Fiat Coupe Club UK

The Maybot

Posted By: AnnieMac

The Maybot - 06/10/2017 19:43

I could not help but feel sorry for Theresa May as she coughed and spluttered her way through her mediocre speech and the "F" fell off the wall. But I feel much more sorry for the sick, the disabled and the dying who have had a very raw deal since 2010. Roll on a Christmas general election!

P.S. Theresa May's advisers need sacking - didn't anyone notice she was wearing an image of Frida Kahlo on her wrist,a Mexican communist painter who apparently had a relationship with Trotsky? You couldn't make it up!!
Posted By: magooagain

Re: The Maybot - 06/10/2017 20:26

Whoever dresses her needs sacking. Stroll on the women has the height to carry off some very nice outfits.
What the hell was the poor old girl wearing on the national news tonight? Patchwork quilt no less!

I hope she stays in control of the party and goes on to be a well established pm for years to come.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 06/10/2017 21:01

I also hope she remains Tory leader, but preferably in opposition!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 06/10/2017 21:31

I don't really care for her but FFS can the conservatives stop the infighting or can people start voteing for someone else so we have some parties that can do some god dam running of the country. I'm feeling like it is:
OMG what the cloud9 do we do??
No idea mate?
Panic?
Oly Noly?
Na lets have a leadership tis to distract the public

Yeah its working really well.

I'm struggling to like anyone much atm and I'm a party downer...
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 07/10/2017 08:12

I am a Labour party member and Jeremy Corbyn will do just fine.
Posted By: jimboy

Re: The Maybot - 07/10/2017 09:25

Some people tend to forget how politics can be a lethal place, full of career hungry MPs doing what they see necessary to further their lucrative job. This has more or less been the case for many,many years, the only difference these days are the weapons of choice such as social media sites & how news either fake or otherwise gets out to so many people.

For me personally the recent Teresa May news was a non story. It looked a tad theatrical, but no big deal, we all get coughs from time to time.... rolleyes
Posted By: magooagain

Re: The Maybot - 07/10/2017 17:15

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
I am a Labour party member and Jeremy Corbyn will do just fine.


It was on this day that Annie Mac said!
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 08/10/2017 19:20

I'm afraid I come from a long line of Socialists, my Dad was a Liverpudlian. I am very upset and angry about the human cost of austerity. And how the mainstream media has hardly said a thing about it. Disabled folk wearing coats indoors because they can't afford heating, or a hot bath. There have been many suicides due to benefits being stopped. 50,000 mobility cars have been taken away. Even Thatcher was never this heartless.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 08/10/2017 20:01

This isn't proper austerity, it's just trying (and still failing) to live within our means as a country. It makes perfect sense for a commercial organisation to spend less than it earns. It makes perfect sense for a family unit to spend less than it earns.

It simply isn't sustainable for a country to continue to spend vastly more than than it brings in through taxation revenue. Borrowing is never a long term solution, as we simply end up spending more on loan repayments and less on the stuff that we should be spending on.

If it can be shown that it's possible to borrow one's way out of debt, then I'll vote Labour, but otherwise, I think Corbyn is a full-on recession waiting to happen.
Posted By: MarioCirillo

Re: The Maybot - 09/10/2017 08:39

Originally Posted By Nigel
I think Corbyn is a full-on recession waiting to happen.


Agree

Think its time for May to step aside and bring in Boris. thumb
Posted By: magooagain

Re: The Maybot - 09/10/2017 10:04

Originally Posted By MarioCirillo
Originally Posted By Nigel
I think Corbyn is a full-on recession waiting to happen.


Agree

Think its time for May to step aside and bring in Boris. thumb






Is it the first of April again? rolleyes
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 09/10/2017 11:22

It worries me that there were enough inwardly-looking people in the USA that thought Trump would be a good president - I just hope Brits aren't similarly inclined to think that the Blonde Buffoon would be anything other than a political and economic disaster.

I genuinely think that Boris would do more damage than Corbyn.

The Lib Dems must be praying for a Conservative leadership election, as it might mean both main parties have near-unelectable leaders. Vince Cable should not underestimated while Con and Lab are so divided
Posted By: MCMike

Re: The Maybot - 09/10/2017 11:23

Bring back Dianne Abbott she was highly entertaining laugh laugh laugh
Posted By: Jim_Clennell

Re: The Maybot - 09/10/2017 19:57

Diane Abbott may be seen as a laughing stock, but she has achieved an astonishing amount in British politics, in the face of pretty overwhelming obstacles.

