UK Politics: Step Right Up, Step Right Up. Come Marvel At Our Amazing North Sea Snake Oil. Will Cure All Your Electoral Woes. Get It While It's Hot ;-)

[Spockydog]

*checks 2017 manifesto*

Yup, zero-hours contracts were to be outlawed in the first term. 

[dog-days]

1 hour ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

The issue shouldn't be the over 50.

The issue should be working conditions for deliveroo drivers.

 

And tbf, that issue is not restricted to the UK/Tories. Deliveroo sucks.

A small army of Deliveroo/JustEat cyclists wait for orders to come through in the centre of the city where I live. Most are young-ish men, most black or Asian, some probably first generation immigrants. The whole system is just crazy. It offers them no stability and no future, just God knows what when they can't cycle anymore because they're worn out or injured. 

It's the extreme end of the casualisation trend that's dominated the UK for the last decade or more. Make the UK more competitive by cutting workers' security and rights. I guess that as long as true blue constituencies stay that way since inherited wealth has protected the voters thee from the worst of it, the Tories won't care. Even if elsewhere there'll soon be a lot of broke pensioners without anything on top of their state pension and the rent to pay. 

[Spockydog]

Look at the state of us, world. 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by Spockydog

[A Horse Named Stranger]

2 hours ago, dog-days said:

A small army of Deliveroo/JustEat cyclists wait for orders to come through in the centre of the city where I live. Most are young-ish men, most black or Asian, some probably first generation immigrants. The whole system is just crazy. It offers them no stability and no future, just God knows what when they can't cycle anymore because they're worn out or injured. 

It's the extreme end of the casualisation trend that's dominated the UK for the last decade or more. Make the UK more competitive by cutting workers' security and rights. I guess that as long as true blue constituencies stay that way since inherited wealth has protected the voters thee from the worst of it, the Tories won't care. Even if elsewhere there'll soon be a lot of broke pensioners without anything on top of their state pension and the rent to pay. 

Yeah, but this is not UK exclusive. Deliveroo/Delivery Hero are shit. That's true for the UK that's also true for Germany. They treat their riders (that the term they use for the cyclists) like shit.

All the folks that order on those platforms keep that system going. Not just the bloody Tories.

[dog-days]

Didn't realise this was a who has the most exploitative economy competition. If it helps, I felt pretty exploited and vulnerable when I lived in your country, and I was a posh middle class kid with supportive parents. 

The Tories are in government right now. They can legislate to improve rights for the 'self-employed' food deliverers and other people in precarious jobs. Instead, they're the cheerleaders in chief for cutting red tape and cutting taxes for the rich. 

Consumers are unlikely to boycott the delivery giants in sufficient numbers for it to be felt. Partly because there's mixed messaging about it: there are plenty of part-time riders around ready to talk about how they enjoy the chance to be their own boss, get out in the fresh air etc. Partly because of supply chain compassion fatigue. As the sitcom the Good Life cheerfully pointed out, more or less every product is compromised now somewhere in its lifecycle. Phone? Yes. Car? Yes Affordable clothes? Yes. We're used to hurting someone with our purchases. And thirdly, most just don't care. I had a quick look on reddit for accounts of riders' experiences, and what I found was a customer complaining about being asked for a tip. 

 

Edited August 5, 2023 by dog-days

[BigFatCoward]

I have no problem with gig work per se, my brother in law was a struggling actor and it was ideal between jobs before he settled down. it just needs to be regulated to the nth degree to stop people being used and abused. 

[polishgenius]

All these systems that give the company all the benefits of the workers being 'self-employed' but the workers only the negatives need to change or be ended. Deliveroo, Uber, UFC, all of that. 

[James Arryn]

Beg your indulgence in my asking this here:

 

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

*Sw coast, north side (ie northern coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

*SW coast, south side (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset)

S coast, ie Jurassic to ~ plymouth

Norfolk/Suffolk coast

Se Ireland coast (ie Wicklow down to cork)

Welsh coast, any

Norhumberland coast, say Newcastle to Bamburgh area.

 

I should note that my preferences were very much for Scottish highlands, Isles, Northern Ireland/Causeway trail, or possibly Yorkshire/Cumbria but have been warned midges are trips killers in this season, esp. for hikers, but if any of you have local knowledge of areas that aren’t experiencing major midge issues amongst these options, please I beg let me know.

 

 

 

Edited August 6, 2023 by James Arryn

[Spockydog]

Hey, remember when Sir Keir wanted to save the planet? Remember when he said Climate Disaster was the "issue of our time"? Ah, halcyon days. 

 

 

[A Horse Named Stranger]

Could he just revoke valid drilling licenses without getting slapped down in courts?

If the answer is no, then you should really hang Sunak. Yes, Starmer is almost as feckless as Corbyn at this point. But keep the criticism to stuff that is his fault.

[BigFatCoward]

21 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

Beg your indulgence in my asking this here:

 

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

*Sw coast, north side (ie northern coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

*SW coast, south side (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset)

S coast, ie Jurassic to ~ plymouth

Norfolk/Suffolk coast

Se Ireland coast (ie Wicklow down to cork)

Welsh coast, any

Norhumberland coast, say Newcastle to Bamburgh area.

 

I should note that my preferences were very much for Scottish highlands, Isles, Northern Ireland/Causeway trail, or possibly Yorkshire/Cumbria but have been warned midges are trips killers in this season, esp. for hikers, but if any of you have local knowledge of areas that aren’t experiencing major midge issues amongst these options, please I beg let me know.

