Can I praise one bit of government. I received my VAT refund - following my first VAT return (yay!) - within a week of filing. Most impressive. And welcome.
The former Customs and Excise is pretty efficient, in my experience.
I have never had a refund from HMRC but paying VAT has to be one of the simplest and most straightforward of interactions with the State.
Why is there a debate on antisemitism in the Labour party in Parliament, or am I misinterpreting the comments on here?
Clever move by TM who tabled the debate just before Easter and now showing to the World the hatred in small and malign parts of Corbyn's cabal. He and they need to go and labour needs to recapture it's soul
' The threat of a potential vote to leave the EU in June could be partly to blame for the first rise in unemployment in seven months, the work and pensions secretary has warned.
Stephen Crabb said the latest labour report, which showed the unemployment total rose by 21,000 in the three months to February to 1.7 million, was a signal that the looming EU referendum vote was hitting the jobs market. '
by hiking income tax, NO alcohol MAYBE and petrol duties NO and making massive cuts to the NHS, NO (in cash terms) schools MAYBE and defence. NO
820,000 jobs lost within two years NO including 520,000 in a year NO Leave vote would cause an "immediate and profound" economic shock, with growth between 3% and 6% lower. NO it suggests sterling would fall by 12% YES BUT NOW NO average wages would fall by 2.8% NO house prices would be hit by 10%. NO
CPI +2.3 percentage points NO but some rise Public sector net borrowing (Fiscal year 2017-18) +£24bn NOT AGAINST FORECAST
households would be £4,300 a year worse off, and the economy 6% smaller by 2030. TOO EARLY TO TELL
Off topic but close to my heart: I see that various PB'ers were being described as being on the autism spectrum on the previous thread as well as Mrs May.
** Rant mode ON **
I really hate this sort of cod-diagnosis. Being not v good with people or very interested in a particular topic is not a mental illness and this tendency to label quirks and eccentricities as a disease does a disservice to those who really do suffer from such mental illnesses. (The same can be said of fussy eaters claiming to have an "allergy" when the reality is they just don't like a particular food.)
As the mother of a child with OCD it really bugs me - and him - when people say they are a "little bit OCD" just because they like to tidy their books alphabetically or whatever. OCD is not about excessive tidiness. It's a horrible condition which causes real pain - think of someone banging their head against a wall - literally - for hours at a time to try and banish dark thoughts or self-harming to the point of attempting suicide. It can be managed. But provision for it - certainly in the NHS - is poor and if not treated it has a high mortality rate. People who like lining up their mugs in a particular way have no fucking idea what being OCD is like!
Being interested in politics more than the normal person makes one intelligent not weird. Not being very good with strangers makes one shy and reserved not mentally ill. Not everyone can be a Princess Diana and politics needs all sorts of skills. Mrs May has some and not others. That just means that she is human and is, IMO, over-promoted. Sometimes she can be very good; at other times she has a tin ear for the human side. She is much like many people in positions of leadership in both the private and public sectors.
I can't comment on PB'ers other than those I've met. And I'm not going to. But they seem to cover a range of interesting opinions and experiences (which makes this website one of the best there is) and some seem to be both fun and kind.
** Rant mode off now (and apologies for the intemperate language) **
You have my considerable sympathies @Cyclefree. And my agreement.
' The threat of a potential vote to leave the EU in June could be partly to blame for the first rise in unemployment in seven months, the work and pensions secretary has warned.
Stephen Crabb said the latest labour report, which showed the unemployment total rose by 21,000 in the three months to February to 1.7 million, was a signal that the looming EU referendum vote was hitting the jobs market. '
by hiking income tax, NO alcohol MAYBE and petrol duties NO and making massive cuts to the NHS, NO (in cash terms) schools MAYBE and defence. NO
820,000 jobs lost within two years NO including 520,000 in a year NO Leave vote would cause an "immediate and profound" economic shock, with growth between 3% and 6% lower. NO it suggests sterling would fall by 12% YES BUT NOW NO average wages would fall by 2.8% NO house prices would be hit by 10%. NO
CPI +2.3 percentage points NO but some rise Public sector net borrowing (Fiscal year 2017-18) +£24bn NOT AGAINST FORECAST
households would be £4,300 a year worse off, and the economy 6% smaller by 2030. TOO EARLY TO TELL
Well done, it's hard to believe such clever people lost.
Two of the families who lost children in the Sandy Hook mass shooting are suing radio host Alex Jones and his website Infowars for defamation after becoming the target of internet conspiracy theorists.
Jones has been at the front of a small but loud group of conspiracy theorists who believe that the shooting was a staged “false flag” event, intended to push US public opinion toward increased gun control. “Undoubtedly, there’s a cover-up, there’s actors, they’re manipulating, they’ve been caught lying, and they were pre-planning before it,” Jones said in a March 2014 broadcast.
