Stop voting for fucking Tories

[petej]

There's a strong argument for a different range of property taxes IMHO. Couples with adult children don't need 4/5 bed houses and the tax system should incentivise them to sell up and move to smaller houses.

Jesus wept ! We already have the smallest houses in Europe and you want us to go even smaller.

No I think families should live in family homes.

Families aren't important to this government.

Prices would never have got here without the lack of rent controls and disincentives for 2nd homes and foreign property owners. Something like 24000 empty homes in London. UK houses shouldn't be used as a store of wealth by foreigners.

[dpedin]

...........and in other news, the blonde slug has become a father for the er 15th time?

Boris and Carrie Johnson have announced the birth of daughter, their second child since he became prime minister.
Mrs Johnson gave birth to the baby at a London hospital earlier on Thursday.

Why is my first thought is that she was probably induced to arrive at a more politically convenient time? Was it an elective caesarian? Am I just getting too cynical?

[Ovals]

Parties are irrelevant, when this stops the Tories are unelectable.

The trouble with this is that for most people their homes are an illiquid asset, so taxing them on a theoretical increase in value which they can only realise when they sell their home doesn't really work.

Not saying property should be taxed (it should pay for care though).

Just saying, the people who vote Tory have ever increasing wealth on paper. Not even at all aligned with what's actually going on in the economy. And want to gravy train to continue, and so will vote Tory. Until the bubble bursts and they're toast.

What my house is worth is almost totally irrelevant to me - if it doubled or halved in value it would make not a jot of difference to me - other than it would affect what I am able leave to my kids.

[Paddington Bear]

Jesus wept ! We already have the smallest houses in Europe and you want us to go even smaller.

No I think families should live in family homes.

Families aren't important to this government.

Prices would never have got here without the lack of rent controls and disincentives for 2nd homes and foreign property owners. Something like 24000 empty homes in London. UK houses shouldn't be used as a store of wealth by foreigners.

The number of homes in London that are empty is miniscule. It's a non-issue in the grand scheme of things, but no one anyone knows loses so it's heralded as the solution. We need to build more homes in areas with good connections and economic opportunities, but doing so might interrupt a view of a farmer's field or get rid of a car park, and so proposed developments get shouted down at planning committees.

[petej]

...........and in other news, the blonde slug has become a father for the er 15th time?

Boris and Carrie Johnson have announced the birth of daughter, their second child since he became prime minister.
Mrs Johnson gave birth to the baby at a London hospital earlier on Thursday.

Why is my first thought is that she was probably induced to arrive at a more politically convenient time? Was it an elective caesarian? Am I just getting too cynical?

Which donor is going to pay for the childcare?

[Paddington Bear]

...........and in other news, the blonde slug has become a father for the er 15th time?

Boris and Carrie Johnson have announced the birth of daughter, their second child since he became prime minister.
Mrs Johnson gave birth to the baby at a London hospital earlier on Thursday.

Why is my first thought is that she was probably induced to arrive at a more politically convenient time? Was it an elective caesarian? Am I just getting too cynical?

Yeah that's galaxy brain stuff, sorry.

[Calculon]

The whole point of the current restrictions is to slow down the potential rapid growth , to allow more people to get that booster to stop hospitalization , and that's going to take a good number of weeks
.

Three doses is the new two doses, and when the next variant comes along four doses will be the new three doses.

[Paddington Bear]

Parties are irrelevant, when this stops the Tories are unelectable.

The trouble with this is that for most people their homes are an illiquid asset, so taxing them on a theoretical increase in value which they can only realise when they sell their home doesn't really work.

Not saying property should be taxed (it should pay for care though).

Just saying, the people who vote Tory have ever increasing wealth on paper. Not even at all aligned with what's actually going on in the economy. And want to gravy train to continue, and so will vote Tory. Until the bubble bursts and they're toast.

Not convinced on the last bit. Tory voters have a huge propensity to be home owners with no mortgage. So the property values are all a little theoretical. It will fuck people in the middle who scraped onto the ladder.

[I like neeps]

The trouble with this is that for most people their homes are an illiquid asset, so taxing them on a theoretical increase in value which they can only realise when they sell their home doesn't really work.

