** The General Election Thread **

[bovlomov]

ok I won and you didn't.

Democacy did win though and thank the Gods' for that.
None of this is a surprise to me, just a shame that the country took so long to come to its' senses

Apostrophe's is a different thread.

[pwa]

Well you're probably a lot more wealthy than me. I'm retired and on a pension which is no more than the national average salary so my income is er average.

I think if you're retired and on an average wage that makes you a pretty wealthy pensioner.
I don't know any pensioners that even come close (if they do they keep it quiet).

How big a pension pot would one need to get an average (£25k?) wage? Hmm, £500k according to the online calculators.
I wonder how many folk have a pot that big...

It's a work pension not from a so called pension pot. I know quite a few pensioners who have a hell of a lot more than me. Anyhow wealth is nothing to do with whether or not you're a pensioner it's to do with what your income is. If someone earns say £30,000 a year they're not wealthy. If they were to retire and, for some reason, have a retirement income of £30,000 they haven't suddenly become wealthy , they've stayed the same.

The Missus was calculating what her work place pension would give her if she retired at 60 and, after 35 years as a teacher and getting to a middling position she could expect something like £17k. So £25k is pretty good really. And you can live off a lot less when your mortgage is paid, the kids have left and so forth.

[kwackers]

It's a work pension not from a so called pension pot. I know quite a few pensioners who have a hell of a lot more than me. Anyhow wealth is nothing to do with whether or not you're a pensioner it's to do with what your income is. If someone earns say £30,000 a year they're not wealthy. If they were to retire and, for some reason, have a retirement income of £30,000 they haven't suddenly become wealthy , they've stayed the same.

I agree, but for a pensioner to be on average wage is still pretty good. Might make you an average earner but you're by no means an average pensioner.

The one plus is that by the time you retire you've hopefully paid off your mortgage and have enough savings for capital expenditure. (That's my hope anyway).

[pete75]

5. Goodbye food standards and animal welfare. Rees Mogg said as much in April. Food 'checked' in other countries ie Australian beef of American chlorinated chicken will not be checked again on entering the UK. Hello food poisoning and meat full of steroids and other big pharma junk.

He's gone further than that. Really-Smug is on records as saying “We could say, if it’s good enough in India, it’s good enough for here. There’s nothing to stop that."

[windmiller]

ok I won and you didn't.

Democacy did win though and thank the Gods' for that.
None of this is a surprise to me, just a shame that the country took so long to come to its' senses

Apostrophe's is a different thread.

That must be next to the same thread - No Apostrophes needed?

[pete75]

It's a work pension not from a so called pension pot. I know quite a few pensioners who have a hell of a lot more than me. Anyhow wealth is nothing to do with whether or not you're a pensioner it's to do with what your income is. If someone earns say £30,000 a year they're not wealthy. If they were to retire and, for some reason, have a retirement income of £30,000 they haven't suddenly become wealthy , they've stayed the same.

I agree, but for a pensioner to be on average wage is still pretty good. Might make you an average earner but you're by no means an average pensioner.

The one plus is that by the time you retire you've hopefully paid off your mortgage and have enough savings for capital expenditure. (That's my hope anyway).

Doesn't make you wealthy though.

[Spinners]

Here's a few things to look forward to:

1. Brexit and a trade deal with Europe kicked into the long grass. Brexit wont get 'done' effectively till at least 2025 but more likely 2030. It took Canada 7 years to get a trade deal with the EU and that was infinitely easier to conclude.

2. Mandatory health insurance. Piece by piece the NHS will be dismantled and flogged to the Americans, slowly at first, so as you don't realise what's going on. Till its to late.

3. 40-60% increase in prescription charges. The gloves are off now and no more pesky patents legislation to bother our US providers.

4. No more paid holidays or sick leave. We have a new partner to get into alignment with, their boss goes by the name of Donald. We just swap one centralised dictator for another.

5. Goodbye food standards and animal welfare. Rees Mogg said as much in April. Food 'checked' in other countries ie Australian beef of American chlorinated chicken will not be checked again on entering the UK. Hello food poisoning and meat full of steroids and other big pharma junk.

6. 10 more years of brutal cuts and austerity. The national debt has grown in the past three years not shrunk.

7. Retirement age increased across the board, probably tax increases on pensions also.

I'll go as far as 2024;

1. I reckon you're not far off but all substantially complete by 2024 and the trade deal with EU sooner than you think.

2. No way.

3. No way.

4. No way. (BTW you do realise that some jobs already have no paid sick leave - in 1980 I was a wages clerk on a heavily unionised industrial plant and the weekly paid didn't get sick pay).

