May calls General Election on 8 June

[Champ]

Pray for BoJo

Pray for the rest of us

[Anubis]

Guido Fawkes site saying Conservative Central HQ already planning for another election and telling candidates to apply ASAP, and no later than 10th July 2017. Gearing up for an Autumn election boys and girls?

[skend04]

Guido Fawkes site saying Conservative Central HQ already planning for another election and telling candidates to apply ASAP, and no later than 10th July 2017. Gearing up for an Autumn election boys and girls?

A bit cynical? Loads of youngsters/ students off working elsewhere over the summer so they'll try and gerrymander the result by going for an election when only their vote is around.

[Section_31]

Guido Fawkes site saying Conservative Central HQ already planning for another election and telling candidates to apply ASAP, and no later than 10th July 2017. Gearing up for an Autumn election boys and girls?

 

Strange, maybe something has happened with the DUP

[Lee909]

Got to get the votes of those old bastard tories before the die

[Champ]

A bit cynical? Loads of youngsters/ students off working elsewhere over the summer so they'll try and gerrymander the result by going for an election when only their vote is around.

Mobilise the postal vote

[Anubis]

Strange, maybe something has happened with the DUP

Peston seems to think a DUP deal is on but it involves DUP and Tory whips office virtually merging, and more crucially that the DUP will support a hard Brexit. One could only hope the Tory moderates and remainers rebel under those circumstances. We'll soon know if it's party before country.

[Anubis]

The link to that Peston Faceaids post.

 

https://m.facebook.com/pestonitv/posts/1865262307131839

[skend04]

Ha, fucking hell. The DUP are doing a Lib Dem here, their support might not be as flaky but they've gone from wanting all the EU benefits to a hard Brexit pretty quickly.

 

So austerity gone in NI and staying here with a vengeance.

[Mook]

Can we have a referendum on whether we want a load of people who probably still believe the World is flat running the country or not please?

[Gym Beglin]

The link to that Peston Faceaids post.

 

https://m.facebook.com/pestonitv/posts/1865262307131839

 

The DUP are in for an arse slamming.  Libs and Greens will unite with Labour to get this shit-show laughed out of Westminster within 6 months.

[Scooby Dudek]

So the firefighters are the true heroes this week, shame the people calling them that didn't think it 10 days ago.

Another set of public sector workers we don't need. The hypocrisy is amazing but not surprising. 

 

http://www.independent.co.uk/voices/election-tories-labour-corbyn-fire-service-dangerous-cuts-a7773826.html

 

As a firefighter, I know that fire service cuts brought in by the Tories are just as dangerous as those to the police

In England, the average response to primary fires has  increased by 31 seconds since 2010/2011. I cannot emphasise enough how seconds count when fire fighting. A few seconds can be the difference between saving a life or not

 

As a fire-fighter, I've seen first-hand the effect of seven years of government cuts on the fire service.

Since 2010, over 10,000 firefighters have been axed; dozens of fire stations have closed; fire engines have been scrapped; and emergency rescue equipment has been slashed. Fire service budgets have been reduced by 30 per cent across the UK, with a further 20 per cent of cuts expected by 2020.

In England, the average response to primary fires – the most serious that the fire service attends – has  increased by 31 seconds since 2010/2011. Response times to dwelling fires which involve somebody who needs rescuing increased by 26 seconds since 2010/2011. Those are not the only increases: every type of incident that the fire service responds to now takes longer compared to 2010.

Firefighters are increasingly finding themselves over stretched and under resourced. I cannot emphasise enough how seconds count when firefighting. A few seconds can be the difference between saving a life or not.

The Government’s own statistics show that 303 people died in fires during 2015/2016. This is an unacceptable rise of 15 per cent on the previous year.

The primary and spurious argument used by the Government for implementing these cuts is that the numbers of fires continue to decrease and therefore fewer fire fighters are needed.

It is true that the numbers of fires are down, but this is largely down to firefighters working with local communities to increase awareness and advise them on fire safety. Reduce firefighters, this work is carried out less, fires will then increase. It is obvious to everyone but those in charge.