 

 

 

I don't know about the question you asked, but all those places apart from Newcastle are shit and full of arseholes, that's all I'm saying on the matter.  

the northeast coast is fucking beautiful though, and likely to be less crowded. 

[Spockydog]

10 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

Could he just revoke valid drilling licenses without getting slapped down in courts?

If the answer is no, then you should really hang Sunak. Yes, Starmer is almost as feckless as Corbyn at this point. But keep the criticism to stuff that is his fault.

Um, no. 

Sunak's plans are inconsistent with continuing human life on this planet. They are illegal, and there are already legal challenges in the pipeline.

Starmer should be saying be will revoke these fucking licenses as soon as he comes to office. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Spockydog

[A Horse Named Stranger]

If any revokation (is that the word) will get slapped down in court, then what's the point from a practical point of view?

I mean you kinda expect Starmer to say: "Ok, I am making a grandstanding announcement about a policy that won't survive a court challenge."

And yes, fuck the Tories.

[Spockydog]

35 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

Beg your indulgence in my asking this here:

 

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

*Sw coast, north side (ie northern coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

*SW coast, south side (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset)

S coast, ie Jurassic to ~ plymouth

Norfolk/Suffolk coast

Se Ireland coast (ie Wicklow down to cork)

Welsh coast, any

Norhumberland coast, say Newcastle to Bamburgh area.

 

I should note that my preferences were very much for Scottish highlands, Isles, Northern Ireland/Causeway trail, or possibly Yorkshire/Cumbria but have been warned midges are trips killers in this season, esp. for hikers, but if any of you have local knowledge of areas that aren’t experiencing major midge issues amongst these options, please I beg let me know.

 

 

 

The shit is literally everywhere. 

Cornwall is beautiful and spectacular, but the people are weird. 

[dog-days]

16 minutes ago, BigFatCoward said:

I don't know about the question you asked, but all those places apart from Newcastle are shit and full of arseholes, that's all I'm saying on the matter.  

the northeast coast is fucking beautiful though, and likely to be less crowded. 

Agreed. The north-east coast is beautiful and less overcrowded than many of the more well-known tourist areas. Plus, Bamborough and my favourite Dunstanburgh.  Lindisfarne (tidal island) is gorgeous too. I have a thing for sunken gardens, and the castle there had one. 

Midges haven't bothered me in most places. The worst I can remember them was Scotland along the Crinan Canal (black cloud of death) and the west coast of Ireland where the gardeners at a big coastal garden wore what looked like bee-keeping outfits in the late afternoon as protection against the winged horde. As long as you stick close to the coast and away from still water, you should be okay.*

Funnest resource I've ever linked to on the board: England and Wales sewage discharge map.

Typically areas near population centres have the worst rates. That said, there's also a scandal about run-off from farms going into rivers e.g. chicken farms tipping stuff into the River Wye (Afon Gwy), which runs through some of the most rural counties you can find. 

*not accepting any responsibility if you do get eaten by the beasts 

Edited August 6, 2023 by dog-days

[Spockydog]

19 minutes ago, A Horse Named Stranger said:

If any revokation (is that the word) will get slapped down in court, then what's the point from a practical point of view?

I mean you kinda expect Starmer to say: "Ok, I am making a grandstanding announcement about a policy that won't survive a court challenge."

And yes, fuck the Tories.

Dude, these licences are going to get struck down by the courts. The Good Law Project are all over it. 

And look, these plans have drawn condemnation around the world. So how difficult would it be for Starmer to just stand up and say they won't fucking fly?

He said, repeatedly since 2019, that Climate Disaster is the issue of our time. So what's changed? 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Spockydog

[A Horse Named Stranger]

If the courts indeed strike them down, then it's also a non-issue.

Sorry, but this is a lot of ado about very little.

[Spockydog]

It's about leadership and integrity. And setting the agenda, not being led by the nose by Murdoch and the Tories. Yes, I realise that as we're talking about Starmer, this is a bit too much to expect. But we live in hope. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Spockydog

[Mr. Chatywin et al.]

6 minutes ago, Spockydog said:

It's about leadership and integrity. 

That's in short supply. Most people in power are just grabbing their own bag at this point. Corruption and lack of shame is the new norm in almost every government and industry. 

Edited August 6, 2023 by Tywin et al.

[DaveSumm]

45 minutes ago, James Arryn said:

Beg your indulgence in my asking this here:

Coming to the UK shortly for some hiking, sincere ask for help here: of the following coasts, which ones are more likely to be not-smelling-of-raw-sewage:

*Sw coast, north side (ie northern coasts of Cornwall, Devon, Somerset

*SW coast, south side (Cornwall, Devon, Dorset)

S coast, ie Jurassic to ~ plymouth

Norfolk/Suffolk coast

Se Ireland coast (ie Wicklow down to cork)

Welsh coast, any

Norhumberland coast, say Newcastle to Bamburgh area.

I should note that my preferences were very much for Scottish highlands, Isles, Northern Ireland/Causeway trail, or possibly Yorkshire/Cumbria but have been warned midges are trips killers in this season, esp. for hikers, but if any of you have local knowledge of areas that aren’t experiencing major midge issues amongst these options, please I beg let me know.

If the smell of shit is your concern, I would recommend probably anywhere…? I’ve done a bunch of walks around the south coast, Devon, Cornwall, not to dredge up the whole issue again but it’d be a huge exaggeration to say that we’re all avoiding the coast over here due to the smell. I’ve literally never smelt shit by the sea. Midges … eh, there’s some around but again I’ve never known the quantity of them to ruin any walk.