5. No changes within the UK.

6. Nothing brutal cuts wise but, as a nation, we can't afford everything and do remember that Labour were prepared to spend even more.

7. This is so obviously going to happen regardless of what party so, congratulations on a nice, safe prediction.

[pete75]

I go simply on his record and the people in his cabinet and in parliament.

I don't think there is the smallest smidgen of a chance of a "one nation" government. He is surrounded by hard right libertarian ideologues.

I predict much propaganda on "one nation ", investment and the like, together with a reality of a power grab constitutionally and continued austerity across the public sector compared to historical norms.

Oh, and continued "nudge nudge, wink wink" racism.

The cabinet you refer to is the old one. There will be a new one. He is now a lot less reliant on the likes of JRM to keep him in power and can, if he chooses, look for new cabinet faces with a more One Nation agenda. We will have to wait and see.

Boris's non-PC language and flippant remarks are a problem and I hope he has come to realise that. It shows an immature and unpleasant side, and it is also unprofessional. You see a high degree of genuine bigotry behind the words, and you may be right. On the other hand he may just be saying what seems funny to him and voicing a more superficial bigotry that does not go deep. Either way, he does need to get a grip on it.

Still defending your Boris I see

[merseymouth]

Afternoon all, Well this is one of the poor pensioners posting! But I ain't complaining as we have no debt and have food to keep us going.
But can get hurt when people working in HMRC accused me of "Tax Evasion" when if they had at least a rudimentary education they would see it was "Tax Avoidance"! That was when I could transfer my Tax Allowance over to my wife, who could reduce her tax bill.
Living within ones means is the recipe for a pleasant life, no holidays abroad, no new car every few years.
I have a number of cars, all very desirable models. But they are mainly Vanguard, Corgi, et al. Yep, diecast.
When you start getting envious of the lifestyles of other you rot from the inside out, not good!
But one sadness I have noticed when going through the Election Results was the sad passing of Frank Field from Commons. As M.P. for Birkenhead he has been a real champion for those who find no voice speaking out for the, a voice of sanity in a mad world. Very sad.
Let us all look forward to a less hateful 2020. Pax. MM

[roubaixtuesday]

Philosophical question.

Why is it okay to refer to other human beings as "turkeys" but not okay to refer to other human beings as "pillar boxes"? Neither shows respect for other folk or for diversity of opinion.

I suppose calling a person a "gammon" which refers to skin colour is much worse and actually racist rather than derogatory. has the term "gammon" been used in such a way in this forum and if so why has it not been addressed as a racist slur?

Desperate

[pete75]

Philosophical question.

Why is it okay to refer to other human beings as "turkeys" but not okay to refer to other human beings as "pillar boxes"? Neither shows respect for other folk or for diversity of opinion.

I suppose calling a person a "gammon" which refers to skin colour is much worse and actually racist rather than derogatory. has the term "gammon" been used in such a way in this forum and if so why has it not been addressed as a racist slur?

Using the same tortuous logic the gammon's favourite term of abuse "snowflake" is also a racist slur.

[al_yrpal]

I've never met anyone who chants "four legs good, two legs bad. You must know some strange people if you have.

You never read Animal Farm then? Or lived in a coalfield, or a real working class area? They don't chant that, but they never look at things objectively and just mindlessly chant endlessly repeated slogans! My pensions add up to much less than the average wage but they get supplemented by dividends from invested savings on which you pay little tax. Prudence finally pays off...

Al

[Marcus Aurelius]

Well at least BoJo has a proper mandate to get stuff done, without interference from hand wringers. I’m not 100 percent comfortable with everything the Conservatives have planned, but it’s a lot better than what Labour had in mind.

[pete75]

I've never met anyone who chants "four legs good, two legs bad. You must know some strange people if you have.

You never read Animal Farm then? Or lived in a coalfield, or a real working class area? They don't chant that, but they never look at things objectively and just mindlessly chant endlessly repeated slogans! My pensions add up to much less than the average wage but they get supplemented by dividends from invested savings on which you pay little tax. Prudence finally pays off...

Al

Yes I've read it and grew up on a working class council estate. Endlessly repeated slogans - you mean stuff like "Get Brexit done" or "Corbyn is a Marxist". No I don't recall any of that. It says much about your viewpoint of the word that you think people who live in coalfield or working class areas never look at things objectively. Still they did vote overwhelmingly for Brexit so you may be right.

[pete75]

Well at least BoJo has a proper mandate to get stuff done, without interference from hand wringers. I’m not 100 percent comfortable with everything the Conservatives have planned, but it’s a lot better than what Labour had in mind.

W T F is a hand wringer?