Mr. Max, well, they either need to formally separate and demilitarise (slowly, one would imagine) the border (which also must be settled, I think they have disputed islands) or unify.
Edited extra bit: to be fair, Mr. Borough, it takes a little while to write stuff up. I don't think something like this would be expected to be up immediately. But it should be soon.
Mr. Owls, what do you make of John Mann saying his wife has been threatened with rape by far left activists, in revenge for him speaking out about anti-semitism?
Mr. Owls, what do you make of John Mann saying his wife has been threatened with rape by far left activists, in revenge for him speaking out about anti-semitism?
Whoever said it should be arrested. Surely it was reported to the Police.
If they are a Labour Party Member they should be expelled.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Mr. Owls, what do you make of John Mann saying his wife has been threatened with rape by far left activists, in revenge for him speaking out about anti-semitism?
Whoever said it should be arrested. Surely it was reported to the Police.
If they are a Labour Party Member they should be expelled.
Racism, such as antisemitism, is a poison. If you do not treat it early, it hurts and damages. For some reason, the Labour party has chosen to allow it to infect and fester.
Your attitude, as shown on a few posts ago, is telling. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
it sounds like data protection laws were responsible for the landing cards being destroyed when the Home Office decided it hadn't got enough space to store them any longer. In earlier years they probably would have been donated to archivists or historical societies, and therefore would still have been recoverable today.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Citation required. Who is responsible for keeping track of this rather sad league table? The Commons?
Okay, I'm now totally baffled by this Windrush story. The Six O'Clock News has just shown one guy who did have a British passport and was refused from getting a new one. WTF have the Home Office been playing at?
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
You really should not play this down. I have never, no never, heard such a profoundly disturbing debate in the HOC. Either Corbyn goes or these MPs need to act and split the party
OT. I see the BBC are getting a pasting from Sir Cliff. I'm a big fan of Auntie but in this instance they behaved deplorably and out of character.
If things weren't bad enough for the BBC Sir Cliff has Gloria Hunniford in his corner. I've worked with her and he couldn't be better served. She's not only transparently decent but she also carries an air of steely integrity rare in most people particularly the well known.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Citation required. Who is responsible for keeping track of this rather sad league table? The Commons?
List aside, Diane has spoken quite compellingly about (predominantly) racism she receives.
Mr. Owls, what do you make of John Mann saying his wife has been threatened with rape by far left activists, in revenge for him speaking out about anti-semitism?
Whoever said it should be arrested. Surely it was reported to the Police.
If they are a Labour Party Member they should be expelled.
Racism, such as antisemitism, is a poison. If you do not treat it early, it hurts and damages. For some reason, the Labour party has chosen to allow it to infect and fester.
Your attitude, as shown on a few posts ago, is telling. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
If the allegations made by the MPs have been reported to the Police.
They should be investigated and Arrests made
Any Labour party members involved in abuse should be expelled
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Always looking to draw those equivalences eh, Foxy.
Dianne Abbott gets abuse, no doubt, a lot of it is because she says and does stupid things.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Always looking to draw those equivalences eh, Foxy.
Dianne Abbott gets abuse, no doubt, a lot of it is because she says and does stupid things.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Citation required. Who is responsible for keeping track of this rather sad league table? The Commons?
List aside, Diane has spoken quite compellingly about (predominantly) racism she receives.
And we should not downplay that. There are plenty of reasons to criticise Diane Abbott without descending to racism (as indeed there are all MPs without resorting to 'isms).
However Dr Fox bringing it up in response to this debate in an attempt to downplay it is a little odd. Another CorbyniteLib Dem who is utter denial.
Dr. Foxy, jein. People being dicks online is one thing. Threatening rape or murder is entirely different (as was the damned fools inciting riots in 2011).
Some years ago a CoD developer patched the game to alter weapon reload times by tenths of a second to try and balance it better. Online, he and his family were threatened with comparable abuse to what Mann and his family have suffered.
Most interesting to hear impartial witnesses saying that Assad has the support of about 70% of his country. Not something we hear very often from our rather skewed media. From working many times in Beirut with Syrians not something I find surprising. The older Assad was feared but that was never the case with his son.
Eh? Are you actually saying Mann is standing up to say his wife has had rape threats because he doesn't agree politically with Corbyn?
Sadly threats and abuse online are part of modern life, I believe Dianne Abbott is the number one target. Anti-semitic trolls vie with a lot of others in their repulsiveness.
Indeed and unfortunately a number of MPs in the two right columns have been silent.
Or in a number of cases involved in the abuse of Dianne Abbott.
Mr. Owls, what do you make of John Mann saying his wife has been threatened with rape by far left activists, in revenge for him speaking out about anti-semitism?