Not saying property should be taxed (it should pay for care though).

Just saying, the people who vote Tory have ever increasing wealth on paper. Not even at all aligned with what's actually going on in the economy. And want to gravy train to continue, and so will vote Tory. Until the bubble bursts and they're toast.

What my house is worth is almost totally irrelevant to me - if it doubled or halved in value it would make not a jot of difference to me - other than it would affect what I am able leave to my kids.

What you leave your kids at pretty significant anyway, no?

Also what about moving house? You don't care at all if your wealth is doubled when looking at downsizing, upsizing, relocation etc? The options ever increasing wealth would offer me would be something I greatly care about.

Homeowners it is what it is. But you'd hope have the humility to release it isn't earned through hard work it's a deliberate political choice. It's the asset stripping landlords who are a concern. And the entire economy is in trouble if productivity comes from house ownership and not activity.

People who own assets are lucky the central banks globally have decided to inflate asset prices relentlessly and measures that what they are doing is wrong (house prices, stock prices of major indexes increasing in lockstep with QE) are ignored or removed from the inflation index (house prices).

[Insane_Homer]

[Margin__Walker]

This is an issue for him, you'd think



Busy week he's having

[sockwithaticket]

Tbf Johnson whores himself out for donor money to such an extent that I can well believe he forgot who he'd been tapping up for that in particular.

[petej]

No I think families should live in family homes.

Families aren't important to this government.

Prices would never have got here without the lack of rent controls and disincentives for 2nd homes and foreign property owners. Something like 24000 empty homes in London. UK houses shouldn't be used as a store of wealth by foreigners.

The number of homes in London that are empty is miniscule. It's a non-issue in the grand scheme of things, but no one anyone knows loses so it's heralded as the solution. We need to build more homes in areas with good connections and economic opportunities, but doing so might interrupt a view of a farmer's field or get rid of a car park, and so proposed developments get shouted down at planning committees.

Im not saying it is the only factor but disagree on the non-issue. It is an issue if you are building properties because new properties are then acquired by those that aren't going to be using them as a primary residence and also it encourages land to be used to build properties that can't be afforded by people actually living in london.

[Insane_Homer]

Tbf Johnson whores himself out for donor money to such an extent that I can well believe he forgot who he'd been tapping up for that in particular.

same to be said for trying to keep track of all the lies told.

[sockwithaticket]

Tbf Johnson whores himself out for donor money to such an extent that I can well believe he forgot who he'd been tapping up for that in particular.

same to be said for trying to keep track of all the lies told.

He's trying?

[Insane_Homer]

Tbf Johnson whores himself out for donor money to such an extent that I can well believe he forgot who he'd been tapping up for that in particular.

same to be said for trying to keep track of all the lies told.

He's trying?

yeah, sorry my bad, I conflated lying with his offspring...

[tabascoboy]

The Metropolitan Police says it is not investigating allegations No 10 staff broke Covid rules in December of last year due to "an absence of evidence".

Erm, isn't the purpose of an investigation to look for evidence?

[ASMO]

The Metropolitan Police says it is not investigating allegations No 10 staff broke Covid rules in December of last year due to "an absence of evidence".

Erm, isn't the purpose of an investigation to look for evidence?

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

[C T]

The Metropolitan Police says it is not investigating allegations No 10 staff broke Covid rules in December of last year due to "an absence of evidence".

Erm, isn't the purpose of an investigation to look for evidence?

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

[ASMO]

[Insane_Homer]

[Ovals]

Not saying property should be taxed (it should pay for care though).

Just saying, the people who vote Tory have ever increasing wealth on paper. Not even at all aligned with what's actually going on in the economy. And want to gravy train to continue, and so will vote Tory. Until the bubble bursts and they're toast.

What my house is worth is almost totally irrelevant to me - if it doubled or halved in value it would make not a jot of difference to me - other than it would affect what I am able leave to my kids.

What you leave your kids at pretty significant anyway, no?

Also what about moving house? You don't care at all if your wealth is doubled when looking at downsizing, upsizing, relocation etc? The options ever increasing wealth would offer me would be something I greatly care about.

