Just watched the Diane Abbott interview with Andrew Marr. Not the complete car crash I was expecting but nonetheless fairly uninspiring and does nothing to convince me i'd put her in charge of my sock draw let alone The Home Office.
I would imagine Sir Humphrey Appleby would run rings around her as would the tea lady.
It's the fact that she's Corbyns choice for Home Secretary that casts doubt on the mans overall judgement and makes him unelectable. I can only assume that she has something over him which she might reveal should the need arise.
I'm voting labour for Clive Effords sake who I sincerely believe to be a good constituency MP. Should the completely unexpected happen and Labour win on the 8th June I fully expect some of the worst day to day government in history.
May - Johnson foreign secretary. I believe that particular decision is on a par SHG. And at least she'll only be embarrassing at home, not all over the flippin' world...
I think the reasoning behind Mays decision to appointing Boris would be along the line of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" whereas Jeremy's choice of Abbott is more to do with their previous "close" history and her knowing where the bodies are buried. If its not that then his judgement is just about as shite as you can get.
As I see it, the dilemma Labour has is that Corbyn and his manifesto can't exist without each other.
A more centre ground leader would've (I believe) had an ok but uninspiring manifesto - I imagine I probably would've voted Green instead of Labour as I did in 2015, for example. I don't really believe that would've been enough to beat the Tories either.
Looking at Corbyn's opponents for the leadership, I can't imagine Burnham or Cooper and certainly not Kendall standing on this manifesto. Would young people be as enthused by a "blue Labour"?
Just watched the Diane Abbott interview with Andrew Marr. Not the complete car crash I was expecting but nonetheless fairly uninspiring and does nothing to convince me i'd put her in charge of my sock draw let alone The Home Office.
I would imagine Sir Humphrey Appleby would run rings around her as would the tea lady.
It's the fact that she's Corbyns choice for Home Secretary that casts doubt on the mans overall judgement and makes him unelectable. I can only assume that she has something over him which she might reveal should the need arise.
I'm voting labour for Clive Effords sake who I sincerely believe to be a good constituency MP. Should the completely unexpected happen and Labour win on the 8th June I fully expect some of the worst day to day government in history.
May - Johnson foreign secretary. I believe that particular decision is on a par SHG. And at least she'll only be embarrassing at home, not all over the flippin' world...
I think the reasoning behind Mays decision to appointing Boris would be along the line of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" whereas Jeremy's choice of Abbott is more to do with their previous "close" history and her knowing where the bodies are buried. If its not that then his judgement is just about as shite as you can get.
Doesn't keeping your enemy close, and staying close to someone who knows where the bodies are buried virtually amount to the same thing though mate?
Both of them should have the guts to distance themselves from liabilities like BJ and Abbott.
Just watched the Diane Abbott interview with Andrew Marr. Not the complete car crash I was expecting but nonetheless fairly uninspiring and does nothing to convince me i'd put her in charge of my sock draw let alone The Home Office.
I would imagine Sir Humphrey Appleby would run rings around her as would the tea lady.
It's the fact that she's Corbyns choice for Home Secretary that casts doubt on the mans overall judgement and makes him unelectable. I can only assume that she has something over him which she might reveal should the need arise.
I'm voting labour for Clive Effords sake who I sincerely believe to be a good constituency MP. Should the completely unexpected happen and Labour win on the 8th June I fully expect some of the worst day to day government in history.
May - Johnson foreign secretary. I believe that particular decision is on a par SHG. And at least she'll only be embarrassing at home, not all over the flippin' world...
I think the reasoning behind Mays decision to appointing Boris would be along the line of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" whereas Jeremy's choice of Abbott is more to do with their previous "close" history and her knowing where the bodies are buried. If its not that then his judgement is just about as shite as you can get.
Doesn't keeping your enemy close, and staying close to someone who knows where the bodies are buried virtually amount to the same thing though mate?
Both of them should have the guts to distance themselves from liabilities like BJ and Abbott.
Well possibly. I don't think Boris has anything over May though. It's just a case of keeping him on as short a leash as possible. I'm not convinced Corbyn want to keep Abbott on a short leash ( although I understand some people like that kind of thing) but more a case of having to give her a plumb job.
Just watched the Diane Abbott interview with Andrew Marr. Not the complete car crash I was expecting but nonetheless fairly uninspiring and does nothing to convince me i'd put her in charge of my sock draw let alone The Home Office.
