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April 19 2024 5.43pm

The Election Thread

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 11 Dec 19 12.13pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by Rudi Hedman

Like a lot of things, immigration is a factor. People can scream scapegoat al they like but it is a factor, and the more people come in, the more and more people we have had coming in to pay for the people who’ve already come in. Many are willing to be a bit poorer to end this cycle. You don’t like this truth but it is so.

Individual EU workers I’ve met have nearly all been pleasant. I can’t say they’ve all been particularly interesting and maybe that’s because the novelty has worn off, but they’re not a number to me like they were to new Labour but are or will add to the issues.

How’s first house buying going and yet young people are brainwashed for it to continue.

One day left of the most boring election it shouldn’t have been.

It depends how you look at it. Immigrants tend to pay their taxes and NIC well and overall - as far as anyone can tell - use the NHS considerably less than non-immigrants. So they are funding the NHS. It is blatantly false to blame them for the NHS crisis. Unfortunately the Tax and NIC they pay has not been allocated to the NHS but instead to other areas. That isn't their fault and doesn't change the fact they are net contributors not receivers.

Leaving the EU will only change the colours of skins, not the volumes of immigrants. Currently we are addicted to the income they bring in and the capabilities we have neglected to grow inside the UK.

 

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 11 Dec 19 12.14pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by elgrande

Whether the story is true or not(and I have my doubts).

The NHS,is broken has been for years (under which ever party is in power).

Inner cities are full up,people are not regersted or cant get an appointment with a GP.

Where I live we do not have that problem, I have had some issues over the last few years as my other half has.

We have had nothing but first class service,both with our GP,S and hospitals.

The biggest problem is the country is full up...no room at the f***ing inn.
You can keep chucking billions at the NHS, and it wont get any better.

Why do none of the politicians ever mention this,employ or train 100s more nurses and doctors wont change it,because more people will just keep coming and use it.

So this is not an example of someone blaming immigration for the woes of the NHS Stirling? Clearly I have misread it, my apologies

 

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View EverybodyDannsNow's Profile EverybodyDannsNow Flag SE19 11 Dec 19 12.19pm Send a Private Message to EverybodyDannsNow Add EverybodyDannsNow as a friend

Originally posted by Matov

We leave by the end of January. And fingers cross leave without a deal by the end of 2020. But there will be progress. One less star on that s***ty flag. Our MEP's back home.

What do Labour offer us? Another referendum before the first has been implemented? With no real Leave option? Oh and EU citizens and kids voting in it. Yes, that solves everything. That will unify the country. It is a recipie for utter calamity.

I get why many of you loathe Johnson. I really do. No love for him myself and I suspect that although I will cast my vote for the Tories tomorrow if we do leave the EU I suspect it will be the last time ever.

But Corbyn as PM? Seriously? A man who gave succor to the IRA at the time it was trying to kill people on British streets? Who proclaims people like Hammas as friends? With that other w***er McDonnell by his side? And even bigger scumbag in my opinion and by far the more dangerous.

Once Brexit is achieved then I am bowing out of all political discourse for a long long time. Cut ties with a lot of people who I have known for decades over it and suspect that those friendships will never be rekindled. Nobody will emerge from this unbloodied but so far it has been jaw-jaw. Painful yes but better than the alternatives.

We don't leave and then I fear the worse because democracy will have been fatally undermined in this country. Our current political class, of all shades, are wretched. They really are. But we also all have to look in the mirror and ask what part we played in it as well. How vitriolic many of us have become, how dismissive of others point of views, how entrenched we have become.

And for who? A political class that have shown zero true leadership or respect for the very basics of our democratic process?

A good post.

It’s a shame to hear you have lost long term friends over Brexit; I hope you can re-find some common ground.

 

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 11 Dec 19 12.23pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by Midlands Eagle

Another article from May 2008 describing the NHS under Labour's watch:-

More than 8,400 beds were cut in the year ending March 2007, the largest fall in 14 years. One in six beds has been closed over the decade. There are now 167,019 beds in NHS wards, compared with 198,848 in 1997.

The figures emerged as health authorities are drawing up plans which will see the likely closure of dozens of district general hospitals. The East of England health authority has admitted that two accident and emergency departments and a maternity unit could close.

Andrew Lansley, the shadow health secretary, said the Government's financial mismanagement had forced hospitals to make cuts which could risk lives. "These bed cuts were financially driven: the sharp rise in the numbers closed happened at a time when the health service was under desperate pressure to clear a massive deficit."

Katherine Murphy, from the Patients' Association, said: "This is a national scandal. More than 30,000 beds have been lost at a time when demand is increasing."