Whoever said it should be arrested. Surely it was reported to the Police.
If they are a Labour Party Member they should be expelled.
Racism, such as antisemitism, is a poison. If you do not treat it early, it hurts and damages. For some reason, the Labour party has chosen to allow it to infect and fester.
Your attitude, as shown on a few posts ago, is telling. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
If the allegations made by the MPs have been reported to the Police.
They should be investigated and Arrests made
Any Labour party members involved in abuse should be expelled
As i just said
Are you deaf or just the dumber to my dumb
I'll leave it up to others to decide how dumb I am. What I will say is that you and Dr Fox have utterly misjudged the tone of this debate in your attempts to defend Corbyn and Labour.
Comments
Sickening.
Completely and utterly taken over by the worst of the hard left.
Obviously it is was called to embarrass the Labour party.
https://twitter.com/julianku/status/986238488046694400
alcohol MAYBE
and petrol duties NO
and making massive cuts to the NHS, NO (in cash terms)
schools MAYBE
and defence. NO
820,000 jobs lost within two years NO including 520,000 in a year NO
Leave vote would cause an "immediate and profound" economic shock, with growth between 3% and 6% lower. NO
it suggests sterling would fall by 12% YES BUT NOW NO
average wages would fall by 2.8% NO
house prices would be hit by 10%. NO
CPI +2.3 percentage points NO but some rise
Public sector net borrowing (Fiscal year 2017-18) +£24bn NOT AGAINST FORECAST
households would be £4,300 a year worse off, and the economy 6% smaller by 2030. TOO EARLY TO TELL
I’ll get my coat.
Round of applause for Berger.
Jones has been at the front of a small but loud group of conspiracy theorists who believe that the shooting was a staged “false flag” event, intended to push US public opinion toward increased gun control. “Undoubtedly, there’s a cover-up, there’s actors, they’re manipulating, they’ve been caught lying, and they were pre-planning before it,” Jones said in a March 2014 broadcast.
https://www.theguardian.com/us-news/2018/apr/17/alex-jones-sued-infowars-sandy-hook-parents-defamation
Who's the legitimate government? Would there be nationwide or north/south elections [to decide on negotiating parties]?
I don't think it could be resolved as easily as Germany, because the North isn't the satellite of an empire, it's self-governing.
Corbyn simply wants to make it as difficult as possible for the UK to defend its own interests.
Edited for grammar.
https://twitter.com/tnewtondunn/status/986282644513140740
Who asked for this debate?
Edited extra bit: to be fair, Mr. Borough, it takes a little while to write stuff up. I don't think something like this would be expected to be up immediately. But it should be soon.
The only surprising thing is that Mann and Berger don't resign the whip.
I don't think the War would end with reunification. Just that the war officially ends (and they stop glaring at each other over the border).
Edited extra bit: "The £3 entry system really has been an utter and total catastrophe."
Mr. Borough, are you saying the Ed Miliband-designed leadership changes were crap?
To be fair, Labour MPs screwed up by failing to understand their own damned rules. They didn't have to put Corbyn on the shortlist.
https://labourlist.org/2016/03/leaked-list-ranks-labour-mps-by-hostility-to-corbyn/
This just cannot go on Corbyn
Terrible stories. Moving speeches. Applause etc etc.
And yet, nothing on BBC news front page. WTF?
https://m.huffingtonpost.co.uk/entry/morrissey-brexit-sadiq-khan-theresa-may-interview_uk_5ad5fc9ae4b0edca2cbe1940
If they are a Labour Party Member they should be expelled.
Your attitude, as shown on a few posts ago, is telling. Dumb, dumb, dumb.
https://www.theguardian.com/politics/blog/live/2018/apr/17/syria-debate-corbyn-may-will-be-very-frightened-by-internet-campaigning-nazi-propaganda-revelations-says-culture-committee-chair-politics-live
If things weren't bad enough for the BBC Sir Cliff has Gloria Hunniford in his corner. I've worked with her and he couldn't be better served. She's not only transparently decent but she also carries an air of steely integrity rare in most people particularly the well known.
They should be investigated and Arrests made
Any Labour party members involved in abuse should be expelled
As i just said
Are you deaf or just the dumber to my dumb
Dianne Abbott gets abuse, no doubt, a lot of it is because she says and does stupid things.
However Dr Fox bringing it up in response to this debate in an attempt to downplay it is a little odd. Another CorbyniteLib Dem who is utter denial.
Dr. Foxy, jein. People being dicks online is one thing. Threatening rape or murder is entirely different (as was the damned fools inciting riots in 2011).
Some years ago a CoD developer patched the game to alter weapon reload times by tenths of a second to try and balance it better. Online, he and his family were threatened with comparable abuse to what Mann and his family have suffered.
Or in a number of cases involved in the abuse of Dianne Abbott.