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@Rembrandt said in British Politics:
@Crucial Could very well be. Farage got Trump on his show asking for an alliance after which Boris said he wasn't dropping the deal. I wonder if there is any wriggle room to modify the 'deal' in the long term once in power with a bigger majority.
Surely Labour are just done as a party, hopefully they are decimated, have a clean-out of their extremist elements and come back as something reasonable by the next election.
No 'wriggle room' available. Why would Europe change things again? A bigger majority for Boris doesn't equate to more of a 'threat' to Europe. What is he going to do? Boris is not campaigning on a no deal exit and would massively lose votes if he did.
As for Labour, have a read of this article http://www.democraticaudit.com/2019/10/28/the-empty-centre-why-the-liberal-democrats-need-to-demonstrate-competence-and-unity-to-win-votes/ . It makes that point that, yes Labour would pick up more votes with a more moderate position on economic issues based on voters positioning in a 'political spectrum' but they know that the centre majority will still either move left or right as long as there is no credible strong middle party. There will still be a temptation to continue down the polarisation route just as the Tories have done.
LibDems have really missed the boat in not searching high and low for a leader that that can project real credibility. Give the voters a valid alternative and they might just go for it. -
@Crucial I'm sure Europe won't care but if there is more support of the people he might be encouraged to try and reclaim losses from the deal, fisheries for example during the transition. Not that I know of what he could do or is likely to do but if there is mass support for something then he might try.
Totally agree about LibDems, great opportunity to become the other major party but Swinson is horrendous. Does not appear as a sensible leader.
This bloke looks like representative of old labour.
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@Crucial said in British Politics:
No 'wriggle room' available. Why would Europe change things again? A bigger majority for Boris doesn't equate to more of a 'threat' to Europe. What is he going to do? Boris is not campaigning on a no deal exit and would massively lose votes if he did.
I assume he means during negotiations in the transition phase where all the specifics are thrashed out for the future relationship.
I've never quite understood why Farage didn't play his hand this way from the start. Providing Boris can get a majority to pass his deal after the election the UK can leave and all avenues to put the genie back in the bottle (second referendum, revoking Article 50) are no longer possible. The roundabout way he has gone to get where he is has made them look weak.
Everything he has a problem with is contained in the non-binding political decleration. BXP's role should be to use all avenues to ensure those negotiations are for Canada+ which is what ERG/Mogg etc have wanted for the last few years.
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@rotated said in British Politics:
@Crucial said in British Politics:
No 'wriggle room' available. Why would Europe change things again? A bigger majority for Boris doesn't equate to more of a 'threat' to Europe. What is he going to do? Boris is not campaigning on a no deal exit and would massively lose votes if he did.
I assume he means during negotiations in the transition phase where all the specifics are thrashed out for the future relationship.
Yeah, but this is once again the deluded bit. Once they leave the UK will have even less bargaining power than the already piss poor position they were in to start with.
While the UK has tangled itself into a massive mess and not progressed Europe has continued shoring up its trading with a raft of countries including deals with Canada, Japan, Vietnam and Singapore.
Europe held a massive advantage here as they could continue ratifying deals while the UK was stuck not knowing what deals they could negotiate. The impact of the UK leaving has been reduced already leaving the UK to knock on the door and ask nicely if they can still play. -
It's getting nasty.
Boris cocks up and the BBC show footage from 2016.
Corbyn then fucked over by the Sun
I live in a dead set Plaid Cymru seat and I'm seeing more and more Labour posters in windows.
This election will be won or lost on social media.
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@MiketheSnow What the hell do these journos think they're achieving here? Maybe try and make someone look bad/good for a day but the cost is less and less faith in these awful media institutions.
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@Rembrandt said in British Politics:
@MiketheSnow What the hell do these journos think they're achieving here? Maybe try and make someone look bad/good for a day but the cost is less and less faith in these awful media institutions.
100%
Out of touch old white men telling their subordinates how to fight the campaign.
Hopefully the undoing of them.
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@Rembrandt said in British Politics:
@MiketheSnow What the hell do these journos think they're achieving here? Maybe try and make someone look bad/good for a day but the cost is less and less faith in these awful media institutions.
