UK Politics - BoJo Kool-Aid vs Project Fear Cocktail of Terror

[Werthead]

2 hours ago, A wilding said:

Re the sewerage argument.

As reasonably balanced summary of the situation is given by the BBC. https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-59040175

The background is that the water utility companies were privatised some 30 years back by Margaret Thatcher. They are now typically somehow massively in debt to offshore companies in tax havens, and the interest payments on these debts leaves them cash strapped, making no taxable profits, and struggling just to maintain services.

This is not a million miles away from what happened on the railways, though in that case it was more overseas rail companies - including in some cases the nationalised rail companies of other countries - buying into our network, making modest investments at the start of their contracts to keep the government sweet and then rolling in the sweet, sweet profit by charging customers massively and taking the profits home (in some cases, subsidising their own nationalised railways), and not investing any money at all for the last ~50% of each contract unless the government promised them they'd be renewed, which of course the government couldn't do since they had to host a competitive tender each time.

In a rare display of sanity, our government does seem to have cottoned onto this and they seem to have imposed rules changes that might actually have a positive impact.

[IheartIheartTesla]

5 hours ago, Derfel Cadarn said:

I’ve heard that the US has somethibg like 10 times as many food poisoning cases per head of population than the UK.

Hard pass on their chickens.

While it is probably true that US food poisoning per capita rates are on the whole worse (a lot), from what I've read the 10 X comparison is most likely excessive due to difference in methodologies used for the two countries. Weirdly, the hospitalization and death rates are almost comparable (with the US still doing worse but not an order of magnitude worse).

In my opinion it has as much to do with the underfunded, understaffed inspection agencies as with the standards - more the former, actually.

[Spockydog]

Odious grasping billionaire, Rishi Sunak, will tomorrow announce that he is unfreezing the public pay freeze.

What he will most definitely not announce is the fact that these pay increases will be completely offset by rising inflation, so people will in fact be getting a real-world pay cut.

He, and all his trough-snuffling chums, will also likely crow about the supposed increase in the national living wage, which will add an average of £1000 to people's annual salaries. What none of these crooks and incompetents will tell you, however, is that those on Universal Credit will see about £750 of that disappear up Bozo's bunghole due to the UC benefit cut and the scandalous increase to National Insurance.

Amazing stuff from our wonderful, benevolent leaders. 

[The Anti-Targ]

On 10/26/2021 at 11:32 AM, IheartIheartTesla said:

While it is probably true that US food poisoning per capita rates are on the whole worse (a lot), from what I've read the 10 X comparison is most likely excessive due to difference in methodologies used for the two countries. Weirdly, the hospitalization and death rates are almost comparable (with the US still doing worse but not an order of magnitude worse).

In my opinion it has as much to do with the underfunded, understaffed inspection agencies as with the standards - more the former, actually.

Specific to chicken, campylobacter infection rates in the USA are lower than the EU average while per capita consumption of chicken is much higher than for any country in Europe. So when one says quality it can mean different things to different people.

Our chief trade negotiator got one final gift from going to the UK to secure the FTA: a COVID-19 infection and an extended stay while he gets rid of it before he comes home.

[Spockydog]

Absolute state of these cretins.

Masks to be mandatory again in parliament for staff but not MPs

Quote

 

Masks are being made mandatory again for all parliamentary staffers – but not MPs – amid concern over the recent rise in Covid cases and the safety of workers in the Palace of Westminster.

It is the first reintroduction of measures by the parliamentary authorities since restrictions were relaxed over the summer. Those who refuse to wear a face covering will be told they must leave the estate.

New guidance was issued on Tuesday in advance of Rishi Sunak’s budget speech on Wednesday. It said that “all face-to-face meetings with colleagues should be avoided, unless there is a business need” and people should “space out and avoid sitting directly opposite each other in working areas [to] avoid close contact at all times”.

However, MPs cannot be forced to follow the same rules, so those who choose to continue following the law rather than the advice are free to do so.

 

 

[A wilding]

Still, I am happy to see that on the sewerage issue at least our democracy seems to be working more or less as it should. The government has done what an opposition spokesman picturesquely described as "a screeching u-turn" and agreed to adopt the substance of the amendment that the day before it had voted down with rhetoric about how it would lead to "sewage being dumped into the streets".

Of course the rebels are waiting to see the small print of what the government is now going to propose, with a wide suspicion that they intend to put in loopholes for the utility companies to use, but even so it is nice to see this.