I admire her very much.
Posted By: Ballypete

Re: The Maybot - 10/10/2017 06:33

After witnessing first hand the near destruction of the Police Service I wish that Darth Mayder would foxtrot Oscar back to 'a long time ago and in a galaxy far far away'
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 10/10/2017 09:56

Originally Posted By Ballypete
After witnessing first hand the near destruction of the Police Service I wish that Darth Mayder would foxtrot Oscar back to 'a long time ago and in a galaxy far far away'


and what fate would you wish on the government if they reversed decades of income tax reductions in order to pay for all the public services that have suffered while we try to live within our means?

Originally Posted By Jim Clennel
Diane Abbott may be seen as a laughing stock, but she has achieved an astonishing amount in British politics, in the face of pretty overwhelming obstacles.

I admire her very much.


Jim - I took some time to read up on Diane Abbott. She's clearly devoted to her causes, but it would appear she can be a bit of a loose cannon - I'm pretty sure some of her comments have been taken out of context ("blonde, blue-eyed Finnish nurses wouldn't know how to take a black person's temperature...") but she clearly doesn't possess an adequate degree of verbal self-restraint. The less charitable might suggest she's a racist and a hypocrite (she won't call herself British because "most people don't accept us as British" and her son attended a private school after she publicly criticised her parliamentary colleagues as ""indefensible" and "intellectually incoherent" for doing the same)

I'm sure she makes a good civil servant, but I don't think she's front-bench material
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 10/10/2017 11:02

Originally Posted By Nigel
she's a racist and a hypocrite


And was Jeremy Corbyn's girlfriend in the 70's. I'm not sure which of the 3 is worst. tongue

She's a perfect example of today's PC hypocrisy where certain groups of people are treated differently in the name of equality and everyone must think the same in the name of diversity. It seems Orwell's "Ministry of Truth" is alive and well.
Posted By: Ballypete

Re: The Maybot - 10/10/2017 12:07

Originally Posted By Nigel
Originally Posted By Ballypete
After witnessing first hand the near destruction of the Police Service I wish that Darth Mayder would foxtrot Oscar back to 'a long time ago and in a galaxy far far away'


and what fate would you wish on the government if they reversed decades of income tax reductions in order to pay for all the public services that have suffered while we try to live within our means?



My personal opinion is that I would pay more in tax to fund public services although appreciate not everyone would agree with that one! In such a scenario however I would expect better management and leadership in return to stop some of the waste that goes on.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 10/10/2017 20:50

Originally Posted By Nigel
It makes perfect sense for a family unit to spend less than it earns.


Nigel, this is so bogus. That Thatcherite quote of equating the country's economy with a family budget doesn't stand up to the slightest of scrutiny. If my gas bill is too high do you think I can devalue the currency, or raise the interest rate of my savings, or bring forward earnings that I haven't yet earned or any number of other levers I would have at my disposal if I were in charge of the country.

Facts seem to be, austerity was just a vehicle for making more millionaires (of which there are more) off the backs of those that have the least (and now they do indeed have less). As was said recently, and I forget by whom, selling capitalism to a generation without capital doesn't seem to be the smartest move.
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 06:09

Originally Posted By FreakinFreak
Originally Posted By Nigel
It makes perfect sense for a family unit to spend less than it earns.

If my gas bill is too high do you think I can devalue the currency, or raise the interest rate of my savings, or bring forward earnings that I haven't yet earned or any number of other levers I would have at my disposal if I were in charge of the country.


None of those levers are either without consequence nor are can you use them an infinite number of times. Changing interest rates, for instance, affects the value of the currency, the balance of payments, the pace of growth of the economy etc etc some of which are positive and some of which are negative. In some ways it’s analogous to some levers you do have that the government doesn’t - like moving to a different part of the country where house prices are cheaper but wages are lower and house price inflation is almost non-existent. You can play tunes like using a credit card, fitting solar panels, shopping at Aldi rather than M&S, investing in shares, sell off the family silver - but the broad rule that at some point you have to find the money for it all remains the same.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 06:57

Originally Posted By FreakinFreak
austerity was just a vehicle for making more millionaires (of which there are more) off the backs of those that have the least


and you're calling my comment bogus?....
Posted By: DaveG

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 07:09

Originally Posted By Nigel
It makes perfect sense for a family unit to spend less than it earns.