In the short-term the reduction in the number of fires is irrelevant. The incidents we do get called to aren’t any smaller or develop any slower. How quickly we arrive at a fire and how many resources we have at our disposal can be the difference between a life and death. 

That is why fire-fighters up and down the country will welcome the commitments made in the Labour Party manifesto. It promises to halt the cuts to the fire service. It recognises that response times have increased and that lives are being put at risk. Firefighters will welcome the pledge of 3,000 new firefighters to ease the strain on staffing levels and improve resilience. With response times increasing, you would expect the Conservative manifesto to address this. Their manifesto mentions nothing on these points.

Jeremy Corbyn has spent his entire political life listening to firefighters and has put forward a manifesto that puts safety first and recognises the new challenges and threats that the country faces. The Labour Party have listened, but the Tories appear content to continue the downward spiral of cuts and attacks on your fire service putting us all at risk.

[Neil G]

Guido Fawkes site saying Conservative Central HQ already planning for another election and telling candidates to apply ASAP, and no later than 10th July 2017. Gearing up for an Autumn election boys and girls?

Doesn't necessarily mean that they're planning to call one, just that they want to be ready for one if it becomes necessary. They were kept in the dark by May about this election, and they won't want to be caught out again. They'll want to have everything in place in case May or a new leader go for another snap GE without warning them (highly unlikely) or the deal with the DUP collapses a few months down the line.

 

Nothing to see here imo.

[AngryOfTuebrook]

Got to get the votes of those old bastard tories before the die

Can't risk losing their votes when they all cark it over the winter.

[Stickman]

Be kind of ironic if this was to bite the Tories on the arse...

 

 

 

 

[Neil G]

Boundary change could be dead in the water anyway I reckon. It's a huge undertaking for the civil service at the same time as they'll be dealing with the Brexit negotiations and aftermath, and there simply might not be enough time and resources to implement it.

 

Also some Tory MPs would be set to lose their seats and could kick off about it. Cameron reportedly pledged to give Tories whose seats disappeared first dibs on safe seats where the incumbent Tory MP was standing down, but the concept of a safe Tory seat is suddenly looking a bit shaky.

[Moctezuma]

Boundary change could be dead in the water anyway I reckon. It's a huge undertaking for the civil service at the same time as they'll be dealing with the Brexit negotiations and aftermath, and there simply might not be enough time and resources to implement it.

 

Also some Tory MPs would be set to lose their seats and could kick off about it. Cameron reportedly pledged to give Tories whose seats disappeared first dibs on safe seats where the incumbent Tory MP was standing down, but the concept of a safe Tory seat is suddenly looking a bit shaky.

 

There would definitely be an element of Turkey's voting for Christmas about it, but if the Conservatives think it may enable them to gerrymander victories in the future (which I think I saw a yougov report undermine recently) they'll go for it. They must sit there an salivate at what the republicans have been up to in the states with it.

[Pidge]

Over the last few years Scottish and English nationalists dragged Cameron all over the place, now Irish nationalists delaying May's attempt to form a government.  Maybe this time next year we'll be watching Gove or Boris getting a kicking from the Welsh.

[Section_31]

I get the feeling we're on the verge of some serious civil unrest with it all. The terror attacks, the fire, compounded by the feeling this government now feels less than completely legitimate and a PM that seems to be losing popularity by the second.

[Carvalho Diablo]

I get the feeling we're on the verge of some serious civil unrest with it all. The terror attacks, the fire, compounded by the feeling this government now feels less than completely legitimate and a PM that seems to be losing popularity by the second.

Politicians of all parties, but especially the Tories and the PLP need to get it I to their thick heads, THEY serve US.

[VladimirIlyich]

Politicians of all parties, but especially the Tories and the PLP need to get it I to their thick heads, THEY serve the U.S.

.

