General Politics Thread

[Granny Danger]

6 hours ago, welshbairn said:

 

The answer is in the question; at 4.25.

$300 billion arms sales to Saudi Arabia; every other consideration comes way down the list.

 

[welshbairn]

48 minutes ago, pandarilla said:

7 hours ago, welshbairn said:

 

Holy shit that was unexpected. Very impressive speech.

Thank you. Next on shite propaganda techniques, tell everyone a Swiss lab found another chemical agent in Salisbury when as a member of the OPCW you know full well the protocol and that the other chemical will be explained as test sample handed out to the labs for verification and quality control purposes. A few days of disruption will be enough to convince the true believers though, I suppose.

[Zetterlund]

53 minutes ago, welshbairn said:

Thank you. Next on shite propaganda techniques, tell everyone a Swiss lab found another chemical agent in Salisbury when as a member of the OPCW you know full well the protocol and that the other chemical will be explained as test sample handed out to the labs for verification and quality control purposes. A few days of disruption will be enough to convince the true believers though, I suppose.

Safe to say whoever 'leaked' them the info will be avoiding any 5th floor balconies for a while.

[welshbairn]

1 minute ago, Zetterlund said:

Safe to say whoever 'leaked' them the info will be avoiding any 5th floor balconies for a while.

Doubt if it was a Russian journalist, he/she'll be fine.

[Father Ted]

Has anyone else noticed the gradual decline of parks and green spaces in the last few years?
Took a walk through a local park at the weekend and was pretty shocked at how wild and unkept most of it was. Just basic stuff like leaves from autumn still covering the grass and ruining it for years to come. It might not sound like a big deal and I get that there's priorities but surely there's a need to have quality places for kids and recreation? I have to say it made me quite sad to see a place I took pride in when I was wee look so run down. I don't know what the answer is? Get local businesses to sponsor it maybe?
 

Some councils are better than others. South Lanarkshire Council are turning it into an art form, cutting back on parks, verge cutting, hedgerows, grass cutting and litter pick.

I travel in Borders and it seems well kept.

Answer is for councils to manage it far better than they are, and not invest in Icelandic banks that went belly up, like SLC and others.

We are paying for these services already, we shouldn't have to pay again through private means. That's probably what these councils want.

[Jmothecat2]

This is my pet issue but f**k it it's the general politics thread so why not.

Got an email from the landlord last night saying he wants to sell the house I'm in so giving us notice to leave relatively soon. Not the worst thing in the world, my girlfriend and I are lucky in that we'll have places to go, both of us have decent jobs and family in the area so we're not going to be homeless or anything, but still a total pain in the arse obviously.

I just think the story of my current flat is just a microcosm of why Britain is totally, totally fucked though. An ex-council flat, built by the state, bought under right-to-buy by a local building contractor type in (I think) the 80s. He then gifts it (tax-free presumably) to his son, who gets an appreciating, state-built asset, plus a tidy chunk of my wages every month, for free. He now appears to be cashing in. Funnily enough as an aside the father's latest business venture is renovating the old sheriff court in the town into a hotel - so another public asset ending up in private hands at what you'd think must have been a knock-down price.

Just strikes me as insane that we tolerate this double transfer of wealth, first from leeching off the state to get an asset on the cheap, and then from the pocket of someone who actually works for a living to someone who effectively does not. When you think about the grief benefit claimants and the like get about 'the benefits of hard work' the hypocrisy is amazing when you see how much this country panders to landlords.

Honestly, the first party to come out and pledge to jail these parasites will have my vote.

I completely agree. The private rental sector is one of the most blatant opportunities for the already wealthy to get more wealthy whilst those who can't afford a house pay them that wealth. Because of how lucrative it is it means people trying to get out of rented accommodation and to actually buy a house are finding it more and more difficult as they are competing with cash buyers intending to let the places out. I read somewhere that the single thing that makes more of a difference to whether you vote Tory or for another party is whether or not you own property. I've not verified this but it really wouldn't surprise me.

[Benjamin_Nevis]

1 hour ago, ThatBoyRonaldo said:

This is my pet issue but f**k it it's the general politics thread so why not.

Got an email from the landlord last night saying he wants to sell the house I'm in so giving us notice to leave relatively soon. Not the worst thing in the world, my girlfriend and I are lucky in that we'll have places to go, both of us have decent jobs and family in the area so we're not going to be homeless or anything, but still a total pain in the arse obviously.