Homeowners it is what it is. But you'd hope have the humility to release it isn't earned through hard work it's a deliberate political choice. It's the asset stripping landlords who are a concern. And the entire economy is in trouble if productivity comes from house ownership and not activity.

People who own assets are lucky the central banks globally have decided to inflate asset prices relentlessly and measures that what they are doing is wrong (house prices, stock prices of major indexes increasing in lockstep with QE) are ignored or removed from the inflation index (house prices).

Nah - because I won't be moving.

[tabascoboy]

Erm, isn't the purpose of an investigation to look for evidence?

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

I'm sure that we can have every confidence in the Tories own in-house investigation being totally transparent with its findings

[PCPhil]

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

I'm sure that we can have every confidence in the Tories own in-house investigation being totally transparent with its findings

Deputy heads will roll.

[SaintK]

Erm, isn't the purpose of an investigation to look for evidence?

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

Where as!

The Metropolitan police has said officers will not investigate the 18 December event, where staff and aides are said to have drunk together, eaten cheese and swapped secret Santa presents.

But prosecutions for breaches of Covid-19 regulations at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week included three women convicted over gatherings on the same day as the alleged festive bash, according to court records first reported by the Evening Standard.

Ami Goto, 23, from Marylebone, and Ebru Sen, 26, from Sittingbourne in Kent, were each fined £1,100 plus £210 costs for a gathering of two or more people in a flat in Holborn when London was under Tier 3 restrictions.

Emilia Petruta-Cristea, 24, was also fined £1,100 and ordered to pay £210 costs over a gathering at her home in Wanstead.

[sockwithaticket]

There is a fuckton of evidence, they just dont want to prosecute.

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

Where as!

The Metropolitan police has said officers will not investigate the 18 December event, where staff and aides are said to have drunk together, eaten cheese and swapped secret Santa presents.

But prosecutions for breaches of Covid-19 regulations at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week included three women convicted over gatherings on the same day as the alleged festive bash, according to court records first reported by the Evening Standard.

Ami Goto, 23, from Marylebone, and Ebru Sen, 26, from Sittingbourne in Kent, were each fined £1,100 plus £210 costs for a gathering of two or more people in a flat in Holborn when London was under Tier 3 restrictions.

Emilia Petruta-Cristea, 24, was also fined £1,100 and ordered to pay £210 costs over a gathering at her home in Wanstead.

While the stance of not investigating past incidents stinks, especially when it pertains to people in power who should be setting an example, this doesn't contradict the Met's position. If they're at the stage of being convicted any investigation would have commenced a while ago.

[sturginho]

It's all a bit depressing. Not only do these people think they are above the law, it turns out they are in fact above the law.

Where as!

The Metropolitan police has said officers will not investigate the 18 December event, where staff and aides are said to have drunk together, eaten cheese and swapped secret Santa presents.

But prosecutions for breaches of Covid-19 regulations at Westminster Magistrates’ Court last week included three women convicted over gatherings on the same day as the alleged festive bash, according to court records first reported by the Evening Standard.

Ami Goto, 23, from Marylebone, and Ebru Sen, 26, from Sittingbourne in Kent, were each fined £1,100 plus £210 costs for a gathering of two or more people in a flat in Holborn when London was under Tier 3 restrictions.

Emilia Petruta-Cristea, 24, was also fined £1,100 and ordered to pay £210 costs over a gathering at her home in Wanstead.

While the stance of not investigating past incidents stinks, especially when it pertains to people in power who should be setting an example, this doesn't contradict the Met's position. If they're at the stage of being convicted any investigation would have commenced a while ago.

They still investigated retrospectively

[tabascoboy]

It is a PR fiasco though

[sockwithaticket]

It is a PR fiasco though

Oh yeah, the technicalities of definition are relevant only in a court of law, the court of public opinion is more inclined to judge the spirit of something.

[Lemoentjie]

“In Afghanistan we might die in a month or a year but in Wick we die every day,” Hamid said

Jesus, is Wick that bad??

