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In the interests of balance, I'll point out that we has foodbanks and zero hours contracts whilst we were IN the EU, and had we voted to remain, nothing would have changed on this front.
Foodbanks are a national disgrace, and that the 5th richest nation in the world has reduced many of its citizens into relying on them is a scandal.
I would be swearing right now were it not for the forum rules...
None the less, had we voted remain, Cameron and Osborne would have felt vindicated and emboldened and probably would have pushed on with more radical cuts....
The one crumb of comfort from Brexit is that for the first time in decades, our politicians can't outsource blame or responsibility to Brussels.
They will have to work for a living and take a long, hard look at the economy, and that includes restructuring and moving industry and focus away from London to the rest of the nation...
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
During a meeting with leaders of the Brexit movement following the election, Donald Trump asked them to push back against offshore wind farms like the one that can be seen from his golf course in Scotland, according to reports in the New York Times and British paper The Express.
Trump has been fighting a wind farm off of the coast of Aberdeen for a while since the turbines can be seen from his golf course in Aberdeenshire, but he lost a court battle in December 2015.
Yet he raised the issue during a November meeting with Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, and two others involved in the Brexit campaign, Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore.
Wigmore, who coordinated the communications effort for the push for Britain to leave the European Union, told The Express and the New York Times that Trump asked them to oppose new wind farms.
"He did not say he hated wind farms as a concept; he just did not like them spoiling the views," Wigmore told the New York Times.
He said that he and Banks already opposed wind farms and would be "campaigning against wind farms in England, Scotland and Wales." Wigmore said that Trump "did suggest that we should campaign on it" and that the conversation "spurred us in and we will be going for it," according to the New York Times.
Wigmore told The Express that Trump "is dismayed that his beloved Scotland has become over-run with ugly wind farms which he believes are a blight on the stunning landscape."
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks denied to the New York Times that Trump discussed wind farms during his meeting with Farage. When the Times told Hicks that Wigmore gave an account of the wind farm discussion, Hicks did not respond with further comment, according to the Times.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Future War Cultist wrote: Yes, I couldn't agree more. They'll no longer be able to pass the buck along to the untouchable EU. They'll have to answer directly.
I've said it before, but if the Left could stop moaning about Brexit (Guardian newspaper) and banging on about Trump, they'd see what a wonderful opportunity Brexit is.
Yes, it won't be easy, and I've been saying that for years, but it's not set in stone that the Tories will rule forever.
When we leave the EU, we will need a Britain fit for the 21st century, which includes:
An education system to produce high quality graduates.
More help for universities to keep their world class status.
Infrastructure improvements for road, rail, and high speed broadband for everybody
Re-balance the economy away from London
Sort out the mess that is our housing system. Build a million new homes by 2025.
A new 'federal' system to fix a political system that has been broken since devolution.
More money and help for the arts and culture, to keep up our projection of soft power, and the creative industry is something we're really good at.
Crack down on corruption and improve democracy, workers rights, and so on, making us an example for the rest of the world to look up to....
This is just stuff from the top of my head, but it's stuff the Left could do, but only if they got their act together....
God, I wish I were in charge: I'd have this country building its way to a brighter future....
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
Things like that are why I can't fully get behind Trump.
I do agree though that wind farms can be eye sores. Something I've always wondered is, why do we not go tidal? Although I'm sure there's probably some economical or scientific reason.
@ DINLK
You're exalted!
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/22 14:23:53
During a meeting with leaders of the Brexit movement following the election, Donald Trump asked them to push back against offshore wind farms like the one that can be seen from his golf course in Scotland, according to reports in the New York Times and British paper The Express.
Trump has been fighting a wind farm off of the coast of Aberdeen for a while since the turbines can be seen from his golf course in Aberdeenshire, but he lost a court battle in December 2015.
Yet he raised the issue during a November meeting with Nigel Farage, the leader of the U.K. Independence Party, and two others involved in the Brexit campaign, Arron Banks and Andy Wigmore.
Wigmore, who coordinated the communications effort for the push for Britain to leave the European Union, told The Express and the New York Times that Trump asked them to oppose new wind farms.