I don't believe that this is at all bogus. I was brought up in a family where (apart from a mortgage) we spent only what money we had, we never ran up credit card bills or payday loans, and that's rubbed off on me, I only spend what money I have saved up, I don't buy the latest cars on PCH or PCP, I don't have a blinging iPhone or edgePhone, I buy the cheapest fuel, watch Freesat/Freeview and we shop at Aldi, I've never smoked and I haven't moved house for 25 years.

But I see plenty of people who live beyond their means, complain about austerity yet still have their fancy new clothes and blinging phones, smoke and drink and watch BT/SkySports a lot...
Posted By: Gripped

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 07:44

Analogies aside and perhaps I'm being simplistic, but isn't the main point that austerity is hitting the poorest, while the super class get richer?

I agree with the principle of living within our means, but the gulf between those who scratch out a living and those who have obscene wealth shows that something is broken.
Posted By: Trappy

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 08:34

Originally Posted By Nigel
Borrowing is never a long term solution, as we simply end up spending more on loan repayments and less on the stuff that we should be spending on.


End the Federal Reserve! curse
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 10:02

The wealth of the top 1% in the UK has doubled since 2010.

It would assist the country's finances greatly if corporations actually paid any corporation tax at all. They are not aggressively pursued by HMRC and let off with tiny piecemeal payments.

Also, tax breaks for the super rich while others suffer under austerity - how unfair is that?!

The Tories are just puppets of their rich donors and care nothing for ordinary folk.

Iain Duncan Smith has destroyed the welfare state with unfair sanctions, and tests for the disabled. These are people who have PAID IN to national insurance. The NI pot actually has a surplus! Millions of children live in poverty, 100,000 are homeless in bed and breakfasts. Headmasters are begging parents for monthly donations to keep schools going. The NHS is in crisis especially mental health services. Children's mental health services are non-existant. There is a drastic shortage of care home places for the elderly and they are unable to leave hospital. Food bank use is now in the millions - people queuing up for food - in the sixth richest country in the world! And homelessness continues to go through the roof. In-work poverty is also going up and up.

Always money for a war, never any for the poor.

After 5 years under Corbyn, when people see how good life can be, the Tories will be toast for decades.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 10:15

I wasn't keen on Diane Abbott cosying up with Michael Portaloo on the TV sofa every week, and she really shouldn't send her son to a private school, but apart from that I think she's OK.

Corbyn split up with his first wife over the private school issue.
Posted By: andyps

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 10:43

I wonder what Jeremy Corbyn would be doing now if he hadn't had private and Grammar school education?
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 10:47

I really don't care about his background, the important thing is he is unlike any other politician. I have never known him to lie. And his heart's in the right place.
Posted By: Dazvr6

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 11:18

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
the important thing is he is unlike any other politician. I have never known him to lie.


I doubt that very much Annie.
He is just like every other politician and once he gets into power he will probably backtrack on nearly all his promises like they all do!

I think May should be given a fair go at it as she inherited a right sh*t storm when she became PM.
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 11:46

I’d like to understand Corbyn’s position on Europe. He claimed to be a Remainer but has absolutely no track record of being pro-Europe. I would also like to understand what his promise on tuition fees actually was (especially as it would disproportionately help middle class students). I don’t trust him further than I could throw him.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 11:52

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
stuff


Oh, don't get me wrong - I agree that the country is in a bit of a state.

However, it could be argued that the country has created a false expectation by spending several decades using borrowed money to fund public services and a welfare state system that was unsupportable based on the government's earnings - quite simply, it was unsustainable and only the Tories seemed to be brave enough to deal with it.

Tossing more borrowed money at the situation merely puts off the inevitable and actually makes the inevitable worse.

Long-term, we HAVE to run the country on what the country earns - its a fundamental fiscal requirement. Yes, you can borrow to fill in short-term funding gaps, but the country cannot run its long-term finances on debt.

We haven't yet seen the full extent of the austerity measures - as a country, we are still spending massively more than we're earning - the only thing that is reducing is the rate of borrowing.

