General Election - 4th July 2024

[The Light Was Yellow Sir]

Unquestionably, but the art of cross examination doesn’t require a highly developed ability to think on your feet - although it unquestionably helps.

Not really against the clock, as such though, I wouldn’t imagine?
He should have had a coughing fit and asked for an adjournment until today
;-)

 

[M18CTID]

Two points

1/ Johnson wasn't rolled over by the EU. Johnson was rolled over by himself. He promised something that was a fantasy he engineered to fit the desires of his cult which required 27 other countries to bow to his will. Unlikely as he didn't even have all of his own country onside
2/ Illegal migration is entirely a problem of their own making - not only in the obvious way but they made everyone who came here an illegal in their act of 2023. The idea that you decide not to deal with refugee's properly then when its out of control you decide the best thing to do is to declare them all illegal is somehow a fix is deranged madness. The idea they have granted so many visa's last year is a clear ( yet denied) example of how our economy needs immigration just to bump along the bottom never mind grow

Thanks. That doesn't alter my view that this current incarnation of the Conservative party are a total shower as I'm sure you'll agree!

 

[gordondaviesmoustache]

Not really against the clock, as such though, I wouldn’t imagine?

Not as such, no - especially if you are a silk!

 

[metalblue]

I don't think it is. I assume it's because the UK signed a deal with Bangladesh last month on returning failed asylum seekers and illegal immigrants quickly. The argument was that the Tories aren't in a position to use that.

Labour have been consistently saying for years that the best way to deal with asylum cases is to process them quickly, so that the people making the claims can either get on with their lives in the UK, or return to their home country.

I’m not a particular fan of our current approach but given it’s unlikely to change it make sense to get initial decision quicker so adding more resources to that part with help - it certainly a more positive message than Sunak is offering. However my main concern is with the appeals process also needing to be resourced else you just end up kicking the blockage further down the road. I think 75% of all initial denied claims are appealed.

I don’t know how the initial decision is categorised today but something like:

Approved
Denied with right of appeal
Denied

Would make sense. Those denied, likely those with a significant criminal record or previously attempted to gain asylum, are then removed. The denied with right of appeal would cover those who haven’t proven their claim, such as they would suffer persecution but could potentially do so.

Claimants can currently work after 12 months even if claim not processed in certain professions. If we can process that initial decision within 12 months then letting them work whilst appeals are heard in any job would be better all round as well.

 

[bluenova]

Unquestionably, but the art of cross examination doesn’t require a highly developed ability to think on your feet - although it unquestionably helps.

To be fair to Starmer, what Sunak was doing wasn't thinking on his feet either. He was repeating rehearsed lines, often with little relevance to the context.

I was surprised Sunak was given free reign to simply talk across most of Starmer's answers. He obviously wouldn't be allowed in court, and even at PMQs, which can appear a free for all, the speaker would cut it out quickly.

It's what Trump does, and clearly the Tories have seen it works, but in the US their next debate is going to have mics cut off as soon as it's not their turn to speak. I'd assume a stern word would have worked with Sunak.

 

[metalblue]

I didn't say empathy was the most important thing in making decisions.

I was replying to a post which asked about wealthy and successful people being "in touch" with the rest of the country.

There are clearly plenty of things a good PM needs apart from empathy. I'm suggesting that a PM who isn't empathetic; who doesn't actually understand the impact of their role; is unlikely to be a good PM.

I don't think it's too much to expect a PM to also have other skills on top :)

Probably one of the hardest things a PM has to do is put empathy to one side when making all sorts of decisions day in day out. Of course some decisions are bigger than others - Chamberlain floundered with the idea of war, Churchill had no such issue but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about those he was sending to die. Running the country is a numbers game and we (the general public) are just numbers. I couldn’t do it for sure, I doubt many of us could so it does take a certain type of person to be a PM, once in a while we get lucky and they are successful.

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

Excuse me for butting in, but being a landlord or multiple rented properties doesn't really have an affect on general property inflation imo, unless you buy multiple properties to keep them empty which clearly isnt the case in the vast majority of instances.

If there were more houses than people wanting them then property prices wouldn't inflate. Surely its just simply supply and demand economics?

No it isn't.

Worsley admitted he couldn't argue against this point.

The end of landlords: the surprisingly simple solution to the UK housing crisis

Mass-scale housebuilding isn’t necessary – there is already enough housing stock. But we need to learn the wisdom of the last century when it comes to landlordism

www.google.com

 

[metalblue]

BOE inflation calculator reckons the fees today would be £24,456.51, so the VAT is, in reality, largely irrelevant.

CPI vs RPI. RPI includes cost of living rather than just the basket of goods/services so I always treat it as a more reliable indicator of true inflation IMHO - governments use CPI because it’s cheaper for them. They need real inflation to be higher than interest rates to erode debt.

 

[metalblue]

Not really against the clock, as such though, I wouldn’t imagine?
He should have had a coughing fit and asked for an adjournment until today
;-)

Then Ange could have told him what to say ;)

 

[bluenova]

Probably one of the hardest things a PM has to do is put empathy to one side when making all sorts of decisions day in day out. Of course some decisions are bigger than others - Chamberlain floundered with the idea of war, Churchill had no such issue but it didn’t mean he didn’t care about those he was sending to die. Running the country is a numbers game and we (the general public) are just numbers. I couldn’t do it for sure, I doubt many of us could so it does take a certain type of person to be a PM, once in a while we get lucky and they are successful.

Understanding the impact of your policies, but deciding that you have to upset some people for the greater good, still fundamentally involves empathy.

My first post was really about whether Sunak was out of touch, and if all well off people would be. I think if you want to PM, you should know the people you want to lead. I don't believe that having an understanding of people's day to day lives, can be bad for decision making. (If you do know what's involved in the every day lives of people who are homeless, refugees, disabled, etc., and don't feel empathy, you're probably a sociopath, and I suspect not an ideal PM).