[Pidge]

Yeah, but at the moment it's all the product of a polarised system, so we just have these wingbats from either end of the spectrum snapping and lashing out. It's all so self-defeating. 

[lifetime fan]

Uncredited...

 

An explanation from the young to the old:

 

There have been some interesting comments since the election. A recurring theme is the notion that the young have voted for the policies of Jeremy Corbyn (and other left-wing parties) because they have been promised unicorns and rainbows. In essence, many commentators in their 40s and older have suggested that the young want a socialist utopia, and voted for people who promised to give it to them.

 

Old people, we did not vote for utopia. We voted to get what you had when you were our age.

 

When you were young, further and higher education were free, and grants were available to support students while they studied. Now there are no grants, and we must take out loans to pay tutition fees.

 

When you were young, housing was affordable, and those who couldn't afford housing could rent houses at reasonable rates from the local council. Now the UK has a housing bubble, rents are increasingly unaffordable, and the idea of ever affording a house is a pipedream for many.

 

When you were young (up until the election of Margaret Thatcher), top tax rates were over 80% and the NHS was well funded. Now the top tax rate is 45%, and necessary services like the NHS are being underfunded.

 

I could go on. The simple truth is we did not vote for utopia, we voted for a return to the sensible social and taxation policies that used to exist in the UK.

 

When I said this to my (much older) brother, he scoffed and said "You don't remember what it was like when things were nationalised. You had to wait a week to get a telephone installed. The trains were late and crowded." He said it as though those things are not just as true today, the only difference being that now we pay much more money to private companies for roughly the same thing. The state used to own the phones and the trains, and profits from them went to pay for the public good. Now Virgin does, and profits go to Richard Branson.

 

The truth that young people have woken up to is simple. Having benefited from all the social development put in place by their parents, many among the elderly then voted to tear it all up. They did this piece by piece, and every step of the way they got something for nothing.

 

They voted to stop paying for grants and free education, they voted for right to buy and bought their council houses, they voted for tax cuts. They voted to benefit themselves at the expense of the people who would come after them. And they were encouraged to do this by politicians whose friends and donors owned the private businesses that profited whenever part of the state was sold off.

 

Young people have realised this. We looked at what the old used to have, and we think something quite obvious:

"If you could do it back then, why can't we do it now?"

We are not starry-eyed idiots. We know our history. We refuse to accept that this is the best we can do, because we know what you once enjoyed.

 

And in your heart, I think you know we're not wrong'

[VladimirIlyich]

Uncredited...

 

An explanation from the young to the old:

 

There have been some interesting comments since the election. A recurring theme is the notion that the young have voted for the policies of Jeremy Corbyn (and other left-wing parties) because they have been promised unicorns and rainbows. In essence, many commentators in their 40s and older have suggested that the young want a socialist utopia, and voted for people who promised to give it to them.

 

Old people, we did not vote for utopia. We voted to get what you had when you were our age.

 

When you were young, further and higher education were free, and grants were available to support students while they studied. Now there are no grants, and we must take out loans to pay tutition fees.

 

When you were young, housing was affordable, and those who couldn't afford housing could rent houses at reasonable rates from the local council. Now the UK has a housing bubble, rents are increasingly unaffordable, and the idea of ever affording a house is a pipedream for many.

 

When you were young (up until the election of Margaret Thatcher), top tax rates were over 80% and the NHS was well funded. Now the top tax rate is 45%, and necessary services like the NHS are being underfunded.

 

I could go on. The simple truth is we did not vote for utopia, we voted for a return to the sensible social and taxation policies that used to exist in the UK.

 

When I said this to my (much older) brother, he scoffed and said "You don't remember what it was like when things were nationalised. You had to wait a week to get a telephone installed. The trains were late and crowded." He said it as though those things are not just as true today, the only difference being that now we pay much more money to private companies for roughly the same thing. The state used to own the phones and the trains, and profits from them went to pay for the public good. Now Virgin does, and profits go to Richard Branson.