Isolated Afghan couple regret being sent to Scotland
December 8 2021, The Times

An Afghan refugee suffering from isolation since moving to Scotland said he regrets fleeing his home country because of the lack of support he has received from authorities in the UK.

Hamid Hakimi, 26, a former interpreter for the British armed forces, said he is concerned about the mental health of his pregnant wife Maryam Orfani, 19, who has struggled to adapt to life in Caithness.

Hakimi, 26, and Orfani, 19, are Muslim, and were placed in Wick — which does not have a mosque or access to halal food — on short notice.

“In Afghanistan we might die in a month or a year but in Wick we die every day,” Hamid said. “My wife is 12 weeks pregnant but she is crying all the time. If I go back to my homeland the Taliban will chop my head off — but I’m afraid if we stay here our baby will die.”

The couple arrived in the UK on August 3 and were transferred to Wick three weeks later. Orfani has struggled to eat and lost about 10kg in weight. She visited A&E three times in the last month.

“They sent us to Scotland without any notice,” Hakimi said. “We were taken by coach to a Glasgow hotel then one morning officials arrived and told us, ‘We have a house for you guys’.”

He added: “They threw us in a minibus like luggage. It took between eight and nine hours to get to Wick. I was arguing with the Home Office woman. I told her, ‘We can’t live here. We’ll die here’. She said, ‘Don’t worry. We will move you back after three months’. But we’ve now been in Wick for three months and don’t know anyone except my neighbour, who’s 75.”

“We are Muslim but have no halal food, no Islamic centre and no Afghan community in Wick,” he told The Sun.

Hakimi said he was aware that his work with the British would make him a target for the Taliban so it would have been unsafe to remain in the country.

He added that he and his wife were grateful to receive sanctuary in the UK but that they were struggling to cope with the isolation.

Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sunderland and Easter Ross, said the couple’s situation was worrying. “I want people like the Hakimis to feel Britain is their new home, where they can flourish,” he said.

A spokesman for the UK government said that they had helped more than 15,000 people to safety. He added: “Councils have been given £20,520 per person over three years to support those starting a new life here.”

I applaud the Poms for their tolerance of these. You think they'd be grateful! Scotland is a beautiful country.

[Sandstorm]

“In Afghanistan we might die in a month or a year but in Wick we die every day,” Hamid said

Jesus, is Wick that bad??

Isolated Afghan couple regret being sent to Scotland
December 8 2021, The Times

An Afghan refugee suffering from isolation since moving to Scotland said he regrets fleeing his home country because of the lack of support he has received from authorities in the UK.

Hamid Hakimi, 26, a former interpreter for the British armed forces, said he is concerned about the mental health of his pregnant wife Maryam Orfani, 19, who has struggled to adapt to life in Caithness.

Hakimi, 26, and Orfani, 19, are Muslim, and were placed in Wick — which does not have a mosque or access to halal food — on short notice.

“In Afghanistan we might die in a month or a year but in Wick we die every day,” Hamid said. “My wife is 12 weeks pregnant but she is crying all the time. If I go back to my homeland the Taliban will chop my head off — but I’m afraid if we stay here our baby will die.”

The couple arrived in the UK on August 3 and were transferred to Wick three weeks later. Orfani has struggled to eat and lost about 10kg in weight. She visited A&E three times in the last month.

“They sent us to Scotland without any notice,” Hakimi said. “We were taken by coach to a Glasgow hotel then one morning officials arrived and told us, ‘We have a house for you guys’.”

He added: “They threw us in a minibus like luggage. It took between eight and nine hours to get to Wick. I was arguing with the Home Office woman. I told her, ‘We can’t live here. We’ll die here’. She said, ‘Don’t worry. We will move you back after three months’. But we’ve now been in Wick for three months and don’t know anyone except my neighbour, who’s 75.”

“We are Muslim but have no halal food, no Islamic centre and no Afghan community in Wick,” he told The Sun.

Hakimi said he was aware that his work with the British would make him a target for the Taliban so it would have been unsafe to remain in the country.

He added that he and his wife were grateful to receive sanctuary in the UK but that they were struggling to cope with the isolation.