I would imagine Sir Humphrey Appleby would run rings around her as would the tea lady.
It's the fact that she's Corbyns choice for Home Secretary that casts doubt on the mans overall judgement and makes him unelectable. I can only assume that she has something over him which she might reveal should the need arise.
I'm voting labour for Clive Effords sake who I sincerely believe to be a good constituency MP. Should the completely unexpected happen and Labour win on the 8th June I fully expect some of the worst day to day government in history.
May - Johnson foreign secretary. I believe that particular decision is on a par SHG. And at least she'll only be embarrassing at home, not all over the flippin' world...
I think the reasoning behind Mays decision to appointing Boris would be along the line of "keep your friends close and your enemies closer" whereas Jeremy's choice of Abbott is more to do with their previous "close" history and her knowing where the bodies are buried. If its not that then his judgement is just about as shite as you can get.
Doesn't keeping your enemy close, and staying close to someone who knows where the bodies are buried virtually amount to the same thing though mate?
Both of them should have the guts to distance themselves from liabilities like BJ and Abbott.
Never put BJ and Abbott in close proximity again, I've just had lunch
If Labour do manage to pull it off it will make May's decision to call an early election one of the biggest fuckups off all time. I can't see it happening but you never know
Still not sure why she called it,unless it was an opportunist move or truly feared losing her slender majority with the police investigations into electoral fraud coming to a head. Nothing to do with Brexit
This is a post that a good friend of mine made on Facebook, she gives me permission to share it.
I was campaigning in my local area yesterday but still getting occasional comments from people in the street who believe the nonsense being fed them by the mainstream media.Out of desperation to try and prevent ordinary people from voting against their best interests I plead with you to read the following:
"Here's what I'm really struggling to understand... All I've ever heard from people, for years, is "bloody bankers and their bonuses" "bloody rich and their offshore tax havens " "bloody politicians with their lying and second homes" “bloody corporations paying less tax than me” "bloody Establishment, they're all in it together” “it'll never change, there's no point in voting” And quite rightly so, I said all the same things. But then someone comes along that's different. He upsets the bankers and the rich. The Tory politicians hate him along with most of the Labour politicians. The corporations throw more money at the politicians to keep him quiet. And the Establishment is visibly shaken. I've never seen the Establishment so genuinely scared of a single person. So the media arm of the establishment gets involved. Theresa phones Rupert asking what he can do, and he tells her to keep her mouth shut, don't do the live debate, he'll sort this out. So the media goes into overdrive with… “she's strong and stable” “he's a clown” “he's not a leader” “look he can't even control his own party” “he'll ruin the economy” “how's he gonna pay for it all?!” “AND he's a terrorist sympathiser, burn him, burn the terrorist sympathiser” And what do we? We've waited forever for an honest politician to come along but instead of getting behind him we bow to the establishment like good little workers. They whistle and we do a little dance for them. We run around like hypnotised robots repeating headlines we've read, all nodding and agreeing. Feeling really proud of ourselves because we think we've came up with our very own first political opinion. But we haven't, we haven't came up with anything. This is how you tell. No matter where someone lives in the country, they're repeating the same headlines, word for word. From Cornwall to Newcastle people are saying “he's a clown” “he’s a threat to the country” “she's strong and stable” “he'll take us back to the 70s” And there's nothing else, there's no further opinion. There's no evidence apart from 1 radio 5 interview that isn't even concrete evidence, he actually condemns the violence of both sides in the interview. Theres no data or studies or official reports to back anything up. Try and think really hard why you think he's a clown, other than the fact he looks like a geography teacher. (no offence geography teachers) Because he hasn't done anything clownish from what I've seen. And you're not on this planet if you think the establishment and the media aren't all in it together. You think Richard Branson, who's quietly winning NHS contracts, wants Corbyn in? You think Rupert Murdoch, who's currently trying to widen his media monopoly by buying sky outright, wants Jeremy in? You think the Barclay brothers, with their offshore residencies, want him in? You think Philip Green, who stole all the pensions from BHS workers and claims his wife owns Topshop because she lives in Monaco, wants Corbyn in? You think the politicians, both Labour and Tory, with their second homes and alcohol paid for by us, want him in? You think Starbucks, paying near zero tax, wants him in? You think bankers, with their multi million pound bonuses, want him in? And do you think they don't have contact with May? Or with the media? You honestly think that these millionaires and billionaires are the sort of people that go “ah well, easy come easy go, it was nice while it lasted”?? I wouldn't be if my personal fortune was at risk, I'd be straight on the phone to Theresa May or Rupert Murdoch demanding this gets sorted immediately. Because here's a man, a politician that doesn't lie, he can't lie, he could have said whatever would get him votes anytime he wanted but he hasn't. He lives in a normal house like us and uses the bus just like us. He's fought for justice and peace for nearly 40 years. He has no career ambitions. And his seat is untouchable. That's one of the greatest testimonies. No one comes close to removing him from his constituency, election after election. His Manifesto is fully costed. It all adds up, yes there's some borrowing but that's just to renationalise the railway, you know we already subsidise them and they make profit yeah? One more time… WE subsidise the railway companies and they walk away with a profit, just try and grasp the level of piss taking going on there. Unlike the tory manifesto with a £9 billion hole, their figures don't even add up. And it benefits all of us, young, old, working, disabled, everyone. The only people it hurts are the establishment, the rich, the bankers, the top 5% highest earners. Good, fuck them, it's long overdue."
