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Re: Happy 100th birthday to the most favourable party in Wales – politicalbetting.com
Those of us outwith London see the concentration of wealth and investment in London as a symptom of the UK being on the wrong track. London based beneficiaries see it as a symptom of the UK being on the right track.Evening allThe odd thing about that is that I think most people saying on the wrong track would think it’s especially true of London.
In the data tables for the Freshwater Strategy poll, the first question was "do you think the UK is or is not on the right track?"
The overall numbers were 24% Right track, 71% Wrong track. Every part of the country said we were on the Wrong Track and some by large margins (78-13 in South West, 80-16 in Yorkshire & Humber).
EXCEPT....
London where the sample stated had 55% on the Right Track and 42% on the Wrong Track.
I find it worrying and telling at the same time. Call it a tale of two Britains if you like but the disconnection (and I sense it on here) between the life of those in London and the rest of England (let alone Wales and Scotland) has never been more stark.
Age may be a factor, of course.
Re: Happy 100th birthday to the most favourable party in Wales – politicalbetting.com
Reform's policies will be very simple:There’s no way that Reform will commit to NHS abolition in their 2029 manifesto, IMHO. Far safer for them to claim that cutting bureaucracy, increasing charges for overseas/non resident users and denying asylum seekers access to free healthcare, or something of that bent, will fix all of the immediate problems while they “consult” on future changes for their second term.Find it extraordinary that Lab only leads Reform by 3% on the NHS when Reform talked about replacing the NHS at the last election.People are daft but not that daft. As from this year (see the polling) Reform are aiming at government. This may be a terrible idea but it's the case. It matters nothing what Reform said in July 2024. Their only chance of forming a government involves preserving all the currently existing free stuff including NHS, pensions, education to 18 and welfare safety net. Ask Farage's voters in Clacton what they want. They already know that a Reform party wanting government will promise to give it to them. This equals high spending. Which of course equals high taxing.
This makes their 2029 manifesto an interesting and important document. Especially as both thoughtful voters (there are some) and the bond markets will have a good look at what they say about tax, spend, borrowing, debt and deficit.
How Reform will campaign in 2029 and how they would actually govern from 2029 are easily the most interesting political questions. They are not being much addressed. but they will be.
- Lots more benefits for Brits
- Better pensions for the golden generation who did so much to make Britain great
- Lower taxes
- Fewer foreigners and no asylum seekers
- A balanced budget
Any gap between income and expenditure will easily be made up by not having so many foreigners in the country. And eliminate the tens of billions of pounds of waste caused by displaying pronouns in the bottom of email signatures.
Huzzah!
rcs1000
5
Re: Happy 100th birthday to the most favourable party in Wales – politicalbetting.com
Evening all 
In the data tables for the Freshwater Strategy poll, the first question was "do you think the UK is or is not on the right track?"
The overall numbers were 24% Right track, 71% Wrong track. Every part of the country said we were on the Wrong Track and some by large margins (78-13 in South West, 80-16 in Yorkshire & Humber).
EXCEPT....
London where the sample stated had 55% on the Right Track and 42% on the Wrong Track.
I find it worrying and telling at the same time. Call it a tale of two Britains if you like but the disconnection (and I sense it on here) between the life of those in London and the rest of England (let alone Wales and Scotland) has never been more stark.
In the data tables for the Freshwater Strategy poll, the first question was "do you think the UK is or is not on the right track?"
The overall numbers were 24% Right track, 71% Wrong track. Every part of the country said we were on the Wrong Track and some by large margins (78-13 in South West, 80-16 in Yorkshire & Humber).
EXCEPT....
London where the sample stated had 55% on the Right Track and 42% on the Wrong Track.
I find it worrying and telling at the same time. Call it a tale of two Britains if you like but the disconnection (and I sense it on here) between the life of those in London and the rest of England (let alone Wales and Scotland) has never been more stark.
stodge
5
Re: Happy 100th birthday to the most favourable party in Wales – politicalbetting.com
This deal is only for a year then needs renegotiating...Channel Islands to France must be in play in return for Starmer signing for 99 year deal.Starmer will only give away the Channel Islands if the French agree to have much more access to our fishing waters and our fishermen none at all outside of port. Its a red line for him.
Re: The odds tumble on my 100/1 tip – politicalbetting.com
Uncle Malmesbury’s Handy Tips For Not Being Mistaken For A FascistNot a good look for the policeWell, if the cap fits...
