Britain - The Official Thread

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How will you vote in the 2024 UK General Election?

  • Conservative Party

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Green Party

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Labour Party

    Votes: 14 48.3%

  • Liberal Democrats

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Other (Wales/Scotland/Northern Ireland)

    Votes: 1 3.4%

  • Other Independents

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Other Parties

    Votes: 2 6.9%

  • Spoiled Ballot

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Will Not/Cannot Vote

    Votes: 8 27.6%
  • Total voters
    29
  • Poll closed .
Sandi Toksvig is the guest who always gets the answers beforehand. That's annoying. But I suppose it's only natural that she'd just start asking the questions if she always has the answers...

Go back and watch an episode with her in it and see her feign excitement as she gets another improbable answer.
 
Boris the Barbarian strikes again.... this time flattening an 11-yr old boy at touch rugby :lol:

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Dotini
Boris the Unlikely. Yet there he is.
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He's naturally extremely funny, he has a rapier-sharp intellect hidden behind the bumbling public-schoolboy facade (UK: privately educated), he's tremendously engaging to listen to and the public and media lap it up. His immigrant connections are impeccable and he has huge appeal to both true-blue Tories and casual politics fans.

As odious as I find his politics I can see why people from all parts of the political spectrum vote for him.
 
His Wodehousian public image belies his masterful politicking behind closed doors and he seems to brush off gaffe after gaffe, and extramarital affair after extramarital affair, with comedic ease.

Boris Johnson might be this century's greatest marketeer. And it pains me to say that.
 
I do not like the Tories at all, but I have to admit that Boris is one hell of a character. Easy to get a chuckle from his antics at twice a year. Anyone remember when he got stuck on that zipline?
 
ECGadget
Anyone remember when he got stuck on that zipline?
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BOOM! And Zoidberg takes the guinea pig.

"haha boris for pm. what a ledge!"

"omg he's so funny"

"that football tackle was immense"

"Oh, he's the chief executive of the most powerful local council authority in the country and a potential usurper for the Prime Ministership? Okay but remember when he was on HIGNFY...."
 
I am going to miss the yellow RAF Search and Rescue 'copters... First step to privatisation of the rescue service?
 
ECGadget
I am going to miss the yellow RAF Search and Rescue 'copters... First step to privatisation of the rescue service?
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They're long-gone from here (SAR Leconfield's literally just down the road), I believe some of the flight will continue as forces-only rescue but otherwise the privatisation is well underway.

That's in addition to the shrinking of the coastguard stations and the continuing travesty of zero government funding for the RNLI.
 
TenEightyOne
They're long-gone from here (SAR Leconfield's literally just down the road), I believe some of the flight will continue as forces-only rescue but otherwise the privatisation is well underway.

That's in addition to the shrinking of the coastguard stations and the continuing travesty of zero government funding for the RNLI.
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I try to give money to keep the coastguards running, but I cannot understand why the government and bankers etc continue to line their pockets with gold whilst vital services suffer. We're on a small island, we need coastguards, we need Search and Rescue, we need more front line officers on the beat etc. The last time I saw an RAF SeaKing over here was years ago, but in Scotland and Wales I saw a few when I visited some years back. I understand that the new company (the name escapes me right now, Biristow?) says that things will not change but that is like saying that we will have a private Fire and Rescue Brigade, and whilst nothing will change eventually they will need to be funded as the Government will pull the plug. And then who pays...

Bit dumb in my opinion. Rant over xD
 
I'd rather we had civilian pilots (the majority of which will be former military) flying these missions than taking up the resources of military personnel.

I do however think it is an absolute travesty that RNLI, Air Ambulances, Blood Bikers and more continue to be funder purely by charity.
 
So we are to have a new Nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, owned by the Chinese, built by the French?* What actually goes on in the head of our PM?


*not against Nuclear power. Just not sure why we do not just make our own, or at least own our own...
 
ECGadget
So we are to have a new Nuclear power plant at Hinkley Point, owned by the Chinese, built by the French?* What actually goes on in the head of our PM?


*not against Nuclear power. Just not sure why we do not just make our own, or at least own our own...
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I'm not sure why this is news again, we've known this for a couple of years? Maybe the contracts were formally signed just now or something. Why not use a British builder? We're too expensive and the quality's too low. If the out-of-the-EU brigade get their way it'll become even worse.
 