'So, Theresa, what was it about your 25 point lead in the polls that led you to call an election?'
She was sitting on a 3-0 lead at half time, and thinks the very worst that can happen is a 3-2 win, secretly expecting to go on and win 5-0.
If Theresa May doesn't get something like a 60 seat overall majority from her starting position it would have been a pretty bad decision.
This is the person upon whose judgement we are expected to trust with the mysteries of the Brexit negotiations. I can see it now.
On a Thursday sometime during the negotiations:
'Ladies and gentlemen of Europe, don't you dare think that the UK is going to pay you a £100 billion cheque for this Brexit shenanigans, not blimmin likely mes freundes'.
This is a post that a good friend of mine made on Facebook, she gives me permission to share it.
I was campaigning in my local area yesterday but still getting occasional comments from people in the street who believe the nonsense being fed them by the mainstream media.Out of desperation to try and prevent ordinary people from voting against their best interests I plead with you to read the following:
"Here's what I'm really struggling to understand... All I've ever heard from people, for years, is "bloody bankers and their bonuses" "bloody rich and their offshore tax havens " "bloody politicians with their lying and second homes" “bloody corporations paying less tax than me” "bloody Establishment, they're all in it together” “it'll never change, there's no point in voting” And quite rightly so, I said all the same things. But then someone comes along that's different. He upsets the bankers and the rich. The Tory politicians hate him along with most of the Labour politicians. The corporations throw more money at the politicians to keep him quiet. And the Establishment is visibly shaken. I've never seen the Establishment so genuinely scared of a single person. So the media arm of the establishment gets involved. Theresa phones Rupert asking what he can do, and he tells her to keep her mouth shut, don't do the live debate, he'll sort this out. So the media goes into overdrive with… “she's strong and stable” “he's a clown” “he's not a leader” “look he can't even control his own party” “he'll ruin the economy” “how's he gonna pay for it all?!” “AND he's a terrorist sympathiser, burn him, burn the terrorist sympathiser” And what do we? We've waited forever for an honest politician to come along but instead of getting behind him we bow to the establishment like good little workers. They whistle and we do a little dance for them. We run around like hypnotised robots repeating headlines we've read, all nodding and agreeing. Feeling really proud of ourselves because we think we've came up with our very own first political opinion. But we haven't, we haven't came up with anything. This is how you tell. No matter where someone lives in the country, they're repeating the same headlines, word for word. From Cornwall to Newcastle people are saying “he's a clown” “he’s a threat to the country” “she's strong and stable” “he'll take us back to the 70s” And there's nothing else, there's no further opinion. There's no evidence apart from 1 radio 5 interview that isn't even concrete evidence, he actually condemns the violence of both sides in the interview. Theres no data or studies or official reports to back anything up. Try and think really hard why you think he's a clown, other than the fact he looks like a geography teacher. (no offence geography teachers) Because he hasn't done anything clownish from what I've seen. And you're not on this planet if you think the establishment and the media aren't all in it together. You think Richard Branson, who's quietly winning NHS contracts, wants Corbyn in? You think Rupert Murdoch, who's currently trying to widen his media monopoly by buying sky outright, wants Jeremy in? You think the Barclay brothers, with their offshore residencies, want him in? You think Philip Green, who stole all the pensions from BHS workers and claims his wife owns Topshop because she lives in Monaco, wants Corbyn in? You think the politicians, both Labour and Tory, with their second homes and alcohol paid for by us, want him in? You think Starbucks, paying near zero tax, wants him in? You think bankers, with their multi million pound bonuses, want him in? And do you think they don't have contact with May? Or with the media? You honestly think that these millionaires and billionaires are the sort of people that go “ah well, easy come easy go, it was nice while it lasted”?? I wouldn't be if my personal fortune was at risk, I'd be straight on the phone to Theresa May or Rupert Murdoch demanding this gets sorted immediately. Because here's a man, a politician that doesn't lie, he can't lie, he could have said whatever would get him votes anytime he wanted but he hasn't. He lives in a normal house like us and uses the bus just like us. He's fought for justice and peace for nearly 40 years. He has no career ambitions. And