A copper calls the asylum hotel protestors "fascists"
https://x.com/WesleyWinterYT/status/1952725444635095294
1) Don’t set immigrants on fire
2) Even small ones
3) Especially small ones
4) Don’t advocate setting immigrants on fire
5) Don’t tattoo fascist symbology on your body
6) Don’t chant fascist slogans
7) Don’t support/attend demos where the majority of the protestors break 1-6
Re: The odds tumble on my 100/1 tip – politicalbetting.com
Morning all! On topic - naahThank you for the report. All good wishes to all those communities and people affected.
Off topic - Storm Bastard was fun. Wind speeds lower than Arwen but hitting trees covered in leaves - so an awful lot of branches and full trees down. We had a power cut of 4 hours - was brilliant going up to the village hall to see a generator running hooked up to swathes of extension leads so people could charge stuff up, communal cooking going on, kids having fun - exactly why I live in this community.
We were blessed that our power outage was reasonably easy to fix (remove the big branch from the inbound feed). So many other communities across the north and north east are still without power this morning.
AnneJGP
6
Re: The odds tumble on my 100/1 tip – politicalbetting.com
We think we are entitled to a much higher standard of living than we earn. Hence 20 years of trade deficits resulting in so many of our assets falling into foreign ownership. Hence public debt at 100% or so of GDP. Hence the highest taxes for a long time not even paying the bills. Hence the pandemic of shoplifting and theft. Hence these absurd “compensation” claims for deals freely agreed at the time. Anything for free money without the slightest thought of where it comes from.NahI'm sorry - it's early in the morning for me but I simply don't understand that comment at all. What do you mean by a "sense of entitlement" and to what extent are we being "driven mad" by it? It's just one of those throwaway comments such as "the whole country's run by woke" which turns up here too often and needs to be challenged.
This country is being driven mad by a sense of entitlement but even we are not that stupid.
Are we?
“Entitled” seemed a reasonable 1 word summary.
DavidL
9
Re: The odds tumble on my 100/1 tip – politicalbetting.com
There’s a belief among some of PB that the problem is The People. Who just don’t like increasing taxes for increasingly poor services.NahI'm sorry - it's early in the morning for me but I simply don't understand that comment at all. What do you mean by a "sense of entitlement" and to what extent are we being "driven mad" by it? It's just one of those throwaway comments such as "the whole country's run by woke" which turns up here too often and needs to be challenged.
This country is being driven mad by a sense of entitlement but even we are not that stupid.
Are we?
The problem, as usual, is more complicated. Many people would be ok with better services, in return for more taxes.
What they actually see, locally and nationally, is services run badly.
So we seem to have a combination of “there’s no money” and poor cost control.
Most people assume that 5p on income tax would simply disappear into The Machine, with no noticeable change. They are probably right.
Re: The odds tumble on my 100/1 tip – politicalbetting.com
Morning all! On topic - naah
Off topic - Storm Bastard was fun. Wind speeds lower than Arwen but hitting trees covered in leaves - so an awful lot of branches and full trees down. We had a power cut of 4 hours - was brilliant going up to the village hall to see a generator running hooked up to swathes of extension leads so people could charge stuff up, communal cooking going on, kids having fun - exactly why I live in this community.
We were blessed that our power outage was reasonably easy to fix (remove the big branch from the inbound feed). So many other communities across the north and north east are still without power this morning.
Off topic - Storm Bastard was fun. Wind speeds lower than Arwen but hitting trees covered in leaves - so an awful lot of branches and full trees down. We had a power cut of 4 hours - was brilliant going up to the village hall to see a generator running hooked up to swathes of extension leads so people could charge stuff up, communal cooking going on, kids having fun - exactly why I live in this community.
We were blessed that our power outage was reasonably easy to fix (remove the big branch from the inbound feed). So many other communities across the north and north east are still without power this morning.
Re: A second referendum, is this how Starmer wins a second term? – politicalbetting.com
It’s 120km West of Kyiv, so not in the middle of the war, although all cities still get regular sirens and drones flying around.Good morning from Zhytomyr, Ukraine.Whereabouts in relation to the front is Zhytomyr ?
Now that the air raid sirens have stopped sounding, the next task is to try and find a bar that can show the cricket!
To be honest the city looks clean and tidy, apart from the town hall being obviously fortified and the memorial in the main square outside, there’s a lot less evidence of war than there was when I was here two years ago.
Still a lot of military uniforms worn in public, a few military cars and trucks, and the people walking around at the weekend were predominantly women and children.
Sandpit
5