
Till Hunter got high, Hunter got high, Hunter got high

Ukraine wasn’t part of the plan, till Hunter got high
China wasn’t that big of a fan, till Hunter got high
He wasn’t gonna split it all, with the old big guy
Till Hunter got high, till Hunter got high, Hunter got high

He wasn’t gonna go to court, but Hunter got high
He’d never been indicted before, but Hunter got high
His attorney’s out smokin a bowl, and we all know why
Cause Hunter got high, Hunter got high, Hunter got high

He was making 80G’s a month, but Hunter got high
On a job brotha ain’t never done, Hunter got high
He got more LLC’s than John Gotti’s ex-wife
Hunter got high, Hunter got high, Hunter got high

His cousin was never a pimp, till Hunter got high
He had the best friends money could rent, but Hunter got high
Just imagine if he wasn’t rich, and so damn white
The cops would raid his house, eat his lemon pound cake, disconnect his cameras and steal his money

[mills_and_bhuna]

No way that was ever going to make the Superbowl half time show

[mills_and_bhuna]

Just watched some clips of the White House Correspondents Dinner.
The words nauseating, cringe, and obsequious barely do it justice.
A tongue bath for a President currently aiding a genocide by a 'comedian'  who was meant to be doing a comedic roast was particularly gross.
Other lowlights included hand wringing about Evan Gershkovitch while conveniently forgetting Julian Assange and the murder of over 100 Palestinian journalists in 6 months. And an award for the Israeli hack who disseminated to the public the ridiculous idea that Biden is honestly negotiating with Israel for a ceasefire rather than assisting in their PR for this ongoing atrocity.

[bigden40]

Just watched some clips of the White House Correspondents Dinner.
The words nauseating, cringe, and obsequious barely do it justice.
A tongue bath for a President currently aiding a genocide by a 'comedian'  who was meant to be doing a comedic roast was particularly gross.
Other lowlights included hand wringing about Evan Gershkovitch while conveniently forgetting Julian Assange and the murder of over 100 Palestinian journalists in 6 months. And an award for the Israeli hack who disseminated to the public the ridiculous idea that Biden is honestly negotiating with Israel for a ceasefire rather than assisting in their PR for this ongoing atrocity.

Notwithstanding that I disagree with your genocide point (although Biden has caused the current Middle East situation with his disastrous Iran policy) it certainly resembles the media class bowing to Biden's royal court.

[Blackpool Rock]

New Brexit trade checks came into force yesterday and will cost many businesses a significant amount of money although most are likely to pass some or all of the cost on to consumers, this show really is the gift that keeps on giving 

Looks like the EU started checking the stuff we send them years ago but we are only just getting around to it, so much for everything being quick and easy then eh 

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[mills_and_bhuna]

Notwithstanding that I disagree with your genocide point (although Biden has caused the current Middle East situation with his disastrous Iran policy) it certainly resembles the media class bowing to Biden's royal court.

Would you agree it's ethnic cleansing at the very least?
And could you expand on your criticism of Biden's Iran policy(assuming it's his and not his carers').
Too confrontational or too soft?

[PumpDump]

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I see Sangita Myska has been fired from LBC after giving the Israeli spokesman External Link/Members Onlyand replaced by Vanessa Feltz.  This follows Bella Donati's sacking from Sky News in January after she gave a tough interview to Israeli politician Danny Danon.

How can Israeli have so much control over the UK media? No wonder the genocide continues.

[mills_and_bhuna]

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I see Sangita Myska has been fired from LBC after giving the Israeli spokesman External Link/Members Onlyand replaced by Vanessa Feltz.  This follows Bella Donati's sacking from Sky News in January after she gave a tough interview to Israeli politician Danny Danon.

How can Israeli have so much control over the UK media? No wonder the genocide continues.