In the same decade that the beds were cut, death rates from the infections MRSA and Clostridium difficile rose five-fold. Investigations into the biggest C. diff outbreak in Britain, which killed 90 patients at hospitals run by Maidstone and Tunbridge Wells trust in 2005 and 2006, found that overcrowding amid pressure to meet hospital waiting targets was a factor behind the infection's spread.

More than 2,000 maternity beds have been lost since 1997. Research by the Conservatives found that last year, 42 per cent of maternity units had refused to accept women in labour on at least one occasion.

Sue MacDonald, from the Royal College of Midwives, said: "We feel the cuts have gone too far."

Norman Lamb, the Liberal Democrat health spokesman, met officials recently after pressures on his local hospital, the Norfolk and Norwich, forced it to declare an emergency "black alert," closing to new admissions, with 10 ambulances "stacked" outside, treating patients.

The Department of Health said bed numbers had fallen because hospitals were more efficient, with patients staying for shorter periods, while services were treating more people with chronic conditions in their own homes.

And if you read The Kings Fund information you will find an agreement that beds have been reduced due to increases in efficiency and more care in the community. The question is how far you can reduce. The number was 142,000 in 2017. The Kings Fund said then:

In some areas, it may be possible to reduce the number of beds. However, at a national level, with hospitals under real strain from rising demand and a prolonged slowdown in funding, further significant reductions are both unachievable and undesirable.

The number has since dropped to 127,225.

 

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View dynamicdick's Profile dynamicdick Flag Dormansland 11 Dec 19 12.35pm Send a Private Message to dynamicdick Add dynamicdick as a friend

Originally posted by DanH

But it doesn't 'Get It Done' though does it? It's just the beginning of new negotiations. It doesn't go away for a decade at least.

I see this morning that BJ was so proud of his policies that he decided to hide in a fridge rather than be interviewed. If I was proud of my policies I would simply not hide in a fridge.

I have just read this about the fridge, quite incredible and how does this look from an entirely bigger picture and by this I mean securing maximum votes on the eve of probably the most crucial election for decades. This won’t affect me voting Tory at all but really ........

 


Bring back Brolin

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View Badger11's Profile Badger11 Flag Beckenham 11 Dec 19 12.39pm Send a Private Message to Badger11 Add Badger11 as a friend

Originally posted by DanH

I think you're probably about right. Absolutely astounded that Boris has managed to fight an entire election campaign avoiding scrutiny and shouting the same 3 word empty statement over and over again and the public just don't seem to care.

It doesn't seem like Labour and Lib Dems have managed to swallow enough pride to stand down in seats that had a reasonable chance of keeping the Tory out so bit of a shambles all round really.

I would Kevin Keegan love it though if we had a hung parliament and the whole thing has backfired on BJ and his awful cronies.

Whilst I share your frustration about politicans the last thing this country needs is a hung parliament. If we get that all those who think PR is a good idea can look forward to seeing policies being dropped or adopted by their party e.g. Lib Dem abolition of student fees.

An overall majority is my wish on Friday morning and if the public vote for Corbyn unlike the Remainers I will respect the will of the people. What I don't want is a government through the back door of any party.

 


One more point

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View Badger11's Profile Badger11 Flag Beckenham 11 Dec 19 12.44pm Send a Private Message to Badger11 Add Badger11 as a friend

Originally posted by serial thriller


The Tories will be the biggest party. But it will be a hung parliament. Why?

1. The polls are weighting things based on 2015. This is open to fault: there have been demographic shifts since then which mean there are less right/Brexit supporters. Similarly, there's a bigger number of young left voters. Most estimates suggest at least 4 million new registered voters, most of whom will vote anti-tory. Again, this isn't taken into account by the polls.

2. While Farage's gift to Boris raises his numbers, it does so in seats which are already tory, and is unlikely to translate in to new seats. In fact, the seats BP are standing in will have a split that will favour Labour.

3. According to yougov, we are already in the margin of error. In the next two days, the strength of Labour's ground campaign in marginal seats will make a difference, just as it did in 2017. I yhink, also, in marginal lib/tory seats you will see tactical voting work in the liberal's favour.

4. Am I optimistic? Despite my previous wind up post, I remain cautiously so. But it's interesting to see that many in the stock markets are now hedging money against the pound in anticipation, presumably, of a hung parliament. They usually have inside info.

This Twitter account is worth a read. Not my political persuasion, but well evidenced analysis of polls and likely results...

Edited by serial thriller (11 Dec 2019 11.33am)

Thanks Serial what I was hoping for a reasoned argument rather than Boris / Corbyn is ****.

You could be right the experts have been saying it will come down to several thousand people in each of the marginals.

Edited by Badger11 (11 Dec 2019 12.44pm)

 


One more point

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View Matov's Profile Matov Flag 11 Dec 19 12.46pm Send a Private Message to Matov Add Matov as a friend

Originally posted by EverybodyDannsNow


It’s a shame to hear you have lost long term friends over Brexit; I hope you can re-find some common ground.