As well as Government borrowing, consumer credit is also exploding, which is a ticking time-bomb. The moment that interest rates rise by more than a quarter of one percent or so, the default rate on loans will sky-rocket, credit will become more difficult and people will be compelled to live on what they earn - it will be a huge shock for a society driven by consumption.

There are two solutions

1) Earn more
2) Spend less

(or a combination of both)

The government seems to be focusing on #2, but I think there's an inevitability that tax rates will need to rise. A large element of the electorate seems to accept this.
Posted By: H_R

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 14:35

One thing we lack now compared to previous generations is

WAGE GROWTH!!

You used to be able to get a mortgage for a house for a few thousands and now its worth hundreds of thousands people of today do not have that luxury anymore!

I have no idea of the true mechanism to create good wage growth (perhaps somebody could explain?)or why it changed but im sure it has a lot to do with greed of large companies!!?? and privatisation!
Corbyn claims he will buy back companies, but with what? shirt buttons? i do not trust any of his policies!
Posted By: andyps

Re: The Maybot - 11/10/2017 18:22

Originally Posted By H_R

Corbyn claims he will buy back companies, but with what? shirt buttons? i do not trust any of his policies!



That is one of the reasons I don't trust him. McDonnell said that parliament would determine the market value when buying them which in itself shows a fundamental lack of understanding of market value, or arrogance that they would be the only market. But what it completely misses in terms of the assertion that it is the rich who are benefiting from the profits of the large companies and those they want to nationalise is that a large portion of the shares are owned by pension and insurance companies. And they have invested the money received from policies taken out by "the many". So by buying those companies with money the government don't have at a price less than the market value they will be borrowing to steal pension funds from the people they are claiming to be trying to help. A bit like Gordon Brown stealing from pension funds in his first budget that affected everyone who had invested in a pension, personal or company scheme.

Their manifesto was as fully costed as my proposal to get a straight swap for my Coupe in exchange for a McLaren BP23 is. There were so many holes in it I haven't got enough characters in a post here!
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 13/10/2017 22:36

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
I am a Labour party member and Jeremy Corbyn will do just fine.


Personally I think that best thing that could happen to the buffoon Boris is for him to mistake himself for the Guy on the fifth of November.

Fact is that the whole lot of the conservatives are numb sculls. ( labors no better and more deluded) the coronation shows that.

....




I started my own Business recently.

But back in twenty ten I could only afford to live in an HMO.
I had to deal with druggies keeping me up snorting coke in the kitchen.

I'm going to be up against the wall before I vote for someone who wants to give the drug addled sloths my taxes for doing nothing!

At the time (2010) I was told I was lucky to have a job.

No.
I was the best, most hard working person with my skill set in the UK. Thats why I was hardly ever at my own home! I was paid naf all and hate the slum landlords and all the people who have buy to lets stopping hard working people buying a home at a reasonable price, to get away from the scum who the equally hateful labor give money to buy drink and drugs.


Some people deserve to starve. I feel no shame in saying that.


Not a single party represents me.


I don't mind paying tax so people on low incomes don't, but don't give money for nothing! Seriously up the minimum wage. Up the tax free allowance, automate!



I've read that a few times and I don't want to cause offence. I also want people who are working to be able to get by. I'm able to charge what I want now for people and work I provide for clients, partially due to the experience that I got working where I did. But I'm the only person from there to be doing what I do now. That often includes automating peoples jobs. They can then spend productive time doing something more productive.

Places I've been have grown in staff thanks to increased productivity.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 14/10/2017 23:10

Corbyn has stuck to his principles on every single vote throughout his entire career. His problem with the EU is that its structure is undemocratic and they interfere too much in the affairs of individual countries, eg forcing Greece to do austerity measures. Having said that he did vote to stay in, on the grounds that it could be reformed from within and he likes to have a close relationship with other European socialists. Now he has accepted the referendum result, if we had another the result would be almost 50-50 again anyway, according to two recent polls. Corbyn had nothing to do with the EU referendum, it was all to do with Tory party in-fighting, fear of UKIP, and the power of Rupert Murdoch who hates the EU because "they take no notice of me"! Corbyn's promise on tuition fees was to abolish them entirely for new students and for those already in debt he only promised to "deal with it", ie to lower debts in some way if he could. He only said it was very unfair that recently the fees went up from £2,000 to £9,000 a year so debts are much larger now. It was not a lie but has been jumped on and twisted by the Tories of course. If you try to view Corbyn without the very biased filter of the mainstream media, eg by just listening to one of his speeches in its entirety, (lots on YouTube) you might find that he makes a lot of sense and obviously has a huge amount of compassion which has been lacking from politics for so long. He is not an extremist, he is actually centre left if anything, and he only wants to make the UK a bit like Finland, ie to pay for the things that matter, like the NHS and schools and care homes. There is huge support in the country for making the railways, water etc publicly owned and he is committed to investment in green energy. Really, what's not to like? After 5 or 10 years under Corbyn, we won't want to go back to the bad old days of the Tories, that's for sure!
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 14/10/2017 23:14