I just think the story of my current flat is just a microcosm of why Britain is totally, totally fucked though. An ex-council flat, built by the state, bought under right-to-buy by a local building contractor type in (I think) the 80s. He then gifts it (tax-free presumably) to his son, who gets an appreciating, state-built asset, plus a tidy chunk of my wages every month, for free. He now appears to be cashing in. Funnily enough as an aside the father's latest business venture is renovating the old sheriff court in the town into a hotel - so another public asset ending up in private hands at what you'd think must have been a knock-down price.

Just strikes me as insane that we tolerate this double transfer of wealth, first from leeching off the state to get an asset on the cheap, and then from the pocket of someone who actually works for a living to someone who effectively does not. When you think about the grief benefit claimants and the like get about 'the benefits of hard work' the hypocrisy is amazing when you see how much this country panders to landlords.

Honestly, the first party to come out and pledge to jail these parasites will have my vote.

Agreed. 

There's something absolutely mental about private landlords who've hoovered up ex-Council houses for buttons advertising them for let as "No DSS" and monthly rentals at double the equivalent of a local authority rent. 

Were it up to me, or even practical, I'd like to see a tax specifically aimed at private landlords letting ex-Council stock, with the money raised ringfenced for local authority housing. To avoid the wankers passing that cost onto tenants, I'd also set a maximum rental ceiling of 20% above the local authority rate. Social housing shouldn't be a golden goose for property "portfolio" types.

 

 

[pandarilla]

This is my pet issue but f**k it it's the general politics thread so why not.

Got an email from the landlord last night saying he wants to sell the house I'm in so giving us notice to leave relatively soon. Not the worst thing in the world, my girlfriend and I are lucky in that we'll have places to go, both of us have decent jobs and family in the area so we're not going to be homeless or anything, but still a total pain in the arse obviously.

I just think the story of my current flat is just a microcosm of why Britain is totally, totally fucked though. An ex-council flat, built by the state, bought under right-to-buy by a local building contractor type in (I think) the 80s. He then gifts it (tax-free presumably) to his son, who gets an appreciating, state-built asset, plus a tidy chunk of my wages every month, for free. He now appears to be cashing in. Funnily enough as an aside the father's latest business venture is renovating the old sheriff court in the town into a hotel - so another public asset ending up in private hands at what you'd think must have been a knock-down price.

Just strikes me as insane that we tolerate this double transfer of wealth, first from leeching off the state to get an asset on the cheap, and then from the pocket of someone who actually works for a living to someone who effectively does not. When you think about the grief benefit claimants and the like get about 'the benefits of hard work' the hypocrisy is amazing when you see how much this country panders to landlords.

Honestly, the first party to come out and pledge to jail these parasites will have my vote.

Spot on chief.

Outstanding post.

[NotThePars]

Rent controls, social housing and eventually kill all landlords. There’s no benefit to landlords even if you’re a hardcore capitalist as they’re parasites that generate no wealth just hoard money from other people’s need to have a roof over their heads.

[George Parr]

2 hours ago, ThatBoyRonaldo said:

This is my pet issue but f**k it it's the general politics thread so why not.

Got an email from the landlord last night saying he wants to sell the house I'm in so giving us notice to leave relatively soon. Not the worst thing in the world, my girlfriend and I are lucky in that we'll have places to go, both of us have decent jobs and family in the area so we're not going to be homeless or anything, but still a total pain in the arse obviously.

I just think the story of my current flat is just a microcosm of why Britain is totally, totally fucked though. An ex-council flat, built by the state, bought under right-to-buy by a local building contractor type in (I think) the 80s. He then gifts it (tax-free presumably) to his son, who gets an appreciating, state-built asset, plus a tidy chunk of my wages every month, for free. He now appears to be cashing in. Funnily enough as an aside the father's latest business venture is renovating the old sheriff court in the town into a hotel - so another public asset ending up in private hands at what you'd think must have been a knock-down price.

Just strikes me as insane that we tolerate this double transfer of wealth, first from leeching off the state to get an asset on the cheap, and then from the pocket of someone who actually works for a living to someone who effectively does not. When you think about the grief benefit claimants and the like get about 'the benefits of hard work' the hypocrisy is amazing when you see how much this country panders to landlords.

Honestly, the first party to come out and pledge to jail these parasites will have my vote.

Great post. 

It's exploitation pure and simple and these Rachman landlords have a lot to answer for.

 

[RiG]

Good grief.

I'm not as offended as some seem to be about this however I am absolutely stunned at this clowns utter stupidity. He seems to be another brainless Tory elected on nothing more than "No surrender, no IndyRef2!" a bit like that clown Kirsteen Hair.

[bob the tank]

French authorities ask HMRC to raid lycamobile HQ as they have leads that they are tax avoiding and money laundering. HMRC refuse and it turns out lycamobile is the Biggest donor to the blue tory party. Not reported on any news or newspapers

[welshbairn]

https://www.buzzfeed.com/heidiblake/uk-refused-to-raid-lycamobile-citing-its-tory-donations?utm_term=.wh1RdQRQa#.swXE9nEn0

[NotThePars]

Ooft.

[Granny Danger]

The only way that the private rented sector will be changed is if there is massive investment in public sector housing; local authority and/or housing association or the equivalent.

When I say massive investment I mean at a level not seen since post-war days.  I don’t see that happening under any government of any colour whether in the U.K. or even in an Independent Scotland.

Council house sell off was a politically inspired game changer that has had a long lasting detrimental impact for which no solution is in sight.

 

[the jambo-rocker]

I've only just bought a house has been one of the most infuriating experiences of my life.

Even if you manage to save a 5% deposit, you're working off an interest rate that will end up having you pay back over £2 for every £1 you borrow ( I gather that interest rates aren't what they were, but neither are the increases in house value either)

Even if you get by that, you've still got to compete with people who are either already on the market or these fuckers looking to buy a second home and lease it out. I found myself being outbid by 10k over the market price (which for anybody that doesn't know, you have to find yourself) of what I had at every avenue.

Even if you get by all that, you've still got to find another 1.5-2k for soliticors for what I can only describe an inept b*****ding middle men. We couldn't even get the title and deed because the selling soliticors, with the entire six weeks of notice couldn't file the correct exiting paperwork with the bank. I thought I had saved myself some LBTT tax in Scotland for first time buyers, but they can't even implement it for when the new tax year begins (it was two weeks ago, and it's now some time in June).

I only got on because we're taking on a fixer-upper. I didn't want to risk touching a new build, even though they tend to be your best bets for a 5% deposit. The walls look like they're made out of paper mache alone, not to mention they all look the fucking same.

I had decided to look for the flat I was renting just to see how much the rent was going up out of curiosity (about an increase of £70 a month, even though the place is falling to bits). The biggest difference I noticed however was the amount of flats that are being churned out on websites like zoopla and espc. Every day, when it came to looking for new flats in Edinburgh for sale, you'd find maybe three or four every day, and they'd tend to go within a fortnight.

When I looked at new flats for rent in Edinburgh you had a good two/three pages for new flats.  Our flat went within a week. I wonder with all the student accomodation being built and it not even being the time of year where they'd be looking, where the hell all these people come from!

It's a fucking well frightening state of affairs for Edinburgh. I can only imagine what it's like elsewhere

Edited April 19, 2018 by the jambo-rocker

[renton]

2 hours ago, RiG said:

Good grief.

I'm not as offended as some seem to be about this however I am absolutely stunned at this clowns utter stupidity. He seems to be another brainless Tory elected on nothing more than "No surrender, no IndyRef2!" a bit like that clown Kirsteen Hair.

Looking at that and I'm thinking, was he trying to frame the structure in the background so he could do a wolverine pose?

[Baxter Parp]

Only a No vote can save Scottish shipbuilding jobs, the Royal Navy never lets shipbuilding orders go abroad, etc...

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/tories-savaged-selling-uk-shipbuilders-12388326

Tories savaged for selling UK shipbuilders down the river over £1billion deal

Oh.

 

[Joey Jo Jo Junior Shabadoo]

36 minutes ago, Baxter Parp said:

Only a No vote can save Scottish shipbuilding jobs, the Royal Navy never lets shipbuilding orders go abroad, etc...

https://www.dailyrecord.co.uk/news/politics/tories-savaged-selling-uk-shipbuilders-12388326

Tories savaged for selling UK shipbuilders down the river over £1billion deal

Oh.

 

A quick search on Paul Sweeney, now MP, who's quoted in that article throws this up from 15th September 2014:

https://www.economicvoice.com/labour-argue-vote-no-for-better-jobs-in-a-stronger-scotland/

Quote

I want answers from Alex Salmond. He's got time to go on a victory tour but not to meet me or my colleagues here on the Clyde. He has no credible plan for the continuation of shipbuilding on the Clyde in the event of separation. He says that all that matters is independence, but he won't even give us basic answers on our industry, our jobs, our futures.

As part of the UK, I know we will continue to have a bright future building ships for the Royal Navy at a state-of the-art new shipyard. With independence, and the absence of any credible plan for shipbuilding, shipbuilding here won’t survive.

 

[NotThePars]

He’s my MP. What a campaign it was last year when your choices were him and Anne McLaughlin. He only won by default because her campaign was so bland and insipid that nobody turned out for it.