"He did not say he hated wind farms as a concept; he just did not like them spoiling the views," Wigmore told the New York Times.
He said that he and Banks already opposed wind farms and would be "campaigning against wind farms in England, Scotland and Wales." Wigmore said that Trump "did suggest that we should campaign on it" and that the conversation "spurred us in and we will be going for it," according to the New York Times.
Wigmore told The Express that Trump "is dismayed that his beloved Scotland has become over-run with ugly wind farms which he believes are a blight on the stunning landscape."
Trump spokeswoman Hope Hicks denied to the New York Times that Trump discussed wind farms during his meeting with Farage. When the Times told Hicks that Wigmore gave an account of the wind farm discussion, Hicks did not respond with further comment, according to the Times.
Up yours Trump and Farage!
Trump can moan about it to May all he wants, but this is one area that is devolved To Edinburgh!
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
Maybe I'm skewed since I live between a series of windfarms; I think they look pretty cool. I've no objection to having them on land, and certainly none with them at Sea.
They look an awful lot better than power stations, open cast quarries or motorways.
The ones on Trumps golf course are 3km away - you probably can't even see them except on a clear day. And they provide clean energy; one of the few things we lead the world in, and something we're going to rely on more if French Electricity or Nordic/Russian oil/gas gets more expensive.
This message was edited 3 times. Last update was at 2016/11/22 15:06:59
Also; I'm surprised it's taken Trump this long to try and use his position to try and push his business interests and grudges. I wonder if he'll try and make the Windfarm policy part of any US-UK trade deals?
"In her first speech at the CBI annual conference, Prime Minister Theresa May welcomed the announcement of new jobs from "the Facebook".
It was rather a granny-like way to refer to the social network"
..... even our leaders are from the 1980s it seems.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/22 15:34:10
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
Let them take our marmite! We shall never surrender
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
I'd be bloody surprised if Corbyn even knew of this
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
Last week, whilst most of us were busy watching the comings and goings at Trump Tower and Ed Balls on Strictly, Parliament quietly passed the Investigatory Powers Act 2016 (a.k.a. the Snoopers’ Charter). It’s been described as the most intrusive system of any democracy in history and a privacy disaster waiting to happen.
The Act makes broad provisions to track what you do online. Amongst a raft of new surveillance and hacking powers, it introduces the concept of an internet connection record: a log of which internet services - such as websites and instant messaging apps - you have accessed. Your internet provider must keep these logs in bulk and hand them over to the government on request, whether you want them to or not.
So long right to privacy, hello 1984.
This is a truly appalling development, but all is not quite lost: there are still legal actions pending against the UK’s mass surveillance powers, and you can visit Don’t Spy on Us to find out more.
In the meantime, read on to find out who exactly will be able to see what you’ve been up to online.
Who can view my stuff?
A list of who will have the power to access your internet connection records is set out in Schedule 4 of the Act. It’s longer than you might imagine:
Metropolitan police force
City of London police force
Police forces maintained under section 2 of the Police Act 1996
Police Service of Scotland
Police Service of Northern Ireland
British Transport Police
Ministry of Defence Police
Royal Navy Police
Royal Military Police
Royal Air Force Police
Security Service
Secret Intelligence Service
GCHQ
Ministry of Defence
Department of Health
Home Office
Ministry of Justice
National Crime Agency
HM Revenue & Customs
Department for Transport
Department for Work and Pensions
NHS trusts and foundation trusts in England that provide ambulance services
Common Services Agency for the Scottish Health Service
Competition and Markets Authority
Criminal Cases Review Commission
Department for Communities in Northern Ireland
Department for the Economy in Northern Ireland
Department of Justice in Northern Ireland
Financial Conduct Authority
Fire and rescue authorities under the Fire and Rescue Services Act 2004
Food Standards Agency
Food Standards Scotland
Gambling Commission
Gangmasters and Labour Abuse Authority
Health and Safety Executive
Independent Police Complaints Commissioner
Information Commissioner
NHS Business Services Authority
Northern Ireland Ambulance Service Health and Social Care Trust
Northern Ireland Fire and Rescue Service Board
Northern Ireland Health and Social Care Regional Business Services Organisation
Office of Communications
Office of the Police Ombudsman for Northern Ireland
Police Investigations and Review Commissioner
Scottish Ambulance Service Board
Scottish Criminal Cases Review Commission
Serious Fraud Office
Welsh Ambulance Services National Health Service Trust
I always wondered what it would feel like to be suffocated by the sort of state intrusion that citizens are subjected to in places like China, Russia and Iran. I guess we’re all about to find out.