P.S. I should have mentioned affordable housing - a million new council homes.

And I can assure you that JC will NOT break his promises, he will deliver on every one - just wait and see.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 14/10/2017 23:19

It's rubbish that we can't afford decent public services. Get rid of Trident and make sure corporations pay their tax and there's a few £billions for you!
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 14/10/2017 23:20

(Germany has no nuclear weapons.)
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 07:00

Corbyn may have voted to remain (I don’t know how we know for certain) but he was effectively MIA during the campaign. For someone who, according to his supporters, is passionate and principled, he effectively did nothing and didn’t seem too concerned about the result. I can see, if you’re under his spell, how you might believe what he’s said about both that and tuition fees. He’s also been incredibly weak on the antisemitism in the Labour party. With the support of the extreme left in Momentum, he has done incredibly well for which he has my respect but his policies are from the 1970s - they didn’t work then (and how) and they won’t work now - it’s just bald economics. And I thought it was now official Labour policy to keep Trident? Personally, in a world where NK and, increasingly likely, Iran have nuclear weapons, I’d quite like to feel we can dissuade them from using them. And neither Germany nor Japan have nuclear weapons for obvious reasons - I’m not sure what the point is there. India and China do if it’s an economic point.
Posted By: barnacle

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 07:16

A million new homes? That's going to be - at a guess - around £200k each, so £200 billion quid just to build them. The tax income this year is forecast at around £800 billion.

It's being spent thus:

Public Pensions £161 billion
National Health Care + £147 billion
State Education + £86 billion
Defence + £45 billion
Social Security + £114 billion
State Protection + £29 billion
Transport + £32 billion
General Government + £18 billion
Other Public Services + £124 billion
Public Sector Interest + £57 billion
Total Spending = £814 billion

Which if these will you delete to pay for these houses? Hint: if you touch my pension, I'm not going to be very amused...
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 17:23

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
(Germany has no nuclear weapons.)


It doesn't need its own - it has access to a nuclear arsenal under the Nato weapons sharing agreement
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 17:28

^^ And Germany has US nuclear weapons permanently based there, as do a few other European countries, so technically they do "have" nuclear weapons in Germany.

Posted By: barnacle

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 18:01

Apropos of Germany's no-nuclear policies: it's closed down all its nuclear power stations. Instead it relies on solar and other renewables - and when they aren't enough (most of the time) it buys in power from France and Poland - nuclear or coal. Go figure.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 15/10/2017 22:22

Barnacle, houses cost a fraction to build of what they sell for, nowhere near £200,000 each. Tax evasion costs us £16 billion a year. Whether the sums add up or not doesn't matter, having a Prime Minister with a will to help people is what really matters. After world war two the country's finances were at an all-time low but the Labour government managed to build homes for everyone, and to set up the NHS. It's a question of priorities and the Tories will always look after their super rich chums who have top jobs waiting for ex-cabinet members. They have the media sewn up now even the Guardian has right-wing owners. They have managed to make Socialism a dirty word in much the same way as they did with Feminism. Socialism just means sharing, it's what we teach our children to do, not to be selfish. There is a terrible myth in the media that the disabled are mostly malingerers and it couldn't be further from the truth. Then there are all those lazy so and sos out of work - blaming the unemployed for unemployment - how do they get away with that one? It suits the 1% for there to be competition for jobs. It means those with a job will accept low wages because they are grateful to have one. Then you make the welfare system a nightmare so that people are doubly scared to lose their jobs. There is not a single worker's right that was not fought and paid for with blood and this government would go right back to 1930s conditions if we let them. My eyesight was ruined by the early VDU screens on computers. My Grandad died very young after a hard life working in unbearable temperatures as a brass caster, my uncle died of emphysema at the age of 37 from cleaning out the boilers on steam trains. I only had a relatively easy life because my Dad was bright and worked hard and clawed his way up the ranks in the civil service, then when he came to his interview to go above the rank of Principal they asked him if he was an Oxford or Cambridge man and he had to admit he only had his school certificate and that's as far as they would let him go. I know some people are doing very nicely thankyou in this Tory UK but others are not and more often than not it's due to forces beyond their control. I can't imagine what it must be like to be a mother of three under school age kids living in a mold-ridden high-rise flat on a sink estate when the husband has buggered off and getting help from the DWP is getting more and more like the women having to beg off the Irish Catholic church in Angela's Ashes. I want every child in this country to be fed and clothed properly, to sleep in a safe comfy place, and to have free health care and the opportunity to have a first rate education. Is that so much to ask?
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 04:24