That would be the logical viewpoint but the Sun in particular hasn't had any credibility for decades, they can just print shite like that and laugh it off when it comes out as complete bollocks. They have nothing whatsoever to lose.
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@Rembrandt said in British Politics:
@Crucial I'm sure Europe won't care but if there is more support of the people he might be encouraged to try and reclaim losses from the deal, fisheries for example during the transition. Not that I know of what he could do or is likely to do but if there is mass support for something then he might try.
Totally agree about LibDems, great opportunity to become the other major party but Swinson is horrendous. Does not appear as a sensible leader.
This bloke looks like representative of old labour.
That was a tough watch, the guy is clearly very emotional about what has become of Labour.
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@Crucial said in British Politics:
K will have even less bargaining power than the already piss poor position they were in to start with.
While the UK has tangled itself into a massive mess and not progreDisagree (except on the weak negotiating position).
Once they agreed to the EU's timetable where the divorce (and settlement) needed to be sorted before any future trade relationship would be discussed they were always in a weak position. By this agreement they get their freedom (taking revoke and second referendum off the table) for the 38 billion. This moves a bunch of issues that were previously part of the divorce into the transition period where they can negotiate and trade them off as part of a free trade agreement.
The UK can also begin negotiating other FTAs during the transition period which could be waiting to be ratified once that period ends. If you listen to experts in this space while the US FTA is a bohemeth smaller ones with NZ, Singapore and potentially Australia could be done within a year.
I'm not even sure that it is much of a negotiation, the EU has offered Canada plus before and there is no reason (other than punitive) to offer it again.
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So Corbyn looks to be targetting the Tories management of the NHS in the upcoming election and tweeted the following:
This inspired Mr Benjamin to release a pretty passionate video (complete with data sourcing in the description) outlining why this is a blatant lie and why on its current trajectory the NHS is doomed.
My experience with the NHS was mixed, when I lived near Beckenham it didn't feel 1st world at all, took days (week?) to get an appointment and the GPs clinic was packed, clinic was messy wait time was long and the doctor didn't exactly fill me with confidence, was very much in and out as fast as possible.
When I lived in Balham it was a different story, it was still impossible to get an appointment on the same day however I was pretty much guaranteed the next day or at worst the day after that. The clinic was clean and tidy and the doctors seemed far less rushed and were generally quite good and wait times at the clinic were generally short.
I had a few ankle and knee (dislocations/sprains) while in Balham and although I got referrals to physios I was advised that the wait time would be at least a month or 2 so ended up paying for that privately. I did have one doctor who misdiagnosed a skin problem which resulted in a minor issue becoming a major issue lasting months before on a visit to NZ I saw a New Zealand GP who correctly diagnosed the issue and resolved it from there. I also had a good mate who was mis-diagnosed 4 times for a stomach issue, they got it right on the 5th however by then the cancer was near terminal and he passed within a year of the correct diagnosis. Obviously accidents occur wherever you are in the world regardless of health plans so these examples may not necessarily be indicative of what the NHS provides, for me it was pretty good considering I didn't have to pay a dime and the service generally very good when I lived in a nicer neighbourhood.
Also one other related story, one of my best mates in London was involved in a project with the NHS where they were digitising patient records, this ran for a good few years or so before they scrapped it and from what I understand the cost went in to the 10's of £1,000,000's wasted. His stories about what was going on was pretty mind-blowing at the time.
I know the NHS is a sacrosanct institution in the UK but I do wonder how long before its future is looked at very seriously. Happy to look at any data that shows these fears are unfounded.
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I think the NHS general issues and cock ups are the same as found in many public health systems around the world. What hasn't helped are the funding cuts and salary freezes.
Strangely the Brexit campaign by Boris was heavily toward restoring funding (remember the bus?) but no actual sign of that in this election campaign. -
@Rembrandt now I am going back a long time c15 years, but I had good experiences with the NHS when I was there (a running incident requiring 8 stitches and a rugby injury of a dislocated and fractured finger) particularly in the GP side of things (more so when put up against the experience I have with my GP now in NZ*) and I also had to use my Private Insurance while there too, which was in a private hospital.