Jamie Stone, Liberal Democrat MP for Caithness, Sunderland and Easter Ross, said the couple’s situation was worrying. “I want people like the Hakimis to feel Britain is their new home, where they can flourish,” he said.

A spokesman for the UK government said that they had helped more than 15,000 people to safety. He added: “Councils have been given £20,520 per person over three years to support those starting a new life here.”

I applaud the Poms for their tolerance of these. You think they'd be grateful! Scotland is a beautiful country.

4 months? They should be eating bacon and drinking booze by now. Shocking lack of integrating going on!

[Ymx]

What is Wick Scotland known for?

The former Viking settlement of Wick is the principal town in the far north of the mainland. The town sits astride the River Wick, stretching along both sides of Wick Bay, and holds the claim to fame of once being the busiest herring port in Europe in the mid 19th century.

Well, it all sounds very interesting to me.

https://www.visitscotland.com/info/see- ... roxdist=10


It’s not like they cruelly posted them in Oundle.

[Tichtheid]

For contrast, a refugee family has found a warm welcome on the Hebridean island of Lewis

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/m ... lic-school

[Slick]

For contrast, a refugee family has found a warm welcome on the Hebridean island of Lewis

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/m ... lic-school

I’ve met quite a few refugee families in Edinburgh and they all seem absolutely delighted by the welcome and the new lives they have.

I’m sure there is a bit of mischief making from the reporter on this. I’m fairness it must be tough for them but there is also an element of stfu.

[Tichtheid]

For contrast, a refugee family has found a warm welcome on the Hebridean island of Lewis

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/m ... lic-school

I’ve met quite a few refugee families in Edinburgh and they all seem absolutely delighted by the welcome and the new lives they have.

I’m sure there is a bit of mischief making from the reporter on this. I’m fairness it must be tough for them but there is also an element of stfu.

See also the stramash a few months ago in Glasgow when the locals stopped an enforced deportation

[Ymx]

For contrast, a refugee family has found a warm welcome on the Hebridean island of Lewis

https://www.tes.com/magazine/archived/m ... lic-school

I’ve met quite a few refugee families in Edinburgh and they all seem absolutely delighted by the welcome and the new lives they have.

I’m sure there is a bit of mischief making from the reporter on this. I’m fairness it must be tough for them but there is also an element of stfu.

See also the stramash a few months ago in Glasgow when the locals stopped an enforced deportation

And you are sure they weren’t just requesting a deportation for themselves?

[Tichtheid]

I’ve met quite a few refugee families in Edinburgh and they all seem absolutely delighted by the welcome and the new lives they have.

I’m sure there is a bit of mischief making from the reporter on this. I’m fairness it must be tough for them but there is also an element of stfu.

See also the stramash a few months ago in Glasgow when the locals stopped an enforced deportation

And you are sure they weren’t just requesting a deportation for themselves?

fair play, good gag

It pains me to say it, and I don't know what the equivalent rivalry between New Zealand cities would be, but Glasgow is a great place to live, it just has lots of rain, like Manchester I suppose.

[Ymx]

Another Wick fact

When Alexander Sinclair returned from America in 1883, after making his fortune, he built Mackays Hotel on the corner of Union Street and River Street. The council instructed him to put a name on the short end of the building, as they deemed it a separate street. Ebenezer Place then appeared in the town’s records from 1887.

….

Caithnessians are noted for their tenacity. But we take our hats off to Craig Glenday, editor-in-chief of the Guinness Book of World Records. Back in 2006, Craig battled through gale-force winds and storms to get to Wick. After 50 hours, with many detours, he arrived in Wick and declared a new world record an hour later! And that was when we entered the Guinness Book of Records!

It has the worlds shortest street.

The place is a gold mine!

[Hal Jordan]

This is an issue for him, you'd think



Busy week he's having

No wonder the Tories want to gut the Electoral Commission and turn it into their poodle.

How dare they hold them to account!

[I like neeps]

So Labour will vote for the new covid laws despite what seems a fairly vocal con backbench rebellion.

They really should vote against them until there's a financial support package to go with them. Worried for all the shops that rely on a lunchtime trade. Might be okay with Christmas shopping ... Might be.