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Whether the sums add up or not doesn't matter


Yup, that's Corbyn's manifesto, right there. Labour's wishes are admirable, but they have to be paid for, and without significant tax rises, there simply isn't enough money to pay for everything he's promising.
Posted By: barnacle

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 04:46

Annie - you may be surprised but most of the people round here consider me left-wing... if you wish to compare ancestors, my grandfather was a deep-coal miner all his life and my father a manual labourer/driver until he retired. My mother worked three jobs all through my school days so they could afford to retire. I turned down offers to go to university so I could earn a living.

Nonetheless I would not under any circumstance vote for Corbyn or any of his close cronies. He's incredibly good at making promises he doesn't have to fulfil. Further: I lived through the devaluation of the pound in the sixties; through the three day week (a conservative government edict but directly caused by the labour-backed coal unions objecting to a pay freeze); through a pay freeze in the late seventies; and through massive inflation across all that time and later. My first mortgage was at 17%. So no, I won't vote for someone who thinks wealth just happens. It doesn't.

Regarding houses: I know they don't all cost two hundred grand in bricks and mortar but that's a not an unreasonable average; don't forget the cost of the ground they're built on. Someone *owns* that; perhaps you'd like simply to confiscate it? That worked well in the socialist states of the FSU... or perhaps you're considering that cheap bulk tenement blocks (again, see East Germany or the FSU for examples) are good enough for the worker ants?

No thanks.
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 06:29

I think that there are many of us that want the same things. The disagreement is how to get there. I also think that there’s a lot of politics informed by events of 100 years ago or more. The world is a different place. Class is far more fluid and far less important than it was. Corbyn is fighting the wrong war and in the wrong way.
Posted By: andyps

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 07:19

Absolutely agree with MRS.

One thing that you mentioned Annie which does frustrate me is the assertion that the Tories are just looking after their rich mates. I find people generally mean that is about the leaders of large businesses, as if they are the only people who benefit from the profits made by organisations. I can readily agree that the pay of some CEOs could be considered excessive but they get it (in almost all circumstances) because the organisation is profitable. Profits from companies are reinvested in the organisation (which keeps people in jobs) and distributed to shareholders as dividends. But who are the shareholders? A large number of shares in plc organisations are held by pension and insurance companies on behalf of ordinary people who have pension schemes with them. Therefore the "rich friends" are actually "the many" that Corbyn says he wants to help.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 08:21

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Socialism just means sharing,


This is the fluffy phrase that Labour trots out, but the truer definition is "re-distribution". There's a distinct whiff of "if we can't have it then nobody should...." to Labour.

Ultimately, the "rich" already pay a disproportionate amount of the country's tax, but that's how the tax system works, so they live with it. Somebody on £20k pays 15.6% in deductions. Somebody on £50k pays 26.4%. Somebody on £100k pays 34.2%.

How much more would Labour plunder the higher earners in their quest for a less disparate society?
Posted By: bezzer

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 09:37

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Whether the sums add up or not doesn't matter


Are you for real? You'd be happy to let this country get into even greater debt than it already is?

Inflation would sky rocket, unemployment would rise and we'd be back to the dark days of the 70's

If that's the Socialist dream, then you can keep it.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 10:17

As proof that the general population has a selectively short memory, there's a much bigger threat looming than Corbyn

Consumer debt is now as high as it was just before the financial crisis. 18-24 year olds are the worst, with average debt equivalent to a year's earnings. This is going to end in tears (again). We haven't finished paying for the last crisis yet, so our resilience to a new credit crunch is nowhere near as strong as it was a decade ago (and it wasn't particularly strong back then...)

