The Labour Government

[Churchlawtonblue]

Just announced huge cuts to the defence budget, good job there's no threat to the country at the moment

Great timing as you state. Staggering that we are getting rid of our only two assault ships and chinook helicopters. I'm surprised that he didnt get rid of the Royal Marines, as they used these. More armed foces capability lost, a very dissapointing continuation of the policy of the last government. When we need these ships and helicopters they won't be there. You can't just magic up a warship they take years to design and build. A poor decision by Healey made at a time of heightened international tension when we clearly need a strong armed forces.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

We know they’ve committed upping spending to 2.5% and are doing the strategic review.

We won’t get the detail until they’ve done that, which I agree with. The question then though is when are they going to complete it as the sooner the better.

No they haven't committed to anything, saying you are going to do something but not giving a timescale isn't providing a commitment in most people's eyes.

 

[meltonblue]

It’s funny how people are so forthcoming to say they vote labour but somehow seem embarrassed to say they vote Tory.The House of Commons comprises of 650 MP’s,it’s a nice cosy little club for the member's,they squabble and argue amongst themselves to make things look genuine,to somehow justify their existence.They are financed through it very nicely and go on some fact finding missions to some nice locations,all paid for by us.How often do we hear people say that people died for us to be able to vote,fine people died for us to be entitled not to vote as well.Equally people say that one can only moan about Politcians if you vote,I take the opposite view,you should only be able to moan about politicians if you don’t vote.The only answer is don’t vote the so and so’s in (although this would clearly never happen),consequently we are stuck with the political system we have.

Anyone’s entitled to moan, whether that’s about a party they voted for or didn’t vote for or whether they voted or not. It’s absurd anyone can think they can’t.

 

[bluethrunthru]

They've now announced defence cuts,

Its to save £500m to reinvest on Defence - can you imagine how much it costs to keep a Puma thats over 50 years old in the air and how would you feel flying combat missions as for the vessels being scrapped what is the point in having them tied up because you can't crew them due to lack of recruits ( another outsourcing triumph when it was outsourced to Crapita who fail year on year to meet targets ) - Defence spending is incredibly tight there have been a number of reports in recent years condemning a laissez-faire attitude to budgets and spending limits so you can waste money on out of date helicopters and equipment and storing empty ships.

 

[Kirkstall Blue]

Defence dept has been a basket case for years, not seen this on the news yet so cant comment on that but it needed a real shake up

it is shameful what the tories have done to troop numbers and having ships with no planes or nobody to staff them etc, it is a fucking mess

That’s true small minded thinking, I’m just threatening Putin in the other thread, the end of the Cold War means we cut back on defence and installed Downing Street with more and more civil servants they now outnumber military personnel.

 

[meltonblue]

No they haven't committed to anything, saying you are going to do something but not giving a timescale isn't providing a commitment in most people's eyes.

They’ve got an odd grasp of the English language then!

 

[TinFoilHat]

I honestly dont understand what they thought would happen to sort it all out . They said everyone would have to pitch in and that is what they are doing . Really hard decisions being made . I agree with means testing wfa but they should have said it would kick in next winter and they should have increased the amount of people who could claim pension credit so the poorer pensioners could get it . They should have torn up the application forms for pension credit and made it easier and shorter and let people apply by phone

They have fucked that up imo , dropped it in so close to winter was not fair on anyone

No doubt GB News will have a dead grannies total on the coverage throughout the winter.

 

[Mr Kobayashi]

He does already. Lot of research in to growing crops and the such. I’ve no idea if it’s useful or just a smokescreen.

Please don't tell me he has put Tractors on giant exercise balls.

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

They’ve got an odd grasp of the English language then!

It's politicians language. It is often meaningless.

 

[mosssideblue]

Great timing as you state. Staggering that we are getting rid of our only two assault ships and chinook helicopters. I'm surprised that he didnt get rid of the Royal Marines, as they used these. More armed foces capability lost, a very dissapointing continuation of the policy of the last government. When we need these ships and helicopters they won't be there. You can't just magic up a warship they take years to design and build. A poor decision by Healey made at a time of heightened international tension when we clearly need a strong armed forces.