I am genuinely struggling to remain on civil terms with anybody who wants to ignore the result from June 23rd.

It was a perfectly legitimate political stance to believe the UK was better off remaining in the EU prior to June 23rd.

And once we have left, then a perfectly legitimate political stance to believe we should rejoin.

But to just want the result from June 23rd rendered null and void? That I struggle with on a level that goes beyond the norm. I was more than willing to accept the result and fully expected the same of others. To not be willing to do so makes me question a person's moral compass along with finding myself enraged that they think so little about the value of my right to vote and to have that vote matter.

A lot of forgiveness required which can only start to come about once we have left.

 


"The Party told you to reject the evidence of your eyes and ears. It was their final, most essential command." - 1984 - George Orwell.

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View Badger11's Profile Badger11 Flag Beckenham 11 Dec 19 12.52pm Send a Private Message to Badger11 Add Badger11 as a friend

Originally posted by Mapletree

It depends how you look at it. Immigrants tend to pay their taxes and NIC well and overall - as far as anyone can tell - use the NHS considerably less than non-immigrants. So they are funding the NHS. It is blatantly false to blame them for the NHS crisis. Unfortunately the Tax and NIC they pay has not been allocated to the NHS but instead to other areas. That isn't their fault and doesn't change the fact they are net contributors not receivers.

Leaving the EU will only change the colours of skins, not the volumes of immigrants. Currently we are addicted to the income they bring in and the capabilities we have neglected to grow inside the UK.

Which is a good argument for a Health Insurance tax all of the money going to the NHS without the politicians syphoning it off. Additionally there are millions of people in this country who do not pay yet use the NHS e.g. the elderly. The number of non payers is increasing with an ageing population which puts more of a burden on the working taxpaying folk. I think it reasonable that "nearly" everybody should pay something to the NHS each year maybe at the bottom end £200-300 increasing with their income.

 


One more point

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 11 Dec 19 12.52pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by Matov

I am genuinely struggling to remain on civil terms with anybody who wants to ignore the result from June 23rd.

It was a perfectly legitimate political stance to believe the UK was better off remaining in the EU prior to June 23rd.

And once we have left, then a perfectly legitimate political stance to believe we should rejoin.

But to just want the result from June 23rd rendered null and void? That I struggle with on a level that goes beyond the norm. I was more than willing to accept the result and fully expected the same of others. To not be willing to do so makes me question a person's moral compass along with finding myself enraged that they think so little about the value of my right to vote and to have that vote matter.

A lot of forgiveness required which can only start to come about once we have left.

I understand that

It's sad the genie was let out of the bottle

But it is certainly true that the referendum was fought on misinformation. And, unlike an election, once it's done it's almost impossible to turn back. Is it not reasonable to test the current will of the people to see if the deal struck is indeed what they wanted, given the lack of clarity in the original vote?

Don't forget that the polls swung dramatically right at the end of the referendum, apparently affected by dirty tricks online.

If we do leave the EU, as you say it's inevitable we shall re-join. The youngest generation of voters will eventually have its say.

 

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View Badger11's Profile Badger11 Flag Beckenham 11 Dec 19 12.57pm Send a Private Message to Badger11 Add Badger11 as a friend

Originally posted by Mapletree

I understand that

It's sad the genie was let out of the bottle

But it is certainly true that the referendum was fought on misinformation. And, unlike an election, once it's done it's almost impossible to turn back. Is it not reasonable to test the current will of the people to see if the deal struck is indeed what they wanted, given the lack of clarity in the original vote?

Don't forget that the polls swung dramatically right at the end of the referendum, apparently affected by dirty tricks online.

If we do leave the EU, as you say it's inevitable we shall re-join. The youngest generation of voters will eventually have its say.

Let's see where we are 5 years after we have really left. If the economy is doing well and British people can travel reasonably freely in the EU it's a non issue. If we are struggling and the EU is the land of milk and honey no doubt you will be proved correct.

 


One more point

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View Mapletree's Profile Mapletree Flag Croydon 11 Dec 19 12.57pm Send a Private Message to Mapletree Add Mapletree as a friend

Originally posted by Badger11

Which is a good argument for a Health Insurance tax all of the money going to the NHS without the politicians syphoning it off. Additionally there are millions of people in this country who do not pay yet use the NHS e.g. the elderly. The number of non payers is increasing with an ageing population which puts more of a burden on the working taxpaying folk. I think it reasonable that "nearly" everybody should pay something to the NHS each year maybe at the bottom end £200-300 increasing with their income.

I couldn't agree more. I think some other countries' systems work that way. It is a total scandal that you stop paying NIC due to your age. No more rationale behind that than stopping paying income tax. We know that 65 to 69 year olds are the biggest users of the NHS services.

 

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