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-41609311

Consumer debt has the potential to bring down an entire country, especially if interest rates rise enough to make the debt un-sustainable
Posted By: Trappy

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 10:31

Originally Posted By MeanRedSpider
Personally, in a world where NK and, increasingly likely, Iran have nuclear weapons, I’d quite like to feel we can dissuade them from using them.


I would turn the TV off at this stage rolleyes

Originally Posted By MeanRedSpider

And neither Germany nor Japan have nuclear weapons for obvious reasons.


I've got to hear this - what are these "obvious reasons" then?

The only nation with nuclear weapons worth worrying about is Israel (and it's weapons division, the US). This never seems to be mentioned on here - or in mainstream media (I'm not even going near that coincidence...). The 'Samsom Option' is what keeps the rest of the world in line.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 10:52

I think it may have escaped your notice how cruel and unkind the Tories are being towards the sick, the disabled, and the dying. They have saved not a penny by doing this because the assessments cost more than any savings! The contracts go to Crapita etc and generate £millions (public money) for them. When Iain Duncan Smith was devising Universal Credit, he was seen having lunch with the CEO of a payday loans company! It's all so sick and corrupt. If you really want these psychos in charge of the country then go ahead and keep voting for them. It is total nonsense to say we cannot afford the important things, other countries have first rate welfare systems and it does not break the bank. Austerity is evil, and unnecessary. They found a few £billion to bung to the DUP. This government has spent more than every Labour government since 1945 added together! Where has it all gone??? And you can put a stop to all the subsidised fine dining and boozing in the House of Commons, which costs US £millions a year. Corbyn's last recorded expenses claim was just £8! Compare this to others who work the system with second homes etc. Jacob Rees Mogg had his wife's country pile renovated at tax payer's expense. £billions could be saved and spent on things that matter. It is a myth that Labour always over-spends. Corbyn's heart is in the right place and if you can't see that you must be blind.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 10:57

Originally Posted By Trappy
I've got to hear this - what are these "obvious reasons" then?


Presumably the demilitarisation clauses we added to both countries constitutions at the end of WW2, for a start.
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:03

Originally Posted By Trappy

I've got to hear this - what are these "obvious reasons" then?


Something to do with a small war at the beginning of the 1940s. Just do a bit of reading of real history.
Posted By: AnnieMac

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:06

Do you not think the Labour Party has access to brilliant economists? Wouldn't you rather have Keir Starmer, the brilliant human rights lawyer who took on McDonalds (for free) on behalf of leaflet distributors who were trying to point out how unhealthy their food is, in charge of Brexit negotiations, than the bungling, lazy (he works a 3-day week)David Davis? Is there even one talented person in the entire Tory Party? Theresa May was the only candidate for the leadership, and she is worse than useless. She refuses to engage in any debates, and then complains the election result was dire for them because there were not enough debates! Jacob Rees Mogg or Boris Johnson? No thanks!!!
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:23

Blimey, Annie, you’ve swallowed the whole lot. Don’t know what makes you think I might “keep voting” Tory as I don’t vote for them. I also have a much deeper insight into the NHS and welfare benefits than I thought I would. The welfare system, in particular, has been incredibly good and worked very well this year. The NHS undoubtedly has problems but Brexit is going to utterly screw it from a staffing point of view and Corbyn carries some blame for that for his absence from the Remain campaign.

Oh, and many of the foreign doctors (including an American) say the NHS is the envy of the world. It’s under huge pressure and every year we are told it is “at breaking point” but it keeps going and doing, generally, an amazing job.

Corbyn says he can do things that people (including me) would love to believe are possible. But that’s where it ends. I believe that I have enough knowledge and global experience to know that most of them can’t work.