We're just getting the spin off from the US series.
MSNBC sidelines three Muslim anchors in the weeks after October 7 after the ADL stuck their nose in.
And now the University protesters are being kicked off campuses , and locked up .
That First Amendment starting to look a little shaky

[David1970]

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I see Sangita Myska has been fired from LBC after giving the Israeli spokesman External Link/Members Onlyand replaced by Vanessa Feltz.  This follows Bella Donati's sacking from Sky News in January after she gave a tough interview to Israeli politician Danny Danon.

How can Israeli have so much control over the UK media? No wonder the genocide continues.

All the main news outlets are pro Zionist, Channel 4 News is probably the only exception in the UK.

[bigden40]

Would you agree it's ethnic cleansing at the very least?
And could you expand on your criticism of Biden's Iran policy(assuming it's his and not his carers').
Too confrontational or too soft?

I don’t agree. I think the reality of civilian casualties in Gaza is incredibly sad but ethnic cleansing?  No, doesn't clear that bar.

Biden's Iran policy is an extension of Obama's and his state department is filled with pro-Iran muppets like Robert Malley.

Pre-Jan '21 the Trump administration had Iran boxed in, the Abraham accords were making a difference, the Saudi's were on the cusp of making peace with Israel formally. 

Under Biden they have quite deliberately cooled the relationship with the Saudis whilst trying to facilitate a return to the JCPOA.  The administration has loosened sanctions enforcement, and even released funds.  This has led to escalation of tensions via Iran's proxies in the region and there’s a direct lineage from those decisions to Oct 7th. They’ve allowed Iran to take the piss on nuclear testing, have their proxies attack US forces in Iraq and Syria without consequence and allowed a ragtag militia group to completely fuck with shipping in the area. 

Biden's foreign policy has been weak, weak, weak.

Robert Gates, Bill Clinton's Defence Secretary, said that Biden had been wrong on every major foreign policy issue for four decades.  It’s now been five decades but he’s still kept that record up. 

[mills_and_bhuna]

I don’t agree. I think the reality of civilian casualties in Gaza is incredibly sad but ethnic cleansing?  No, doesn't clear that bar.

Biden's Iran policy is an extension of Obama's and his state department is filled with pro-Iran muppets like Robert Malley.

Pre-Jan '21 the Trump administration had Iran boxed in, the Abraham accords were making a difference, the Saudi's were on the cusp of making peace with Israel formally. 

Under Biden they have quite deliberately cooled the relationship with the Saudis whilst trying to facilitate a return to the JCPOA.  The administration has loosened sanctions enforcement, and even released funds.  This has led to escalation of tensions via Iran's proxies in the region and there’s a direct lineage from those decisions to Oct 7th. They’ve allowed Iran to take the piss on nuclear testing, have their proxies attack US forces in Iraq and Syria without consequence and allowed a ragtag militia group to completely fuck with shipping in the area. 

Biden's foreign policy has been weak, weak, weak.

Robert Gates, Bill Clinton's Defence Secretary, said that Biden had been wrong on every major foreign policy issue for four decades.  It’s now been five decades but he’s still kept that record up.

We'll have to agree to disagree on the ethnic cleansing/genocide question.
I think clearing Israel of Palestinians has been the aim of Netanyahu and his party since he came to power and now you have even more extreme elements  in his government.
Pretty much everything else you said is based on the premise that it is the right and the responsibility of the US to dictate everything that goes on in the middle easr.
I don't think it is.
China, Iran, Russia and their would be allies are being sanctioned and pressured because they have The power not to lie down and take it.
The Abraham Accords were just a front for US backed puppets to keep a pretend peace.
I guess we're going to have years of instability now because the world is waking up to what the Western democracies stand for.
It isn't peace and it isn't democracy.
It's hegemony
Oh. And just to add that I doubt it's even Biden calling the shots and probably never has been.
It's a group of national security people embedded in the Deep State tasked by the Corporate State with keeping 'order'.
That's why I think January 6 was a set up and a sham.
'Democracy' was never in danger from Trump. It hasn't existed for years. It's an illusion.
You can see what's happening just now with the Student protests.
Heavily armed police and pro-Zionist mobs(probably paid).
If there was ever any real danger of anything tangible changing it would have been an absolute bloodbath.