TenEightyOne
I'm not sure why this is news again, we've known this for a couple of years? Maybe the contracts were formally signed just now or something. Why not use a British builder? We're too expensive and the quality's too low. If the out-of-the-EU brigade get their way it'll become even worse.
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I believe it was just formally signed... I mean I do not mind it being built be others but I heard that it will actually be owned by China. Not a Chinese company but China as in the Government? Or partly?
 
We can't afford to fund our own national infrastructure. The government can't, industry can't.

It's a combination of government austerity and a "war" on the energy companies making a profit. A British builder would only be a priority if it was British funded or part of the government contract, and we're too desperate to do that.
 
David Cameron is abandoning green energy for red. Perhaps what's more disturbing is the way this all ties in with Trident and UK national security as a whole, and somewhat presupposes that the potential threat from China is non-existent, or that the UK and China's national interests will never be at odds with each other. Somehow, I seriously doubt that. It is not necessarily that China poses a direct threat to the UK, but yielding control over vital things such as our energy supply and national security to an unsympathetic and potentially hostile foreign superpower is surely not a brilliant idea.
 
Money talks. Instead of sanctioning these countries, we'll cut deals with them because we can exploit their draconian labour practices for our own benefit. George Macartney must be delighted that China now accepts Britain grovelling and kowtowing, instead of in the 18th century when he first attempted a trade deal.

It's no surprise. We've been playing happy families with Saudi Arabia for several years now. And it's still well within recent memory that the UK reestablished ties with Libya after Gaddafi literally bought his way out of Lockerbie.
 
No one has yet explained how a Chinese funded nuclear power plant is a danger.

They won't have direct control of plant operations, it will be operated; inspected and secured to the same standards. It's not like the Chinese premier will have login access to the reactor.

@Liquid And yet the same people that protest our ties to Saudi/China also protest against fracking and nuclear energy (and energy profits). You can't have it both ways, support our own infrastructure or you have to continue to grovel.
 
Touring Mars
David Cameron is abandoning green energy for red. Perhaps what's more disturbing is the way this all ties in with Trident and UK national security as a whole, and somewhat presupposes that the potential threat from China is non-existent, or that the UK and China's national interests will never be at odds with each other. Somehow, I seriously doubt that. It is not necessarily that China poses a direct threat to the UK, but yielding control over vital things such as our energy supply and national security to an unsympathetic and potentially hostile foreign superpower is surely not a brilliant idea.
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"Green for red", I like that :)

In practical terms; what's at risk? The civil technologies? Not really, we're buying them from France (with some Chinese tech), after all. Industrial espionage is so entrenched in engineering that there can be few theoretical secrets now. Access to finished production parts/rigs is strictly controlled but China has its own in any case. Access to refined product or hazardous effluent? That'll be as tightly controlled by the military and specialist police as it is now. That leaves the risk that China will just shut the thing down in a time of diplomatic combat. It's not the Chinese who will have system control (they're an investor) but EDF. While China does present a potential risk I don't see that they have any dangerous leverage in this project. The worst they could do is retract their investment early and at short notice.
 
ExigeEvan
Chinese funded
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This is the main gripe I think people have. It's not that people imagine a sub-standard Mao-era relic will be constructed, it's merely the principle of working with such governments and tendering such contracts.
 
@Liquid - That's the consequence of refusing to allow domestic suppliers to profit (1 billion a year is "too much" for British gas, centrica, yet a nuclear power costs how much?). Better the devil you know.
 
TenEightyOne
That leaves the risk that China will just shut the thing down in a time of diplomatic combat. It's not the Chinese who will have system control (they're an investor) but EDF. While China does present a potential risk I don't see that they have any dangerous leverage in this project. The worst they could do is retract their investment early and at short notice.
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Ah, so it's the French who ultimately control our nuclear energy? That's makes me feel so much better...
 
Thought crime alert!
Touring Mars
...but yielding control over vital things such as our energy supply and national security to an unsympathetic and potentially hostile foreign superpower is surely not a brilliant idea.
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Your thinking is too nationalist, mon frere. Internationalism is the new liberal and democratic way of doing things. Remember all those wonderful stone castles the Normans did for you?

from wiki:
Internationalism is a political movement which advocates a greater economic and political cooperation among nations and peoples.[1] Supporters of this movement (such as supporters of the World Federalist Movement or any of the four socialist Internationals), are referred to as internationalists. Supporters of internationalism generally believe that the people of the world should unite across national boundaries to advance their common interests, and/or that the governments of the world should cooperate because their long-term mutual interests are of greater value than their individual short term needs or disputes.

Internationalism is by nature opposed to nationalism, jingoism and national chauvinism.[2]
 

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