UK XI: I Want To Ride My Diecycle

[Nu-Eclipse]

Starmer says he is ‘really pleased’ supreme court has given ‘much-needed clarity’ on definition of ‘woman’ in equalities law – UK politics live

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Death (by benefits cuts and pensioners freezing), taxes (for working people going up while the rich and corporations continue to get off) and Keir Starmer continuing to u-turn.

All inevitable.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/apr/23/pmqs-uk-politics-live-keir-starmer-kemi-badenoch-conservatives-labour-reform

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2025/apr/23/uk-annual-borrowing-exceeds-forecasts-rachel-reeves

[Nu-Eclipse]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-labour-reform

We all know she won't sack him.

The cat is out of the bag. This was always how the Tories were going to try to return to power.

I'll say it yet again: this absolutely gives Reform a path to power in this country, especially if Labour continue to **** things up.

[Neon Ignition]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics/live/2025/apr/23/pmqs-uk-politics-live-keir-starmer-kemi-badenoch-conservatives-labour-reform

Ofwat investigating ‘rip-off’ cost of water firms’ infrastructure works | Water industry | The Guardian

[fishbowlhead]

https://www.theguardian.com/politics...-labour-reform

Ofwat investigating ‘rip-off’ cost of water firms’ infrastructure works | Water industry | The Guardian

Which will need a committee put together of course, at the cost of £4b, headed by friends of the water companies of course, finding absolutely nothing wrong whatsoever after a 9 year investigation so everyone has forgotten, of course.

[Anpanman]

The point no-one talks about which winds me up though is the compound increase over time which is what has happened with rail tickets. The extra for upgrades should be kept separate but it's bundled into the overall bill so you are paying a percent increase for that forever.

[fishbowlhead]

The point no-one talks about which winds me up though is the compound increase over time which is what has happened with rail tickets. The extra for upgrades should be kept separate but it's bundled into the overall bill so you are paying a percent increase for that forever.

Don’t forget about the interest on the loans as well, every part of state built companies were debt free, owned their land, building, assets, and run as a utility should be. Every brick is now so debt laden with so much interest that it would never ever be paid off, ever.

The only solution to all this is complete bankruptcy and immediate seizure by the government of all water operators effectively immediately, mainly to clear the debt.

Seizure of all directors and major shareholders passports, assets, bank accounts, cars, houses, all companies in their name, as a start.

Jail terms for the lesser board members, anyone complicit in this absurd lunacy would face at least jail terms, with worst offenders who came up and signed off on things would need to face corporal punishment with lasting repercussions.

[Asura]

The only solution to all this is complete bankruptcy and immediate seizure by the government of all water operators effectively immediately, mainly to clear the debt.

The problem, if you believe the economists, is that this will have ramifications.

Firstly, the companies are huge and public traded; apparently pension funds and other investment funds are heavily invested in them, meaning that a forfeiture might crash numerous private pension funds and tank peoples' savings and mortgage providers.

Secondly, the righteous (and just, let me add, because it absolutely would be) act of punishing those responsible would apparently kill investment in the UK from overseas interests (who also stand to lose from the forfeiture). Basically, this is admitting the entire world of finance is crooked (which it is, we all know it is, they're all criminals whose ethical crimes are all committed within the letter of the law).

[fishbowlhead]

The problem, if you believe the economists, is that this will have ramifications.

Firstly, the companies are huge and public traded; apparently pension funds and other investment funds are heavily invested in them, meaning that a forfeiture might crash numerous private pension funds and tank peoples' savings and mortgage providers.

Secondly, the righteous (and just, let me add, because it absolutely would be) act of punishing those responsible would apparently kill investment in the UK from overseas interests (who also stand to lose from the forfeiture). Basically, this is admitting the entire world of finance is crooked (which it is, we all know it is, they're all criminals whose ethical crimes are all committed within the letter of the law).

I doubt it would crash any pensions linked, because the companies (all of them) are already insolvent and running at a massive loss due to the debt loans and interest anyway, if the pensions crashed, they should already have done so long ago, because the company’s in question are in the red constantly and on life support anyway. So if they haven’t, it’s because someone hasn’t pressed the button on purpose leaving it as a threat against any possible public take back.

F that, and F them and F the stock markets.

Take it all back and start again.

[Neon Ignition]

There needs to be more major economic moves made by Labour. They might live in constant fear of it but more industries need re-nationalising - particularly water where yesterday it was being reported on the continued efforts by water companies to push for even further price increases to go beyond the near £500m repair bill to fix something Denmark fixed for less than £20m. I get the idea of having to coax favour with big businesses to make them invest in the UK but we need to stop pandering to every big business. Put in core infrastructure safeguards and make use of private companies where it makes sense.

The very idea that millions upon millions of people cannot buy a home - not enough homes exist - yet we aren't allowing companies to knock them up left, right and centre is insane. We're actively resisting supply and demand. If you build the homes it's natural that infrastructure will come with it as its literally required. That drives demand in for other services etc locally. But no, we'll just let a limited stock of old houses spiral upward and then sctroke our chins pondering why no growth is flowing in etc.

Same with immigration - hire some damned admin workers. It's primarily an admin issue, get through the checks faster and once cleared you will have a hell of a smaller issue both in terms of tackling numbers and in Reforms tired rants

[QualityChimp]

Reform had a party political broadcast after the 6pm BBC News last night.
Farage boils my piss.
They also had a load of coverage about the coalition thing.

They're going to get so much more traction with each incoming election as the press loves them and the clicks they get when they talk about them.

I hate how the Lib Dems are reduced to doing stunts to get any sort of coverage and the Greens might as well not exist if you believed the UK press.

Anything Labour can be doing to cut off their arguments (the boats were the point of the PPB), they need to look at.

[Nu-Eclipse]

I hate how the Lib Dems are reduced to doing stunts to get any sort of coverage

They've only got themselves to blame for that.

They helped to enable a lot of the Tory austerity sh1t that has done profound damage to this country when they were in the Coalition Government. They wilfully chose to do so.

Easy to see why the electorate don't really trust them anymore.

[Asura]

They've only got themselves to blame for that.

Frankly, part of me thinks they need to call it a day and establish a new political party altogether, truthfully blame Clegg for assassinating the party, and start over.

I will never vote for them, because the one time I did, their leader effectively signed a written promise on a policy that really mattered to me, and they reneged on it. I've since paid off my student loan, so I'm literally many thousands of pounds worse off.

[Nu-Eclipse]

The very idea that millions upon millions of people cannot buy a home - not enough homes exist - yet we aren't allowing companies to knock them up left, right and centre is insane. We're actively resisting supply and demand. If you build the homes it's natural that infrastructure will come with it as its literally required. That drives demand in for other services etc locally. But no, we'll just let a limited stock of old houses spiral upward and then sctroke our chins pondering why no growth is flowing in etc.

You talk as if said companies will make these new build homes socially affordable.

Newsflash: they won't.

[Neon Ignition]

They definitely won't but I'd loosen planning restrictions enough to eventually be spending a few years flooding the market. The pent up demand is propping the prices heavily and if that lessened then price increases would have to slow to keep sales moving. There's just a dire need for the Government to bite the bullet and funnel money hard into core infrastructure and living essentials, otherwise they'll never get traction to fix anything else as demand for everything across the board is far too high for the demand and absolutely nothing anyone ever does about immigration is going to move the needle on it.