Who else can view my stuff?
Bulk surveillance of the population and dozens of public authorities with the power to access your internet connection records is a grim turn of events for a democracy like ours.
Unfortunately, bulk collection and storage will also create an irresistible target for malicious actors, massively increasing the risk that your personal data will end up in the hands of:
People able to hack / infiltrate your ISP
People able to hack / infiltrate your Wi-Fi hotspot provider
People able to hack / infiltrate your mobile network operator
People able to hack / infiltrate a government department or agency
People able to hack / infiltrate the government’s new multi-database request filter
I’d wager that none of these people have your best interests at heart.
Sadly, if the events of the past few years are anything to go by, it won’t take long for one or more of these organisations to suffer a security breach. Assuming, of course, that the powers that be manage not to just lose all of our personal data in the post.
Five serving and retired police officers accused of misusing a force helicopter to film people who were naked or having sex will go on trial next year.
The men were arrested as part of a South Yorkshire Police investigation into reports the force helicopter had been used for inappropriate filming.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/22 17:11:09
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
I listened to the first point and then switched off. There is a major point that is being missed. If wages increase then businesses will raise prices to compensate. Regardless of whether they are national or international companies they will want to remain viable (for smaller SMEs) or maintain profit levels (larger companies). If lower paid employees get an increase then so will everyone above them. In the end that results in higher prices; inflation escalates and you devalue the value of the currency. Just because you have higher wages doesn't mean you can afford more if prices have gone up proportionally to compensate. I think this point is missed sometimes (obviously this is a very basic interpretation of how the economy works). However one of the major reasons public body employees wages were capped at relatively low levels was simply because Labour wanted to avoid out of control inflation (and a significant proportion of the UK works for such public bodies and in particular the north of the England).
An education system to produce high quality graduates.
It already does - The system also relies on a certain percentage of foreign students to pay for itself. Applications since the Brexit vote have already fallen. This is having a financial impact on the universities already.
More help for universities to keep their world class status.
That requires at least £6bn every few years which is what the EU grants currently provide without strings of where it can be spent. 50% of science funding (exc medical and engineering) comes from the EU.
The world class status also relies on being able to attract the best and the brightest from around the world and particularly the EU. Most on short term 1 - 2 year post doctorate contracts. The suggestion is many are already preparing to exit the UK. This will have a detrimental ability on maintaining that 'world class status'
Infrastructure improvements for road, rail, and high speed broadband for everybody
Re-balance the economy away from London
Sort out the mess that is our housing system. Build a million new homes by 2025.
A new 'federal' system to fix a political system that has been broken since devolution.
More money and help for the arts and culture, to keep up our projection of soft power, and the creative industry is something we're really good at.
Crack down on corruption and improve democracy, workers rights, and so on, making us an example for the rest of the world to look up to....
This is just stuff from the top of my head, but it's stuff the Left could do, but only if they got their act together....
All of this is already in the remit of the UK to do. Being in the EU prevents none of this.
Automatically Appended Next Post:
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote: Good to see that Trump is pulling the plug on the Pacific trade deal. That means TTIP is also dead in the water.
The logical conclusion of these deals would have been a mega trade deal that brought both together.
IMO I suspect that was the endgame for our global elite.
On what basis? Globalisation isn't going away as it stands (at least in the short term). You'll just end up with another set of 'elites' that can make the most of the situation. Trump has spent his life exploiting people to maximise his profit. Do you really think he is actually going to do anything but try and reinforce that position. The US has given the keys to a person whose only interest is in himself.
