Perhaps if he turns his lust for freebies to the nationās advantage heāll succeed.
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In the case of the UK under the cons, the growth of food banks has been nothing short of shocking for a leading economy. I hope that given time Starmer reverses that trend, personally I would have done that and explained to the train drivers why they were not getting a big rise. See where the train drivers moral compasses lay.
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So what is your recipe for fixing it?
I donāt have one. No one does. It broken beyond repair. I donāt want it fixed, I want an alternative.
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What a ridiculous statement.
What sort of alternative - hire a JCB or two million, dig up the UK, put the rocks somewhere off the coast of Newfoundland and start again??
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Is there a case for saying that Labour has so far been far more honest with the public about the economic facts than the Tories were. They have said they would take prompt steps towards fixing things and they have done so.
I domāt think the acceptance of a gift or two of a non-corruption level is wrong for a PM and I agree wholeheartedly with JohnS about the dress etc allowance for PMs and Senior MPs partners.
Iām also with John Scully on shouldnāt have targeted OAPs and actually I would never vote Labour - I just canāt where I come from - but give the guy a chance.
At least this time we have a Chancellor with an economic education even if I donāt agree with some of her actions so far. But at least there is intent.
I am sure they will eventually get around to targeting non doms and other fat cats in due course because Labour is Labour.
Iād really like to see the City boys and so-called āPrivate Equityā profiteers and value strippers targeted - there is room for a lot more to come from them to the UK as a country financially and No it wonāt scare them off too soon because there is a huge gap between what is being got away with now and what theyād still be here for that is somewhat less (having worked in that environment for a big chunk of my career).
Despite the fact that heās not my party, for the UKās sake I wish Starmer and Reeves success.
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My statement was ridiculous? Blimey did you read yours? When the UK left the EU was it towed away by a fleet of tugs?
For the avoidance of doubt, my questionis rhetorical and the answer is no. Not one square foot of real estate moved a single inch when the UK removed itself from a union it felt no longer worked for it.
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Yes, it was - your statement is that the UK is broken and unfixable and you donāt even want it fixed - you want an āalternativeā.
Asking āwhat alternativeā is reasonable in those circumstances, you seem (like rather a lot of people) to cry āI donāt like itā but are incapable of saying what you would like.
If you mean the bit about towing the UK to just off the Newfoundland coast it was an exercise in reductio ad absurdum challenging your desire for an alternative but not saying what form you thought that alternative might take.
No, though I think some might have liked that.
Of course it wasnāt.
Did the UK feel that the union wasnāt working or did a small number with an axe to grind persuade the gullible that was the case?
Anyway - Iāll ask again. What is your alternative to the present arrangements - after all we rather have to start with the reality of an island (and a bit) with 67 million people who need some sort of governance structure.
I mean, sure, if your first step is ādissolve the UK into three or four nationsā that is at least the start of an idea one could discuss. Which āI want an alternativeā isnāt.
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I remember a while back at the end of my days in England, being really embarrassed watching the television filming the then PM and his wife alongside Carla and Nicolas - the PMās wife in an ill fitting dress from, I guess, British Home Stores and Carla showing supreme elegance in, I guess, an outfit with a haute French labelā¦
OK, Starmer was a bit childish in going for the glasses and the like, but absolutely nothing wrong in accepting outfits that make him and his first lady look like a G7 leader - especially in London fashion week. Diana pulled it off very well indeed without the baying of the press.
Brigitte is the epitome of elegance amongst first ladies. I bet she does not pay much for her Balmain blazers - hell, she even has an LV handbag named in her honourā¦ 
Youāre response was condescending and designed to belittle my views before you had heard them. But clearly, whether or not you agree with them, you understand there are practical alternatives. Anyway, Iām not into confrontation with invisible people, so, moving onā¦
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Your reply to my enquiry as to what should be done with the UK didnāt exactly suggest that you had anything further to say on the matter now did it?
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During a conversation with friends, albeit their oposing views. I said Starmer had inherited a 20 billion black hole they were not expecting. They replied the books would have been on view as the public purse so they knew exactly what the state of the accounts would be. I have no answer as not been looking closely but their comment was Starmer and co were lying and blaming the cons, just so they could tighten the purse strings. Labour usually more for the people wouldnāt have taken that course of action if it had not been necessay
Youāre right. Hereās how it should have gone
Not my job.
Enjoy the rest of your evening.
Not sure that is exactly true. Normally governments have rather a lot of stuff which is *not* released into the public domain but kept within departmental documentation to which the new administration would only have access when it came to power.
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Just another background noise.
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This is what I would have thought. Back when I took over a department it was tough to work out who had taken the money. Only a micro problem compared to the UK but similar issues of where has the money gone. In order to move forward you need some money or you are stuck at least for a while.
Chris Bryant posted something interesting on Twitter the other day about expenses claims for ministers vs shadow ministers, in response to something on BBCās Question Timeā¦
https://x.com/RhonddaBryant/status/1836872672635928785
I wasnāt aware that cabinet ministers werenāt obliged to declare certain expenses whereas their shadow counterparts had to.
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Perhaps of interestā¦
I also remember reading this article about the response from the head of the Civil Service to Jeremy Huntā¦
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To be absolutely honest, my expectation is that theyāll go for the people in the middle, the managers, professionals, anyone earning Ā£45K+ because theyāre a soft target without influence like the pensioners until election time in 5 years. It will be presented as āthose who are better off supporting the poorestā. Sure there will be a tax hike for the highest earners too, but only in direct line (possibly easily dodged by clever accountants) for the richest.
Iād rather hoped that Labour might have some good ideas theyād kept quiet, might bring some wisdom gained through watching from the side. But actually what I suspect is that smart greed will be replaced with dull fumbling and grey committees. But there is still time for them to do better, and I hope they can and will do so.
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So really you have no idea, but just came into the thread for a grumble. Thatās OK, now we know that you donāt actually want to discuss things, thereās no need to respond to your comments.
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