It’s all very well talking about Corbyn’s £8. Personally I’d like to see politicians paid more so we get the smarter people in our society running the country in the same way as I’d like to see smarter people managing our hospitals. Passion and conviction only get you so far.
Posted By: MeanRedSpider

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:29

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Wouldn't you rather have Keir Starmer, the brilliant human rights lawyer who took on McDonalds (for free) on behalf of leaflet distributors who were trying to point out how unhealthy their food is, in charge of Brexit negotiations,


I would, actually. But it’s clear from the interview I watched on Sunday that he daren’t discuss anything beyond his brief in opposition and that he’s not much of a Corbyn fan. And it was interesting listening to him talk after hearing Macdonall talking on the other channel regarding the same question of negotiating the exit fee. Very little consistency of response. Starmer would make a much better leader than Corbyn.
Posted By: Anonymous

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:46

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
I think it may have escaped your notice how cruel and unkind the Tories are being towards the sick, the disabled, and the dying.


I knew this guy:

http://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/scottish-news/family-mentally-ill-scot-who-7348119

who was mentally ill and hung himself after his benefits were stopped and he was about to be evicted. The bailiffs who came to evict him found his body and there was a letter from the council behind the door saying that the eviction notice had been a mistake.

So I'm aware of the results of the cuts and don't agree with the severity of the current benefits "sanctions" policy.

I still couldn't bring myself to vote for Corbyn, May or any of the other bunch of shysters though.
Posted By: bezzer

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 11:59

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
And you can put a stop to all the subsidised fine dining and boozing in the House of Commons, which costs US £millions a year. Corbyn's last recorded expenses claim was just £8! Compare this to others who work the system with second homes etc. Jacob Rees Mogg had his wife's country pile renovated at tax payer's expense. £billions could be saved and spent on things that matter. It is a myth that Labour always over-spends. Corbyn's heart is in the right place and if you can't see that you must be blind.


My goodness, I can't tell if you're being serious!
Are you just quoting all these 'facts' from the Momentum handbook?

Rees-Mogg (who I think is an odious, out of touch bigot) didn't have his 'country pile' renovated at the tax payers expense. The house in question, Wentworth Woodhouse, is the ancestral home of his wife's Mother.

Quote:
Wentworth Woodhouse is the largest privately-owned house in Europe. It has just been acquired by the Wentworth Woodhouse Preservation Trust. One of the trustees is Lady Juliet Tadgell, Rees-Mogg’s mother-in-law. It was her family, the Fitzwilliams, who owned the vast mansion for over two hundred years until 1989.


Get your facts right.
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 13:27

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Corbyn's last recorded expenses claim was just £8!


Actually, it was almost 2,400 times that amount - £19,123

http://www.mpsexpenses.info/#!/mp/226
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 13:35

Originally Posted By AnnieMac
This government has spent more than every Labour government since 1945 added together!


Spending or borrowing? I suspect you have misquoted a claim Corbyn made which on the face of it is true but grossly over simplifies the actual truth.
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 13:50

Originally Posted By Nigel
Originally Posted By AnnieMac
Corbyn's last recorded expenses claim was just £8!


Actually, it was almost 2,400 times that amount - £19,123

http://www.mpsexpenses.info/#!/mp/226


How much has Jacob Rees Mogg claimed (I know the answer). He’s still a horrible toad though!
Posted By: Nigel

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 15:08

Interesting - Theresa May and David Cameron are both in the top ten for the lowest expense claims for last year

Corbyn even claimed for a memory card for "the office camera" - this single item was more than treble the £8 referred to earlier. I'll happily accept he's well below average though (unlike the bloody SNP MPs - they fill nine of the top ten places with a combined expense claim of almost £780,000)
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 15:38

To be fair to them there is a large proportion that is travel related which is to be expected. Also note the other 1 in the top 10 is also scottish
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 16:52

I was interested to know where the £8 claim claims comes from so had a quick google. It comes from back in 2010 when in the first quarter after the new regulations claim that is what he claimed, £8.70. Neither recent nor relevant in the grand scheme of things.
Posted By: andyps

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 17:32

Interesting that in the 10 most expensive claims one is from a Labour MP representing Hammersmith. Presumably getting from his constituency to Westminster each day would be quite a struggle with the distance involved so quite understandable that he needs somewhere closer to stay rolleyes
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 18:20

It clearly states office costs. His annual travel card cost £777
Posted By: andyps

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 19:10

Apologies, I didn't click through on the link, just saw rent. Mind you, travel at £363.90/mile makes running a Coupe look good value!
Posted By: Hyperlink

Re: The Maybot - 16/10/2017 20:19

I think the costing is somewhat flawed unless he only used the annual ticket and parking permit once wink. Same with a lot of the stats they don’t provide a lot of insight.
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