Brexit and the waning days of the United Kingdom

[Josquius]

Much jollity over at the Daily Mail with people suggesting that Diane Abbott was in charge of counting the number of guests.

That is pretty funny.

Not really. Cliched dog whistling that got old long ago.

[Richard Hakluyt]

It hardly matters any more; these are figures from the past.

[Maladict]

Much jollity over at the Daily Mail with people suggesting that Diane Abbott was in charge of counting the number of guests.

That is pretty funny.

Not really. Cliched dog whistling that got old long ago.

It's a cheap laugh for sure. Not that different from Brexit or Boris jokes though.

[Richard Hakluyt]

The government is considering the re-introduction of prison hulks :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54366346

Probably just trolling, but even so.

[Josquius]

The government is considering the re-introduction of prison hulks :

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-54366346

Probably just trolling, but even so.

I prefer the sending refugees off to Ascension Island evil idiocy that has also came up.
Though doing similar on a Scottish island and taking care to copy Norway rather than Australia could be viable....though that is also causing rage.

[Sheilbh]

I saw there was a piece - which I haven't read - in the Economist on the weird place Australia has in our national consciousness.

Australia and Germany are the two countries I see most often referenced in we should have an "x-style" system. Whether it's an Australia deal with EU (i.e. no deal), or Australian-style immigration system (which we've had for over a decade), or German-style education (as if you just transplant something that's kind of reliant on an entirely different economic approach), or German-style public health (again based on well-resourced, deeply established federalism). It's baffling and annoying because instead of using a model that you might like and the way a country does something successfully to learn about what we're doing differently (and badly) and changing it, we just look at countries that are doing better and pretend as if we can lift their approach and implement it here leading to immediate success. It's part of the general unseriousness of British politics.

It's especially a bit deal with the Tories given that I think Johnson and Cameron have all relied on Australian senior advisors/campaign managers for their election campaigns.

I feel like putting assylum seekers on a random island has been something that governments have talked about doing/looking at since the mid 2000s (around the time the "Australian-style" points system was introduced) and it never happens. Even if you skirt the ethical issues with it, it needs an island that's reasonably close for this to work and that's uninhabited - like an uninhabited Isle of Man (which would improve the Isle of Man ). Because at the minute we have islands that are close, but they're all already inhabited (and normally tourist attractions) or they're tiny. Which ends up with the absurdity of sending people to the South Atlantic

[Richard Hakluyt]

I don't see any reason to emulate Australia even if we could successfully steal their ideas 

To be fair about the disused ferry/Ascension island business the ideas did crop up in a blue-sky session and should never have been leaked. Hopefully the ideas were whittled down to a more sensible list of possibilities.

Can we dare to hope that the Labour party will start to engage with serious thinking about how to improve this country? We need to get out of this hideous spiral of incompetence and decline.

[Sheilbh]

If only we could understand why career civil servants might be leaking against Patel

[Josquius]

If only we could understand why career civil servants might be leaking against Patel

Its just one of those things that shall forever be a mystery :p

[Zanza]

or German-style education (as if you just transplant something that's kind of reliant on an entirely different economic approach), or German-style public health (again based on well-resourced, deeply established federalism). It's baffling

I find it baffling indeed. Germany's education system is middling in normal times and arguably failed the hardest of all rich nations during Corona. The public health system is overwhelmed by the pandemic and has huge digitalization issues.

[Syt]

The education being very decentralized as responsibility of states, and one they guard jealously, is probably a contributing factor there.

[Crazy_Ivan80]

Which ends up with the absurdity of sending people to the South Atlantic

It would drive the message home, very quickly. So maybe not that bad after all.

[Maladict]

The public health system is overwhelmed by the pandemic

Every country's public health system was overwhelmed by the pandemic. Germany did seem to have plenty of resources though, even taking many patients from other countries throughout the first wave.

[The Larch]

or German-style education (as if you just transplant something that's kind of reliant on an entirely different economic approach), or German-style public health (again based on well-resourced, deeply established federalism). It's baffling

I find it baffling indeed. Germany's education system is middling in normal times and arguably failed the hardest of all rich nations during Corona. The public health system is overwhelmed by the pandemic and has huge digitalization issues.

At least over here what is normally highlighted of the German educational system is the approach to vocational training and the close links between these vocaitonal training centres and local companies. It's this education to work pipeline, so to speak, what is sought to be imitated.

[Zanza]

Ok, the vocational training system actually works fairly well.