his seat is untouchable. That's one of the greatest testimonies. No one comes close to removing him from his constituency, election after election. His Manifesto is fully costed. It all adds up, yes there's some borrowing but that's just to renationalise the railway, you know we already subsidise them and they make profit yeah? One more time… WE subsidise the railway companies and they walk away with a profit, just try and grasp the level of piss taking going on there. Unlike the tory manifesto with a £9 billion hole, their figures don't even add up. And it benefits all of us, young, old, working, disabled, everyone. The only people it hurts are the establishment, the rich, the bankers, the top 5% highest earners. Good, fuck them, it's long overdue."
#VoteLabour
Why the fuck is it long overdue to hurt the top 5pc of earners?
Fuck right off. I can understand to an extent animosity to corporations. Even understand the logic towards people having anger towards bankers though it is partially flawed.
But animosity towards people who have been more successful from an earnings perspective and have fought to gain a job that provides a certain quality of life to their family?
Fuck right off. That's plain old jealous politics at play there. Someone earns more than you so give them a kick.
Fucking total load of bollocks.
THATS the Labour that I hate right there. Almighty chip on its shoulder.
We have a country where the more the corporate hierarchy repress the wages of their workforce, and pay lip service to customer service, the better they are rewarded aided by uncompetitive practices. Scandinavian countries have a sense of a fair society. Ours was destroyed by 'loads of money' Thatcher selfishness. For decades the gap between rich and poor has been growing. If the rich have no concept of social responsibility, they must be taxed into awareness.
We have a country where the more the corporate hierarchy repress the wages of their workforce, and pay lip service to customer service, the better they are rewarded aided by uncompetitive practices. Scandinavian countries have a sense of a fair society. Ours was destroyed by 'loads of money' Thatcher selfishness. For decades the gap between rich and poor has been growing. If the rich have no concept of social responsibility, they must be taxed into awareness.
It isn't just us, it is across the world. I was having an interesting chat with some italians tonight - they hope Corbyn wins because the corporate world are scared of him. They have had the same as us, in the sense of a small number of people owning everything/global corporations and a drive to privitisation. It has become a very unequal society, like our own. Corbyn could be the saviour of not just us, but the rest of Europe and the world through example. The people like him are ready to come to the fore. We have to defeat this evil elite and get a fairer world and society. I say evil beacuse that is what they have become - they don't care about the planet being destroyed or people starving, as long as they get richer and richer. If Corbyn loses and the establishment supporters in the Labour party win control of the party, the solution will not come from us. Corbyn beat the system by becoming Labour leader. People like Blair would rather a Tory victory, despite what they might say.
Corbyn offers us a better path. A fairer way for all.The elite are not the rich, they are the mega rich. And they manipulate us for their own ends,
The bankers didn't cause the banking crisis, it was the public servants. Why is is acceptable that the number of families you can count on the fingers of one hand, earn more than the 20% poorest in our society? Not 5%, but 5 families. And they. like their fellow elite across teh world want more and more.
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
My job isn't 9-5 for starters.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
At the end of the day the system is massively weighted in the favour of those at the top, and if it's not them unduly influencing the system to make it that way then who is it?
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
My job isn't 9-5 for starters.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
The top 5% pay more? How? They probably have an offshore trust like Cameron, a previous PM skipping tax on an inheritance via a scam of his old man. Under current arrangements anyone earning over £45k pays the same rate as those earning millions apart from the fact that the latter have tax avoidance schemes in place.
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
My job isn't 9-5 for starters.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
The top 5% pay more? How? They probably have an offshore trust like Cameron, a previous PM skipping tax on an inheritance via a scam y his old man. Under current arrangements anyone earning over £45k pays the same rate as those earning millions apart from the fact that the latter have tax avoidance zchemes in place.
