Best Of

I think it's time to cut £40bn from welfare and build a properly independent nuclear deterrent and properly fund defence. We can no longer rely on the US regardless of who is in the White House. The Trident programme made sense in an era when the UK and US were inseparable in terms of our global aims but now that is no longer the case. We cannot be beholden to what I would term as an informal ally for such a crucial part of our defence posture.

It's a truly sad state of affairs when the US and UK can no longer say they have the same outlook on the world regardless of who occupies No 10 or the White House. That partnership has been the cornerstone of the post war consensus and now it seems to be broken beyond repair. I think America is going to quickly realise it's a cold world out there and even though it maintains defence primacy, life without friends and allies is much tougher than MAGA and other isolationists realise. Thralldom may suit some countries but I think we need to start planning for a world in which we will need to defend our own interests without an implicit guarantee from American military might.

Welfare and pensions are not affordable in this new era and both will need substantial cuts.

It is rather telling that in all this talk of closer ties with Europe, it is individual European leaders who are acting arbitrarily and not as the EU

Italy and Spain differ from Germany and France and others with Ursula von der Leyen marginalised

We'll make a Brexiteer out of you yet, Big-G

Hope you and Mrs G are doing well? 🙏

Thank you

I voted remain but, like I once smoked, I do not want to start again

We are struggling rather, but we support each other and are grateful we have so many blessings

It is 50 years ago today that we moved into our home with our three children and we still hear laughter from those days added to by our precious grandchildren

It is the family home and we will only leave it to go into care or meet our creator

I'm so sorry to hear you are struggling, Big G.

I lost my lovely mum in 2022 but still live in the family home (at one time there was seven people here but one by one they've all gone away and I'm the last one left) I still hear the good times and they are previous memories.

I wish for nothing but the very best for you and Mrs G, long into the future.

You are so kind and to be fair my medics over the last 2 years have been fantastic including inserting a pacemaker

The UK need to get close to China. They value stability above all else. Hopefully from a leading position in the EU. The US are a pirate state and we must cut ties.

The Chinese regime are genocidal, big brother maniacs who have destroyed our industrial base by stealing IP and undercutting our producers, who have no interest whatsoever in any of the principles that we stand for and, for good measure, have the biggest bubble in the history of the world.

I will give you that they are pretty consistent in all of these points but consistency can be overrated, even in the time of the Donald.

I wonder how many of the six people who liked David's post have even been to China let alone have spent a serious amount of time there. One of the three I know was my producer and I know no one who is better travelled than him and he likes everything about it

I work for Chinese companies, and have for many years on and off, and had a Chinese grandmother.

I flatter myself I know a fair amount about China. I haven't been there but that's because I'd get into trouble by saying things Winnie would disapprove of.

The sooner we move on from NATO the better .

Call it delusion or denial Europe needs to wake up and get its own house in order . There’s no excuse . The public also need to wake up to the reality .

Seeing European politicians stand there pretending NATO still exists is now just embarrassing.

Does anyone seriously think the US would honour Article 5 ?

And it’s also tragic seeing European politicians making themselves look pathetically weak by suggesting we’re all fxcked if the US pulls out of NATO.

Europe is not some third world poverty sticken place . If Europe wants to it can act and can find the resources to do so.

With respect that is delusional

US military arms and aircraft are intrinsically tied into European defence and it would take decades to change that

If there’s the will it can be done much more quickly .The delusion is the attitude of European leaders who think just playing for time might see a more pro NATO administration.

As a French politician suggested European defence can’t be determined by swing voters in Wisconsin every 4 years .

You're happy as a leftwinger to accept trading welfare for guns. Realistically that's the choice even with tax rises to boot!

This "rearm in a hurry, whatever it takes, existential war is coming to the UK" risks becoming a groupthink imo. The potential for poor and expensive decisions is huge. I hope we retain a degree of composure about it all.

It may be that, but the chances of any government actually doing anything to make our defences stronger is pretty much zero.

Defence spending will be increasing but I hope it's properly considered, ie matched to actual risk and threat.

It's the actual effectiveness of our spend that is most of concern. We have no Navy, and yet we spend billions.

Illustrating what I mean. There's a big risk of wasting a lot of money. 'Welfare v guns' is a misleading framing.

PB FINANCE BRAINIACS

If one has some spare cash, where does one put it? I find myself slightly unexpectedly flush, but with the world in turmoil, shares seem risky, bonds are also maybe risky (who knows?), gold is crazy, Bitcoin is even crazier. So, where?!

Stocks and shares is usually best, with assistance from an expert financial advisor.

Depends how much you like paying a percentage to someone to do F.A.

Allocate a % to gld + btc (20%, split as you prefer), the other 80% should go towards a stake in a productive asset generating a return. If you have 20k buy 1/5th of a cafe. If you have 200k, buy 2 flats oop north. If you have 2m, buy a turnkey business with minimal labour costs/human capital and fairly stable rates of return (anything from scaffolding to renting out diggers to doing bridging loans).

Scaffolding can go down as well as up.

The sooner we move on from NATO the better .

Call it delusion or denial Europe needs to wake up and get its own house in order . There’s no excuse . The public also need to wake up to the reality .

Seeing European politicians stand there pretending NATO still exists is now just embarrassing.

Does anyone seriously think the US would honour Article 5 ?

And it’s also tragic seeing European politicians making themselves look pathetically weak by suggesting we’re all fxcked if the US pulls out of NATO.

Europe is not some third world poverty sticken place . If Europe wants to it can act and can find the resources to do so.

With respect that is delusional

US military arms and aircraft are intrinsically tied into European defence and it would take decades to change that

That remind me of the 70 year old who started an architecture degree.

Someone said: "you're 70 years old, and it'll take eight years or so to become an architect, why are you doing this?"

And he said "well, I'd better be getting on with it then."

Europe (and the UK and Canada) needs to get serious about diversifying defence procurement. That means we need to build up our capabilities. And that we need to work with South Korea, and Taiwan, and Australia, and France, and Switzerland, and Sweden, and others.

This is not Europe vs the US. This is a recognition that our long-term assumption of a constant ally is no longer the case. And yes, we probably will continue to buy things from US defence manufacturers. But we cannot be tied at the hip for defence procurement any more.

It is rather telling that in all this talk of closer ties with Europe, it is individual European leaders who are acting arbitrarily and not as the EU

Italy and Spain differ from Germany and France and others with Ursula von der Leyen marginalised

We'll make a Brexiteer out of you yet, Big-G

Hope you and Mrs G are doing well? 🙏

Thank you

I voted remain but, like I once smoked, I do not want to start again

We are struggling rather, but we support each other and are grateful we have so many blessings

It is 50 years ago today that we moved into our home with our three children and we still hear laughter from those days added to by our precious grandchildren

It is the family home and we will only leave it to go into care or meet our creator