*have to plan the days for being sick and if you do get to see a Dr (rarely MY Dr) plan for your 2pm appointment to see you leaving there no earlier than 3pm.
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@Crucial said in British Politics:
I think the NHS general issues and cock ups are the same as found in many public health systems around the world. What hasn't helped are the funding cuts and salary freezes.
Strangely the Brexit campaign by Boris was heavily toward restoring funding (remember the bus?) but no actual sign of that in this election campaign.I thought both sides were promising big spending on the NHS?
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@Baron-Silas-Greenback said in British Politics:
@Crucial said in British Politics:
I think the NHS general issues and cock ups are the same as found in many public health systems around the world. What hasn't helped are the funding cuts and salary freezes.
Strangely the Brexit campaign by Boris was heavily toward restoring funding (remember the bus?) but no actual sign of that in this election campaign.I thought both sides were promising big spending on the NHS?
You may be right. Maybe the Tory stuff was lost in the noise for me. That’s why I thought it was strange
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@Crucial said in British Politics:
I think the NHS general issues and cock ups are the same as found in many public health systems around the world. What hasn't helped are the funding cuts and salary freezes.
Any industry full stop. I guess the difference being NHS can't fail in the same sense as a private company. I've worked in a behemoth Telco before and saw how much wastage there was there and an almost impossibility to make changes. Can only imagine that would pale in comparison to the inner workings of the NHS.
What funding cuts are you referring to? From what I've seen NHS budget has only increased with the demand still outstripping the supply.
https://www.kingsfund.org.uk/projects/nhs-in-a-nutshell/nhs-budget
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@Rembrandt interesting, I found Beckenham very good when I lived there and the Beacon (drop in) has been invaluable after many a rugby game.
Mixed bag elsewhere. Dulwich I spent something like 3-4 months with a never ending headache, multiple visits to the doctor only to be told just keep taking paracetamol. No tests, nothing. Luckily one day I woke up without it, so obviously the doc was onto something there.
When I did my achilles the NHS was fantastic, "walked" into Kings college emergency and seen by a doc in less than an hour, quick accurate diagnosis and temporary cast, back in the next day for proper cast and booked for operation 2 days later. Even when they fucked up it was good. After I got the stitches out (just about to start physio) it was found the fucken Aussie nurse left a stitch in at both ends. Major infection and 5 days in hospital just before Xmas but a great result (i.e. No surgery required so flesh and achilles left intact).
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Experiences with the NHS are, these days, something of a post code lottery. In some areas the resources are nowhere near the degree of usage, in other areas it's all fine. My wife's family live in SE London and even in the same borough you see discrepancies between hospitals and as @Rembrandt suggested, the nicer the area the better the service, in general.
My view is that probably the biggest problem facing the NHS is wastage, not just the anecdotal tales of £££s spent for no good outcome but a criminal wastage of time. If something is free at the point of use, people just don't value it and misuse it as they see it as their right. My local GP has taken steps to remedy this by making appointments harder to arrange, this might seems strange but their view is that if the process is made more difficult it is less likely that the time wasters will bother, whereas if you really need to see your doctor you will persevere. They feel that their data backs this up.
If this is indicative of the wider problem, where does this leave the NHS? God knows, but in it's present form it is becoming unfit for purpose in some areas.
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The NHS here covers all parts of the spectrum, depending on who you speak to. Labour is of course convinced that it's now utter dogshit and it's the Tories fault, but then the Tories simply state that it needs work on, but what public service doesn't?
FWIW, I think it's pretty good. If you wake up feeling ill, I can call my local GP when it opens at 8:30 and will always get 10 mins to see somebody that morning. The local A & E we've had to frequent 5 times (including my Mum & Dad when here as tourists) and the average time spent there was only about an hour - longest was 2 hours. Although we do have private insurance should we need it through work, so far I've never felt the requirement for it. My colleague's Dad had the big C and he said the treatment / follow-ups etc were truly outstanding and couldn't fault.
In HK we had private and things weren't much different to what we've had here in UK. If shit went really bad, all the private hospitals did was send you to the public as they had the best equipment. You just didn't have such nice surroundings.
So yeah, you do hear the horror stories, but on a day to day basis, I've no problems with it.
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