What is the material state of the two ships?

 

[i kne albert davy]

No need to arrest them the thick pricks are displaying number plates. Just note them down and rather JSO them rock up on their doorsteps in a few weeks time like the Police do with racist rioters. I mean number plates for fucks sake - all revolutionaries had state registered identifiable plates don't they lol ???

To be honest locking folk up who grow your food might be not the brightest idea.

 

[bluethrunthru]

To be honest locking folk up who grow your food might be not the brightest idea.

The Tolpuddle Martyrs were farm workers and they deported them lol

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

Its to save £500m to reinvest on Defence - can you imagine how much it costs to keep a Puma thats over 50 years old in the air and how would you feel flying combat missions as for the vessels being scrapped what is the point in having them tied up because you can't crew them due to lack of recruits ( another outsourcing triumph when it was outsourced to Crapita who fail year on year to meet targets ) - Defence spending is incredibly tight there have been a number of reports in recent years condemning a laissez-faire attitude to budgets and spending limits so you can waste money on out of date helicopters and equipment and storing empty ships.

So true , we aren't using it so let's save money and get rid! Afterall, it's only more capability lost, and replaced with an empty promise to replace at sometime in the future. Im affaid what ever way you spin this, its just a shameful continuation of the previous governments degradation of our armed forces. But you won't see it that way as your beloved Labour party have caried this out. Be honest with yourself, if this were Sunack announcing this you would be the first on here condemning it.

 

[remember arthur mann]

To be honest locking folk up who grow your food might be not the brightest idea.

Yeah but, no but, we can always get it from abroad cheaper, like Maggie got our coal.

 

[mosssideblue]

So true , we aren't using it so let's save money and get rid! Afterall, it's only more capability lost, and replaced with an empty promise to replace at sometime in the future. Im afriad what ever way younspin this its just a shameful continuation of the previous governments degradation of our armed forces. But you won't see it that way as your beloved Labour party have caried this out.

I'll try again. What is the material state of the two ships?

 

[Churchlawtonblue]

What is the material state of the two ships?

Operational I guess? as they were due to be decommissioned in 2033.

 

[mosssideblue]

Operational I guess? as they were due to be decommissioned in 2033.

So now you're guessing. They are in disrepair, old technology and are crew deficient. Makes total sense to mothball now rather than throw good money down the drain, would you agree?

 

[Vic]

I’ve never been a fan of relative poverty as a metric. I think it’s measured as 2/3rds of median income, which mathematically it would be very hard to ever irradiate- unless everyone earned same etc.

However in the context of holding Starmer’s and Reeve’s feet to the fire over the WFA I’ve no qualms with using it given they’ve used relative poverty frequently enough to further their own arguments. Of course you’re right to highlight increases in pensions due next year and they would have done a lot better to delay the WFA being removed until next winter, let the rise hit pensioners first and give them plenty of notice.

It's been a rise in pensions of £36 a week over the last two years so (cynically maybe) withdrawing £6 a week now should have been less outrageous than against a £9 a week rise next year.

If we accept that UK pensions are low compared to most other European countries, the triple lock has improved that position. And the "relative" figure that isn't being mentioned is that the number of pensioners keeps getting higher relative to the number of people paying tax to fund their pensions.

 

[i kne albert davy]

Yeah but, no but, we can always get it from abroad cheaper, like Maggie got our coal.

Or give just send everybody back to the stone free reign to save the planet we can enjoy to our life span of 30 years and plenty of room as 6 billion of us will have to snuff it.

 

[i kne albert davy]

It's been a rise in pensions of £36 a week over the last two years so (cynically maybe) withdrawing £6 a week now should have been less outrageous than against a £9 a week rise next year.

If we accept that UK pensions are low compared to most other European countries, the triple lock has improved that position. And the "relative" figure that isn't being mentioned is that the number of pensioners keeps getting higher relative to the number of people paying tax to fund their pensions.

Have the pensioners no paid tax to fund their pensions already ?