Incorrect, Just on basic income tax, 150k+ pay 45% for earnings over that figure not 40%, earnings between 100k and approximately 123k are taxed at 60% not 40% due to removal of the tax free allowance. You can look at softer tax or allowances, child benefit which drop away at 60k, allowable pension contributions (with tax credit) which also drop away above 150k.
Theres a clear case that more tax needs to be collected in this country and a debate as to where that should be, but don't assume the top 5% are somehow all in some sort of tax avoidance scam, i doubt it's even 0.5 of a % nor do they pay the same rate as someone earning 45k.
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
My job isn't 9-5 for starters.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
I'd like to address a few points made here...
Firstly, I am also lucky enough to be a very high earner, well in excess of the 80K mark and I consider myself incredibly privileged to be in that position.
At election time here in Oz we have the exact same debate as is being played out here and in my current position I find myself unable to begrudge paying extra tax if I were required to do so.
I mean, think about it for second, if you are earning 25,000 quid PA then you are earning four times more than the average person on the planet...(this takes into account purchasing power)
....if you are earning 100,000 then you are earning 15 times more than the average person and are almost certainly in the top 2-3% of earners on a global basis.
So, if it came to it and I were asked to cough up another 400 quid per month to help create a more balanced society then - looking at the fact that I am still left with a very, very large net income every month then I don't think I'd make too much of a fuss about it as long as the money was spent wisely on health and education and not wasted on LGBTI outreach workers in the fucking Shetland Isles.
To be quite clear I would never vote for Labour whilst Corbyn is leader but his taxation policies would be a long, long way down my list of concerns about his fitness to govern.
I don't like the 'Fuck the Rich' mantra either, most wealthy people earned their money legitimately - although there is also plenty of inherited wealth and ill-gotten gains from dodgy financial dealings out there too.
What is really fueling resentment among working class people is not the fact that some people are earning good money, it is more the fact that the wealthy are then able to use that money to make even more money whilst those at the lower end are seeing their incomes decline, we saw this in the US election with Trump - of all fucking people - talking about a 'rigged economy' and that really resonated with people.
Nobody wants to see a return to the 1970s style ridiculous income tax rates, people do need an incentive to get on and do well, but there is no getting away from the fact that the UK is in a financial hole and HM Government needs to find a way out of that hole that doesn't solely rely on cutting spending on key services.
I think the problem is most of the top 5% don't realise how much society has helped them to reach the level that they have.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
My job isn't 9-5 for starters.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
To be in the job you're in means you've obviously got talent and worked hard, and I remember you mentioning on here you've worked your way up from the bottom. I'm 100% with Ormiston Addick though. The top (both income and corporates) need to pay more to help fund a fairer society. Yes, that money (your hard earned money) needs to be spent sensibly and fairly, and what we spend our money on and how we regulate it to make sure benefits scrounges etc don't abuse the system is massively important.
The more money you have, the more choice and options you have and the more opportunity you have to get richer. I get that we have some good success stories of individuals who worked their way up from nothing etc, but for every one of those, there are 1000s who never will.
I do believe to an extent if you want it hard enough you will get it, but I bet there are a number of us who everyday go out and do our very best and work as hard as we can (to me that's wanting it), but we can't all have it.
I'm reminded of rob7lee's example of his mate a few pages back who was contracted or self employed or something. Think he said his earnings were circa £300k but paid minimal amount of tax. Doesn't seem fair or proportionate to me. I would imagine there are 1000s of others like this up and down the land that can play our system like a benefits cheat, but just at the other end of the scale.
Comments
A more centre ground leader would've (I believe) had an ok but uninspiring manifesto - I imagine I probably would've voted Green instead of Labour as I did in 2015, for example. I don't really believe that would've been enough to beat the Tories either.
Both of them should have the guts to distance themselves from liabilities like BJ and Abbott.
Nothing to do with Brexit
I was campaigning in my local area yesterday but still getting occasional comments from people in the street who believe the nonsense being fed them by the mainstream media.Out of desperation to try and prevent ordinary people from voting against their best interests I plead with you to read the following:
"Here's what I'm really struggling to understand...
All I've ever heard from people, for years, is
"bloody bankers and their bonuses"
"bloody rich and their offshore tax havens "
"bloody politicians with their lying and second homes"
“bloody corporations paying less tax than me”
"bloody Establishment, they're all in it together”
“it'll never change, there's no point in voting”
And quite rightly so, I said all the same things.
