Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Valmy]

Yvan Eht Nioj

I just got an urge to join the navy.

[Zanza]

 

Merge the two, abolish interest for those that join up.

If you sign up for the forces (and need a degree) then they cover the cost of tuition fees

Same with the NHS.

You could call it GI Bill.

[Valmy]

Merge the two, abolish interest for those that join up.

If you sign up for the forces (and need a degree) then they cover the cost of tuition fees

Same with the NHS.

You could call it GI Bill.

Tommy Bill

[HVC]

The trick to speaking with a posh English accent is candy, apparently

https://www.instagram.com/reel/C7zPg91M7k7/?igsh=OHY0c2V1ZDBqdHA2

[garbon]

I thought I knew about the depths British trains but now I've just learned about Trainline doing SplitSave. Where you save a significant deal of money if you split your journey into two separate tickets rather than just one direct to your final destination. You stay on same train but just change seat as needed...

[Sheilbh]

So New Zealand passed really significant planning reform, which has led to a lot of homes being built, rents falling and now property prices falling to the point that people looking to buy a home can find a bargain. This is bad, apparently
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/518768/townhouses-new-builds-what-s-hurting-auckland-s-housing-market

[Valmy]

The young people can own a home and have families? Oh noes! But what about the olds! Will somebody finally think of the old people's home values?!!

[Josquius]

So New Zealand passed really significant planning reform, which has led to a lot of homes being built, rents falling and now property prices falling to the point that people looking to buy a home can find a bargain. This is bad, apparently
https://www.rnz.co.nz/news/business/518768/townhouses-new-builds-what-s-hurting-auckland-s-housing-market

It certainly sounds suspicious considering all news about the current government has been it's a total disaster.

[Sheilbh]

It certainly sounds suspicious considering all news about the current government has been it's a total disaster.

There's possibly a warning there on planning reform.

It was arguably the big achievement of Ardern's government, but it takes a while for reform to lead to increased building and then feed through to lower rent and eventually prices.

[HVC]

The young people can own a home and have families? Oh noes! But what about the olds! Will somebody finally think of the old people's home values?!!

The shitty part is it's probably hurting the youngs. Olds had their houses decades. A bit of loss, but still way ahead in the game. It's the youngs that now have homes that can be worth less than their mortgages.


Still, over all lowering prices is good, I think.

[Sheilbh]

I don't know if this will "cut through" but think it was very, very odd for Rishi Sunak to skip the international commemorations in Normandy and go back early to campaign this afternoon.

I don't think it was right and think it's rude.

But also think just politically it's very strange. It feels very Michael Foot in a donkey jacket - especially with the contrast of Starmer staying. But maybe no-one will notice.

[Josquius]

The young people can own a home and have families? Oh noes! But what about the olds! Will somebody finally think of the old people's home values?!!

The shitty part is it's probably hurting the youngs. Olds had their houses decades. A bit of loss, but still way ahead in the game. It's the youngs that now have homes that can be worth less than their mortgages.


Still, over all lowering prices is good, I think.

It's definitely a problem with lowering house prices.
It's like those guys who died in the last days of WW1.
There's always going to be someone who was last under the old way.
Really what's needed isn't a house price crash but rather a freeze whilst salaries/the cost of everything else catches up.

It certainly sounds suspicious considering all news about the current government has been it's a total disaster.

There's possibly a warning there on planning reform.

It was arguably the big achievement of Ardern's government, but it takes a while for reform to lead to increased building and then feed through to lower rent and eventually prices.

Ah. So it was the previous good all round government that did it.
That makes more sense.

[Sheilbh]

So during the debate Sunak made a lot of claims about Labour planning to cost every person in the count £2,000 more. He repeated this about 12 times.

It is nonsense, which he repeatedly justified as calculated by Treasury civil servants. Which is sort of true - basically Conservative Spads made a set of assumptions on the cost of all of Labour's announced plans (though obviously it's pre-manifesto) and then asked the Treasury to calculate the cost of those policies and what that would be in tax. So independent, Treasury civil servants did produce that number - in the same sort of way that an independent calculator might produce the number.

Yesterday it started to look like it might have been an overreach. Labour had a letter from the Treasury Permanent Secretary explaining how the sum had been reached, including a statement that it should not be used and that he has told ministers that. The Spectator did basically the same thing for all of the taxes the Tories have proposed cutting and said that in order to pay for them it would cost £3,000 per person (basically Tory promises are even more expensive). And after Starmer failed to nail Sunak on this during the debate (I think he should have had the letter to produce on stage), Labour did push back fairly robustly:

The Labour Party
@UKLabour
Rishi Sunak lied to you.

About NHS waiting lists.

About small boats.

About the cost of living.

Just like he did about partygate.

All day yesterday they had many posts accusing Sunak of lying.

It turns out why Sunak pulled out of half the D-Day commemorations was in order to do this interview, denying he's a liar. First question "are you willing to lie to stay in power?"
https://www.itv.com/news/2024-06-06/rishi-sunak-denies-hes-a-liar-following-his-tax-claims-about-labour

Purely on the politics I think this will cut through - Farage has already pounced on it. Starmer hasn't because he doesn't need to. He's spent the entire day only posting about the D-Day commemorations which he was at and with multiple photos on the wire of Starmer with D-Day veterans, with Zelensky, with the King etc (basically looking like a Prime Minister at an international event) - while Sunak's doing this.

I also think totally separate from the politics, as a PM it's a disgrace to have not attended the international commemorations in order to do a party political interview.

Edit: And again, despite the right-wing press and MPs convincing themselves that no-one really cares about Partygate, it's striking that's straight where Labour goes on trust.

[Barrister]

I also think totally separate from the politics, as a PM it's a disgrace to have not attended the international commemorations in order to do a party political interview.

I can't comment on most of your post but - politicians gotta do politics.  Starmer can afford to "look Prime Ministerial" because he's in a healthy lead.

Whatever else today may bring, I doubt skipping D-Day ceremonies will hurt Sunak.  The other stuff?  ehhh.....

[Sheilbh]

I can't comment on most of your post but - politicians gotta do politics.  Starmer can afford to "look Prime Ministerial" because he's in a healthy lead.

Whatever else today may bring, I doubt skipping D-Day ceremonies will hurt Sunak.  The other stuff?  ehhh.....

I agree that Starmer can afford it. But...

Nigel Farage
@Nigel_Farage
The Prime Minister has ducked out of the international D-Day event to fly back to the UK to campaign.

I am here in Normandy in a personal capacity because I think it matters. Does he?

And from Starmer today only posting about D-Day with shots like this:


My own view is that the PM should attend a remembrance invite if it's being attended by Biden, Scholz and Macron rather than the Foreign Secretary. I think it's disrespectful to other leaders but also it's quite possible it might be the last big commemoration with veterans.

But even putting that to one side, on the politics, I think skipping a remembrance event for a TV interview to deny you're a liar is the sort of thing that could cut through to the general public (and especially, to be generous, the "patriotic" vote Sunak's been targeting). It might not cut through but I'm not so sure that it won't hurt Sunak - feels to me like the sort of story that sometimes the public notice.

The Mirror is a partisan pro-Labour tabloid, and you could be totally right. But I think this might pick up with the public: