The Starmer Years - Can The New Broom Sweep Clean?

[hypochondriac]

26 minutes ago, whelk said:

Oh yeah forgot all about that - still believe it @hypochondriac?

I'll be honest I can't actually remember what I posted and I'm definitely not wading through pages to find out but from memory I simply posted what was being speculated about and commented about if it were true or not. I've never seen any evidence as yet that what was being speculated about has happened but I wouldn't say that has concluded as yet- certainly some odd goings on with his wife at any rate. On balance probably untrue but fun to speculate all the same. You would imagine if there were a secret child that someone like Starmer would have that knowledge quite securely bound behind an injunction. It won't have been the Christmas Eve visit from the speech therapist though- she's clearly post menopausal for a start...

[hypochondriac]

I think I mentioned before how Labour have terrible communication and PR. This Chagos thing is a prime example. Why would Starmer say nothing about it and allow the Mauritiun PM to come out and say how they are essentially fucking the UK over? Yes it's not that important but how is something like that and the sums involved after handing it over going to improve Starmer and the Labour Party's popularity? 

[Lord Duckhunter]

Amazing that a KC needs a voice coach so badly that she traveled during lockdown (from a different tier) to “coach” him in person on Xmas eve. That’s dedication …😂😂

Edited February 5 by Lord Duckhunter

[Weston Super Saint]

Are we allowed to mention that the budget doesn't appear to have worked as intended yet?

The BoE has cut interest rates and halved its forecast for growth (which was already pretty low), so the 'growth' that was planned by the Gov't to bring in all the extra revenue they needed to fill all the black holes doesn't appear to be happening.  I assume the only way to fill them now is more taxes?

[Gloucester Saint]

42 minutes ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Are we allowed to mention that the budget doesn't appear to have worked as intended yet?

The BoE has cut interest rates and halved its forecast for growth (which was already pretty low), so the 'growth' that was planned by the Gov't to bring in all the extra revenue they needed to fill all the black holes doesn't appear to be happening.  I assume the only way to fill them now is more taxes?

Public spending cuts. 15% off NHS England which is a lot of money (and caused a rumpus when the Tories did it) and other Depts being asked to find further significant savings - some essential R&D infrastructure delayed. Although early retirement and deleting of posts for people who basically sit in meetings is broadly fine with me, as long as some of the saving diverts to the frontline and non-clinical activities closest to the frontline.

Unfortunately the universities financial position means that nursing programmes are closing which rather defeats some of the object. Simple way to fill the black hole - rejoin the Single Market. The UK has lost 6% of its economy since leaving it and that more than covers the difference. Instant boost to growth. And now supported by the majority of the country bar the bloody Red Wall.

Madness from Labour, Tories and Reform. Lots of bollocks about freedom of movement but there’s been more of it since we left and the type that Reform voters hate the most. Turns out Polish plasterers weren’t such a problem after all (I’d just be glad to find some again!).

Edited Friday at 08:16 by Gloucester Saint

[LuckyNumber7]

1 hour ago, Gloucester Saint said:

 

Madness from Labour, Tories and Reform. Lots of bollocks about freedom of movement but there’s been more of it since we left and the type that Reform voters hate the most. Turns out Polish plasterers weren’t such a problem after all (I’d just be glad to find some again!).

That's entirely down to the incumbent government(s). Brexit gave us the ability to have complete control over who we allow into the country, but it's the government that decides how to enact that, and like you say the Tories (and probably Labour) have just let immigration get even more out of control.

[egg]

2 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Are we allowed to mention that the budget doesn't appear to have worked as intended yet?

The BoE has cut interest rates and halved its forecast for growth (which was already pretty low), so the 'growth' that was planned by the Gov't to bring in all the extra revenue they needed to fill all the black holes doesn't appear to be happening.  I assume the only way to fill them now is more taxes?

Absolutely. The dinlo's boxed themselves into a corner over NI. The scary thing is that the changes have yet to come in. Unemployment will creep up, tax revenue will reduce, and we'll be back to the next crisis management. There'll be sweeping changes to the council tax system I'm guessing, possibly VAT, fuel duty, and inevitably massive spending cuts. 

[badgerx16]

51 minutes ago, LuckyNumber7 said:

Brexit gave us the ability to have complete control over who we allow into the country, .......

An ability the UK had before the referendum;

https://ukandeu.ac.uk/we-can-control-eu-migration-we-just-havent-done-it/

Edited Friday at 10:30 by badgerx16

[revolution saint]

30 minutes ago, egg said:

Absolutely. The dinlo's boxed themselves into a corner over NI. The scary thing is that the changes have yet to come in. Unemployment will creep up, tax revenue will reduce, and we'll be back to the next crisis management. There'll be sweeping changes to the council tax system I'm guessing, possibly VAT, fuel duty, and inevitably massive spending cuts. 

I don't disagree with you but, in their defence, not many parties are successful campaigning on higher taxation.  

[AlexLaw76]

Thankfully, council tax won’t be going up as Starmer told us this as fact a few months ago

[rallyboy]

As established very clearly on numerous occasions last year, you have 14 years leeway in government before anything is your fault.

 

 

[hypochondriac]

3 minutes ago, rallyboy said:

As established very clearly on numerous occasions last year, you have 14 years leeway in government before anything is your fault.

 

 

Oh right and you never held the Conservative party responsible for anything they did during their terms in office. 

[egg]

1 hour ago, revolution saint said:

I don't disagree with you but, in their defence, not many parties are successful campaigning on higher taxation.  

Agreed, although I think they'd have got home if they'd said that the NI giveaway was unaffordable and needed to be reviewed. I also think they failed to appreciate the impact and the jib losses as a consequence. 

[sadoldgit]

1 hour ago, revolution saint said:

I don't disagree with you but, in their defence, not many parties are successful campaigning on higher taxation.  

Therein lies the problem. We all want a decent NHS and public services but we don’t want to pay for them.

[egg]

1 hour ago, sadoldgit said:

Therein lies the problem. We all want a decent NHS and public services but we don’t want to pay for them.

Yep, selfishness and high expectations do not go hand in hand. 

[egg]

2 hours ago, AlexLaw76 said:

Thankfully, council tax won’t be going up as Starmer told us this as fact a few months ago

Well it has, and council tax will cease to exist in the near ish future. There'll be a much costlier replacement. 

[Gloucester Saint]

30 minutes ago, egg said:

Yep, selfishness and high expectations do not go hand in hand. 

This is also what tripped Boris up as much as Partygate and will trip Farage up around the NHS. Easy to lie about £350m contributions on buses, much harder to actually make fiscally sustainable policies which can attract votes. Farage’s position on the NHS is as untenable politically as Labour’s was in the 1980s around nuclear disarmament. Once the wheels really come off the Trump car their bubble will burst.

We want the same public services as pre-2010 but don’t want to fund them. We want economic growth but don’t want to be in a Single Market designed by Margaret Thatcher which made our economy 6% bigger than now and our businesses are tangled up in so much more red tape than before.

We don’t want migration but our society is ageing. Or, we’ve decided Polish plasterers and Czech dentists are OK now having had a tantrum in 2016 but we don’t like ethnically diverse migration. 

You’d have to be mad to be a politician. No wonder people claim they are disillusioned with politics, their outlook is one of unicorns.🦄 

Public are idiots.

Edited Friday at 13:27 by Gloucester Saint

[trousers]

1 hour ago, Gloucester Saint said:

Public are idiots.

I've always said we should have more self-deprecation here on the Saintsweb. Bravo sir for taking the plunge!

Edited Friday at 14:52 by trousers

[Weston Super Saint]

Another one bites the dust : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7zperkelo

Quote

Health Minister Andrew Gwynne is sacked by PM and apologises for offence caused by "badly misjudged" messages on WhatsApp

Are Labour trying to set a record for biggest majority converted to Independents?

[Weston Super Saint]

Another day, another Labour MP converted to an independent : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cly5xdvnn16o

Quote

Burnley MP Oliver Ryan has become the second MP to be suspended from the Labour parliamentary party over his membership of a WhatsApp group which contained offensive messages.

Although, to be fair, if it's anything like the first tranche of MPs that were suspended, it appears only 6 months needs to be spent in the wilderness until an apology earns a seat on the back benches again.

[Weston Super Saint]

On 08/02/2025 at 18:43, Weston Super Saint said:

Another one bites the dust : https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c5y7zperkelo

Are Labour trying to set a record for biggest majority converted to Independents?

Luckily though, a new Health Minister has been appointed and is exactly what the country needs.  Who better to lead on Health than someone who thinks we should take people seriously if they self identify as a Llama?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andrew-gwynne-prime-minister-keir-starmer-government-labour-b2695594.html

Quote

And asked if people should take someone seriously were they to identify as a llama, Ms Dalton signalled they should do so with “dignity and respect”, in an exchange which appears to have since been deleted.

 

[Holmes_and_Watson]

1 hour ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Luckily though, a new Health Minister has been appointed and is exactly what the country needs.  Who better to lead on Health than someone who thinks we should take people seriously if they self identify as a Llama?

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/home-news/andrew-gwynne-prime-minister-keir-starmer-government-labour-b2695594.html

 

Surely, this is a masterstroke. By getting people to identify as llamas, it unlocks vets to deal with all of those patients, vastly reducing waiting times.

[Weston Super Saint]

4 minutes ago, Holmes_and_Watson said:

Surely, this is a masterstroke. By getting people to identify as llamas, it unlocks vets to deal with all of those patients, vastly reducing waiting times.

Lump on 'pet plan' now to secure your financial security!

[rallyboy]

I don't think this Llama health plan has legs, the additional costs would make the whole process quite deer.

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Lump on 'pet plan' now to secure your financial security!

NHS crisis...solved!

Public/private health insurance issues and access...solved!

Economic growth...solved from reinvested freed up health funds!

Vote SaintsWeb! 9 out of 10 Llamas already do, and are healthier for it!

[Holmes_and_Watson]

2 hours ago, rallyboy said:

I don't think this Llama health plan has legs, the additional costs would make the whole process quite deer.

I hate to be the one alpacaing holes in your reasoning, but it's a health plan with 4 legs, which is 2 more than the current one.

[Lord Duckhunter]

7 hours ago, Weston Super Saint said:

Another day, another Labour MP converted to an independent

Fucking hell, if they’re not beating voters up, they’re insulting them. The nasty party…

[Gloucester Saint]

23 hours ago, Lord Duckhunter said:

Fucking hell, if they’re not beating voters up, they’re insulting them. The nasty party…

Not acceptable behaviour. It’s human nature to think it, but in public roles it’s stupid to have these things written in chat forums. The lessons were there from the previous shambles with their What’s App, so to repeat those mistakes with the contempt, they need to take a long look in the mirror. And not take a role in public or civic life.