But then someone comes along that's different. He upsets the bankers and the rich.
The Tory politicians hate him along with most of the Labour politicians. The corporations throw more money at the politicians to keep him quiet. And the Establishment is visibly shaken. I've never seen the Establishment so genuinely scared of a single person.
So the media arm of the establishment gets involved. Theresa phones Rupert asking what he can do, and he tells her to keep her mouth shut, don't do the live debate, he'll sort this out. So the media goes into overdrive with…
“she's strong and stable”
“he's a clown”
“he's not a leader”
“look he can't even control his own party”
“he'll ruin the economy”
“how's he gonna pay for it all?!”
“AND he's a terrorist sympathiser, burn him, burn the terrorist sympathiser”
And what do we? We've waited forever for an honest politician to come along but instead of getting behind him we bow to the establishment like good little workers. They whistle and we do a little dance for them.
We run around like hypnotised robots repeating headlines we've read, all nodding and agreeing. Feeling really proud of ourselves because we think we've came up with our very own first political opinion. But we haven't, we haven't came up with anything. This is how you tell. No matter where someone lives in the country, they're repeating the same headlines, word for word. From Cornwall to Newcastle people are saying
“he's a clown”
“he’s a threat to the country”
“she's strong and stable”
“he'll take us back to the 70s”
And there's nothing else, there's no further opinion. There's no evidence apart from 1 radio 5 interview that isn't even concrete evidence, he actually condemns the violence of both sides in the interview. Theres no data or studies or official reports to back anything up. Try and think really hard why you think he's a clown, other than the fact he looks like a geography teacher. (no offence geography teachers) Because he hasn't done anything clownish from what I've seen.
And you're not on this planet if you think the establishment and the media aren't all in it together.
You think Richard Branson, who's quietly winning NHS contracts, wants Corbyn in?
You think Rupert Murdoch, who's currently trying to widen his media monopoly by buying sky outright, wants Jeremy in?
You think the Barclay brothers, with their offshore residencies, want him in?
You think Philip Green, who stole all the pensions from BHS workers and claims his wife owns Topshop because she lives in Monaco, wants Corbyn in?
You think the politicians, both Labour and Tory, with their second homes and alcohol paid for by us, want him in?
You think Starbucks, paying near zero tax, wants him in?
You think bankers, with their multi million pound bonuses, want him in?
And do you think they don't have contact with May? Or with the media? You honestly think that these millionaires and billionaires are the sort of people that go “ah well, easy come easy go, it was nice while it lasted”?? I wouldn't be if my personal fortune was at risk, I'd be straight on the phone to Theresa May or Rupert Murdoch demanding this gets sorted immediately.
Because here's a man, a politician that doesn't lie, he can't lie, he could have said whatever would get him votes anytime he wanted but he hasn't. He lives in a normal house like us and uses the bus just like us.
He's fought for justice and peace for nearly 40 years. He has no career ambitions. And his seat is untouchable. That's one of the greatest testimonies. No one comes close to removing him from his constituency, election after election.
His Manifesto is fully costed. It all adds up, yes there's some borrowing but that's just to renationalise the railway, you know we already subsidise them and they make profit yeah? One more time… WE subsidise the railway companies and they walk away with a profit, just try and grasp the level of piss taking going on there. Unlike the tory manifesto with a £9 billion hole, their figures don't even add up.
And it benefits all of us, young, old, working, disabled, everyone.
The only people it hurts are the establishment, the rich, the bankers, the top 5% highest earners.
Good, fuck them, it's long overdue."
#VoteLabour
'So, Theresa, what was it about your 25 point lead in the polls that led you to call an election?'
She was sitting on a 3-0 lead at half time, and thinks the very worst that can happen is a 3-2 win, secretly expecting to go on and win 5-0.
If Theresa May doesn't get something like a 60 seat overall majority from her starting position it would have been a pretty bad decision.
This is the person upon whose judgement we are expected to trust with the mysteries of the Brexit negotiations.
I can see it now.
On a Thursday sometime during the negotiations:
'Ladies and gentlemen of Europe, don't you dare think that the UK is going to pay you a £100 billion cheque for this Brexit shenanigans, not blimmin likely mes freundes'.
The following Monday:
'Where do we sign?'