[ants]

  

On 10/25/2021 at 1:28 AM, Heartofice said:

Hmm well

how about the US.. don’t remember Brexit affecting there?

https://heavy.com/news/why-empty-shelves-stores/amp/#click=https://t.co/aXgS23jJnJ
Or here:

https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/articles/2021-09-24/inflation-and-supply-shortages-mean-a-return-of-empty-shelves-and-panic-buying

Or you could maybe head over to the US thread and listen to Zorral bemoaning the lack of produce.

Maybe Brexit is why there is a Driver shortage in America?

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/amp.ft.com/content/a7283077-69de-4bb2-9d0a-1c68090d719f

But maybe Germany is being affected by Brexit as well with its supply issues.

https://www.ifo.de/en/node/65598

Are there any driver shortages across Europe? 

https://www.google.co.uk/amp/s/www.scotsman.com/business/is-there-a-lorry-driver-shortage-in-europe-what-is-the-situation-across-the-channel-3398097%3famp

Except those aren't the shelves being talked about in Britain, are they? Yes, there is a worldwide shortage of many consumer products due to a number of factors. But the UK Is the one with shortages of food. 

A shortage isn't a crisis. The UK had a shortage of drivers for years. Brexit turned it into a crisis. Which it hasn't in Europe.  No hogs being burned. No petrol shortages. 

[Heartofice]

13 minutes ago, ants said:

  

Except those aren't the shelves being talked about in Britain, are they? Yes, there is a worldwide shortage of many consumer products due to a number of factors. But the UK Is the one with shortages of food. 

A shortage isn't a crisis. The UK had a shortage of drivers for years. Brexit turned it into a crisis. Which it hasn't in Europe.  No hogs being burned. No petrol shortages. 

Petrol shortages were caused by panic buying morons. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Who may or may not be the same as the Brexit voting morons.

Either way, with lorry drivers now getting somewhat better paid, bus drivers are switching wheels. So next stop public transport problems.

[Heartofice]

56 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Who may or may not be the same as the Brexit voting morons.

I don’t think there is any real correlation. I can name a few panic buying idiots that definitely didn’t vote for Brexit 

[Denvek]

4 hours ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Who may or may not be the same as the Brexit voting morons.

Either way, with lorry drivers now getting somewhat better paid, bus drivers are switching wheels. So next stop public transport problems.

Or, in something that'll upset a lot more people, reduced bin collections because those drivers move to better paid HGV jobs.

[Heartofice]

Those dastardly pay rises! Oh for the good old days of cheap slave Labour 

[polishgenius]

42 minutes ago, Heartofice said:

Those dastardly pay rises! Oh for the good old days of cheap slave Labour 

 

You've... really missed the point here haven't you.


If I didn't know better I'd say you're doing so on purpose coz understanding it would involve admitting you were wrong. 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

22 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

 

You've... really missed the point here haven't you.


If I didn't know better I'd say you're doing so on purpose coz understanding it would involve admitting you were wrong. 

You are actually surprised by that?

[Heartofice]

57 minutes ago, polishgenius said:

 

You've... really missed the point here haven't you.


If I didn't know better I'd say you're doing so on purpose coz understanding it would involve admitting you were wrong. 

What point? That two posters seem to lamenting the fact that people are getting better paid? Yeah it’s worth having a sly laugh at it. 

[Denvek]

11 hours ago, polishgenius said:

 

You've... really missed the point here haven't you.


If I didn't know better I'd say you're doing so on purpose coz understanding it would involve admitting you were wrong. 

I don't see how that's anything but a deliberate misreading. The point is that there's still a shortage of HGV-qualified drivers, and moving them from one set of vehicles to another doesn't solve that, it just changes the results people see of that shortage from petrol panics and less choice in supermarkets to fewer bus services and bins not being collected.

[The Anti-Targ]

Bit of a fishing stoush brewing between the UK and France, it seems.

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Who says only the Brits can do grandstandings before the Tory party conference or an election?

It's basically Macron now doing the dickwaving in an attempt to boost his standing at home.

[Spockydog]

You can bet your gold-flecked turds floating in the bog that she'll be claiming it on expenses.

Fair play to the little salty dude, though. He comes from really humble beginnings and is making a whole bunch of rich and famous idiots look like the prize fucking turnips they are for allowing themselves to be fleeced in this manner.

[BigFatCoward]

7 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

You can bet your gold-flecked turds floating in the bog that she'll be claiming it on expenses.

Fair play to the little salty dude, though. He comes from really humble beginnings and is making a whole bunch of rich and famous idiots look like the prize fucking turnips they are for allowing themselves to be fleeced in this manner.

Imagine how much you have to hate yourself to eat there. I wish he charged triple.