I've got to wonder why the ambulance services might need my ISP records? Bizarrely the glaring emission is the Environment Agency (not that I think this is a good idea at all).
However I think I know why this has happened. GCHQ is likely filled with thousands of the type of people that aren't allowed a proper life or relationship. However it is frowned upon for them to watch porn in work time. Therefore to get round this they have authorised them to be able to monitor what everyone is looking at. As such they 'need' to know what some of the population are viewing . Hence they can now watch authorised porn because it is in the 'national interest'!
I do agree though that wind farms can be eye sores. Something I've always wondered is, why do we not go tidal? Although I'm sure there's probably some economical or scientific reason.
Trump does what his name sounds like with regards CO2 and methane (CH4) emissions. Unlike some, he is not silent and deadly, but loud and obnoxious. Got to feel sorry those like May/Boris/Farage who are doing their utmost to kiss his ass. It's likely to be rather windy and smelly down there!
On a more serious note, tidal is not used that often because they are best used in deep, but relatively narrow channels where water can move relatively quickly. By necessity such areas also include ports (for obvious reasons) therefore placing them can be difficult. As such a lot are proposed on areas free of human use but these can then be in areas of environmental significance hence from a wildlife perspective they can be bad news. IIRC there is one large project proposed on the south coast of wales.
Other options include deep geothermal options which has been shown to be viable at least in Scotland (old volcanic region and rock loses heat very slowly) which unlike wind and solar is not weather dependent (a alternative idea would be to agree with Iceland for them to supply some of our energy). There's also an idea that if every house had it's own ground source heat pump, solar panels and mini wind turbine then a lot of our energy needs would be offset and we wouldn't need half as many of the energy facilities as we do now. On the other hand the amount of money the energy companies would get would drop dramatically so I guess we can see why it isn't pushed much by government.
Automatically Appended Next Post: Looks like Sports Interactive have got a new game planned called "Brexit Manager"
This message was edited 7 times. Last update was at 2016/11/22 20:07:47
"Because while the truncheon may be used in lieu of conversation, words will always retain their power. Words offer the means to meaning, and for those who will listen, the enunciation of truth. And the truth is, there is something terribly wrong with this country, isn't there? Cruelty and injustice, intolerance and oppression. And where once you had the freedom to object, to think and speak as you saw fit, you now have censors and systems of surveillance coercing your conformity and soliciting your submission. How did this happen? Who's to blame? Well certainly there are those more responsible than others, and they will be held accountable, but again truth be told, if you're looking for the guilty, you need only look into a mirror. " - V
I've just supported the Permanent European Union Citizenship initiative. Please do the same and spread the word!
"It's not a problem if you don't look up." - Dakka's approach to politics
Graphite wrote: Number 10 have said that they don't want to appoint Nigel Farage as ambassador to the USA, as was suggested by The Donald.
I wonder why.
Because this means acknowledging him? I think they'd rather pretend that he doesn't exist.
It's because the Leave vote shows we want more sovereignty and you don't get it by kowtowing to foreign countries by taking their recommendations for our representative.
Seeing as he doesn't even speak for the people of Thanet, I can hardly see him speaking for the whole of the United Kingdom.
However, I wholeheartedly support his remaining in the US for as long as possible. In fact, I'd vouch for him for US citizenship if I thought it'd help.
"All their ferocity was turned outwards, against enemies of the State, foreigners, traitors, saboteurs, thought-criminals" - Orwell, 1984
r_squared wrote: Seeing as he doesn't even speak for the people of Thanet, I can hardly see him speaking for the whole of the United Kingdom.
However, I wholeheartedly support his remaining in the US for as long as possible. In fact, I'd vouch for him for US citizenship if I thought it'd help.
I completely agree with you - those things I mentioned could have been done whilst we were in the EU. No argument there.
None the less, this country will have to sink or swim after Brexit - we can't afford to coast along any more.
The Tories may think it's business as usual i.e looking after themselves, and putting party before country,
but as I've said many a time, we need a grand plan, a vision, some joined up thinking.
If I were in charge, these would be the priority areas:
Better housing, a complete overhaul of a broken system.