Vote Monster Raving Loony
Fuck right off. I can understand to an extent animosity to corporations. Even understand the logic towards people having anger towards bankers though it is partially flawed.
But animosity towards people who have been more successful from an earnings perspective and have fought to gain a job that provides a certain quality of life to their family?
Fuck right off. That's plain old jealous politics at play there. Someone earns more than you so give them a kick.
Fucking total load of bollocks.
THATS the Labour that I hate right there. Almighty chip on its shoulder.
Corbyn offers us a better path. A fairer way for all.The elite are not the rich, they are the mega rich. And they manipulate us for their own ends,
Why is it long overdue to fuck the top 5pc of earners?
Nobody has answered that.
They haven't done anything other than earn more than 95pc of the country.
They haven't ever been blamed for causing an economic crisis like people tried to blame the bankers
They haven't engaged in animal cruelty
They haven't really done anything.
Why is it acceptable to just say fuck someone based on what they earn?
It's not okay.
But the taxing is overdue.
Sure they 'worked hard', but no harder than anyone else in a decent 9-5 job. Anyone that truly believes you can transform yourself out of poverty into earning £70,000+ just from hard work is living in a dream world.
The education, job opportunities, healthcare, transport services, housing all available to them for far cheaper than it is in today's world.
Why shouldn't they pay a little extra back to the country that has helped them enjoy the comforts that they do? So that the next generation maybe can follow in their footsteps.
I start at about 7:30 in the morning and usually get home at 10 or 11. So I don't see my kids 5 days a week.
There are plenty of other people who are less fortunate than me - in terms of earnings and hours.
But my sacrifice is seeing my kids less than a friend of mine who is in shared custody of his children after splitting from his wife.
And in terms of pay a little extra back. We have had this discussion. We already have a fair and proportionate tax system. The top 5pc already pay a lot more.
Theres a clear case that more tax needs to be collected in this country and a debate as to where that should be, but don't assume the top 5% are somehow all in some sort of tax avoidance scam, i doubt it's even 0.5 of a % nor do they pay the same rate as someone earning 45k.
Firstly, I am also lucky enough to be a very high earner, well in excess of the 80K mark and I consider myself incredibly privileged to be in that position.
At election time here in Oz we have the exact same debate as is being played out here and in my current position I find myself unable to begrudge paying extra tax if I were required to do so.
I mean, think about it for second, if you are earning 25,000 quid PA then you are earning four times more than the average person on the planet...(this takes into account purchasing power)
http://www.bbc.com/news/magazine-17512040
....if you are earning 100,000 then you are earning 15 times more than the average person and are almost certainly in the top 2-3% of earners on a global basis.
So, if it came to it and I were asked to cough up another 400 quid per month to help create a more balanced society then - looking at the fact that I am still left with a very, very large net income every month then I don't think I'd make too much of a fuss about it as long as the money was spent wisely on health and education and not wasted on LGBTI outreach workers in the fucking Shetland Isles.
To be quite clear I would never vote for Labour whilst Corbyn is leader but his taxation policies would be a long, long way down my list of concerns about his fitness to govern.
I don't like the 'Fuck the Rich' mantra either, most wealthy people earned their money legitimately - although there is also plenty of inherited wealth and ill-gotten gains from dodgy financial dealings out there too.
What is really fueling resentment among working class people is not the fact that some people are earning good money, it is more the fact that the wealthy are then able to use that money to make even more money whilst those at the lower end are seeing their incomes decline, we saw this in the US election with Trump - of all fucking people - talking about a 'rigged economy' and that really resonated with people.
Nobody wants to see a return to the 1970s style ridiculous income tax rates, people do need an incentive to get on and do well, but there is no getting away from the fact that the UK is in a financial hole and HM Government needs to find a way out of that hole that doesn't solely rely on cutting spending on key services.
The more money you have, the more choice and options you have and the more opportunity you have to get richer. I get that we have some good success stories of individuals who worked their way up from nothing etc, but for every one of those, there are 1000s who never will.
I do believe to an extent if you want it hard enough you will get it, but I bet there are a number of us who everyday go out and do our very best and work as hard as we can (to me that's wanting it), but we can't all have it.
I'm reminded of rob7lee's example of his mate a few pages back who was contracted or self employed or something. Think he said his earnings were circa £300k but paid minimal amount of tax. Doesn't seem fair or proportionate to me. I would imagine there are 1000s of others like this up and down the land that can play our system like a benefits cheat, but just at the other end of the scale.