 

The truth that young people have woken up to is simple. Having benefited from all the social development put in place by their parents, many among the elderly then voted to tear it all up. They did this piece by piece, and every step of the way they got something for nothing.

 

They voted to stop paying for grants and free education, they voted for right to buy and bought their council houses, they voted for tax cuts. They voted to benefit themselves at the expense of the people who would come after them. And they were encouraged to do this by politicians whose friends and donors owned the private businesses that profited whenever part of the state was sold off.

 

Young people have realised this. We looked at what the old used to have, and we think something quite obvious:

"If you could do it back then, why can't we do it now?"

We are not starry-eyed idiots. We know our history. We refuse to accept that this is the best we can do, because we know what you once enjoyed.

 

And in your heart, I think you know we're not wrong'

Spot on.

 

The time this has been going on is unreal though,over 30 years of selfishness and greed. When I left school in the early 80s the same things that are commonplace now were just becoming common then. The 'free' stuff the older writer speaks about was generally only available to people in their mid 50s and over. There have been a couple of generations who have missed out on the basics that a wealthy first world country should have and its taken a new generation to wake up and smell the coffee. Maybe New Labour's last 'University for all' generation has paid some dividends?

[Skidfingers McGonical]

Uncredited...

 

An explanation from the young to the old:

 

There have been some interesting comments since the election. A recurring theme is the notion that the young have voted for the policies of Jeremy Corbyn (and other left-wing parties) because they have been promised unicorns and rainbows. In essence, many commentators in their 40s and older have suggested that the young want a socialist utopia, and voted for people who promised to give it to them.

 

Old people, we did not vote for utopia. We voted to get what you had when you were our age.

 

When you were young, further and higher education were free, and grants were available to support students while they studied. Now there are no grants, and we must take out loans to pay tutition fees.

 

When you were young, housing was affordable, and those who couldn't afford housing could rent houses at reasonable rates from the local council. Now the UK has a housing bubble, rents are increasingly unaffordable, and the idea of ever affording a house is a pipedream for many.

 

When you were young (up until the election of Margaret Thatcher), top tax rates were over 80% and the NHS was well funded. Now the top tax rate is 45%, and necessary services like the NHS are being underfunded.

 

I could go on. The simple truth is we did not vote for utopia, we voted for a return to the sensible social and taxation policies that used to exist in the UK.

 

When I said this to my (much older) brother, he scoffed and said "You don't remember what it was like when things were nationalised. You had to wait a week to get a telephone installed. The trains were late and crowded." He said it as though those things are not just as true today, the only difference being that now we pay much more money to private companies for roughly the same thing. The state used to own the phones and the trains, and profits from them went to pay for the public good. Now Virgin does, and profits go to Richard Branson.

 

The truth that young people have woken up to is simple. Having benefited from all the social development put in place by their parents, many among the elderly then voted to tear it all up. They did this piece by piece, and every step of the way they got something for nothing.

 

They voted to stop paying for grants and free education, they voted for right to buy and bought their council houses, they voted for tax cuts. They voted to benefit themselves at the expense of the people who would come after them. And they were encouraged to do this by politicians whose friends and donors owned the private businesses that profited whenever part of the state was sold off.

 

Young people have realised this. We looked at what the old used to have, and we think something quite obvious:

"If you could do it back then, why can't we do it now?"

We are not starry-eyed idiots. We know our history. We refuse to accept that this is the best we can do, because we know what you once enjoyed.

 

And in your heart, I think you know we're not wrong'

Absolutely spot on all that.

 

I keep avoiding having the same discussion with my arl fella. Ex Bobby looked after by the Tories and got an absolutely boss pension. He paid 11% for his 30 years service and gets around £18,500 p.a.

 

If I was to pay the same in to my pension I would end up with £300 per month. For me I'd have to pay 90% of my wages for another 27 years to get what he has. The blinkered view of how he and others of his generation think it works to how it actually is, is astounding.

 

I don't begrudge him or anyone who got that sort of deal, but I do take issue with them trying to stop younger generations getting it too.