Building up the Royal Navy - very important if we're serious about global trade, and we're an island after all...
More focus on high quality higher education. Yeah, we do that know, but we need to keep producing high quality graduates and high quality R & D to compete with everybody else.
The best broadband speed in the world!
Build build build, infrastructure!
Food and energy security. More needs to be done to stop flooding....
There is a ton of stuff to focus on....
It won't be easy, but I'm confident that long term, this nation, blessed as it is with smart and talented people, with a history and heritage second to nobody IMO, can thrive....
Alas, the Tories and Labour, the zombies, will probably be a roadblock. New parties are needed to sweep these corpses away....
Automatically Appended Next Post:
r_squared wrote: Seeing as he doesn't even speak for the people of Thanet, I can hardly see him speaking for the whole of the United Kingdom.
However, I wholeheartedly support his remaining in the US for as long as possible. In fact, I'd vouch for him for US citizenship if I thought it'd help.
Let me stop you there for a minute. He might run again for Thanet
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/23 12:51:22
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
Blimey - £30 billion deficit forecast in 2019/20, forecast as surplus of £10bn just in MArch - a £40 billion swing into the red
..oh good..
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
The Tories may think it's business as usual i.e looking after themselves, and putting party before country,
Yet its the tories who are in power. There is no chance that there will be any of the wide ranging, and apparently unorthodox, strategic planning that would be required emanating from Westminster.
The Royal Navy isn't important for global trade, we aren't fending of pirates on the Spanish Main anymore. Modern pirates can barely afford ammunition for their antique AK47s.
This message was edited 1 time. Last update was at 2016/11/23 13:46:54
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote: None the less, this country will have to sink or swim after Brexit - we can't afford to coast along any more.
None of that was done before Brexit, so I can't see why any of it would be done after Brexit.
Especially if we're economically worse off, there won't be any more for these massive infrastructure projects, or the incentive (building enough houses will hurt house prices, which will in turn hurt landlords, which make up a little over half of MPsIIRC).
I'm not disagreeing that we *should* be throwing huge money at infrastructure, but I think it's even less likely under a Brexited Tory party than it is now.
Do_I_Not_Like_That wrote: None the less, this country will have to sink or swim after Brexit - we can't afford to coast along any more.
None of that was done before Brexit, so I can't see why any of it would be done after Brexit.
Especially if we're economically worse off, there won't be any more for these massive infrastructure projects, or the incentive (building enough houses will hurt house prices, which will in turn hurt landlords, which make up a little over half of MPsIIRC).
I'm not disagreeing that we *should* be throwing huge money at infrastructure, but I think it's even less likely under a Brexited Tory party than it is now.
I'm guessing announced infrastructure building includes plans and schemes already in place. It sounds grand though.
OBR forecasts debt will peak at 90.2% of GDP in 2017-18 and fall to 89.7% of national income in 2018-19
Debt peaking at 90.2% of GDP - that is a half century high, forecasts OBR .. (including BoE interventions) - similar level as France.
The poor man really has a stake in the country. The rich man hasn't; he can go away to New Guinea in a yacht. The poor have sometimes objected to being governed badly; the rich have always objected to being governed at all
We love our superheroes because they refuse to give up on us. We can analyze them out of existence, kill them, ban them, mock them, and still they return, patiently reminding us of who we are and what we wish we could be.
"the play's the thing wherein I'll catch the conscience of the king,
The Tories may think it's business as usual i.e looking after themselves, and putting party before country,
Yet its the tories who are in power. There is no chance that there will be any of the wide ranging, and apparently unorthodox, strategic planning that would be required emanating from Westminster.
The Royal Navy isn't important for global trade, we aren't fending of pirates on the Spanish Main anymore. Modern pirates can barely afford ammunition for their antique AK47s.
With Trump planning Fortress America, China flexing its muscles in important shipping lanes in Asia, and God knows what else, I think it's prudent for an island nation to have a strong navy.
"Our crops will wither, our children will die piteous
deaths and the sun will be swept from the sky. But is it true?" - Tom Kirby, CEO, Games Workshop Ltd
