Politics at Westminster | BREAKING: UKIP

Fracking ell

Big decision on fracking due today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37567866

I'll be honest and say I don't have a particularly strong opinion either way (though as with most relatively new extraction techniques I suspect we would get a much better yield if we left it in the ground for another ten or twenty years)

I do think the government will probably say yes though which will to say the least be unpopular in some constituencies
 
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Dobba said:
Just fixing that for you.
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Your beloved Corbyn isn't offering much beyond the status quo of a few years past, and he would describe himself as a believer. But then it could be argued that our politicians are a but a mirror to the public's sentiments on the matter.

While UKIP has demonstrated the potential of a predominantly single-issue party, the Greens' amateurish manifestos don't have a who can reach out to voters as Farage has done. Nor do i see their message improving greatly between now and 2020, sadly.
 
sun_tzu said:
Fracking ell

Big decision on fracking due today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37567866

I'll be honest and say I don't have a particularly strong opinion either way (though as with most relatively new extraction techniques I suspect we would get a much better yield if we left it in the ground for another ten or twenty years)

I do think the government will probably say yes though which will to say the least be unpopular in some constituencies
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yup... approved
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37567866
 
Smores said:
If they wanted to put business before the public's opinion they could have bloody started with Brexit.

Ah well if this is the route the tories are going to go down then there might be votes in it for Labour. Although saying that i doubt there's many that will be approved in tory areas
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I think they will pretty much all be in rural areas - so probably mostly tory?
Though constituencies are large and shale extraction sites not especially so
 
sun_tzu said:
I think they will pretty much all be in rural areas - so probably mostly tory?
Though constituencies are large and shale extraction sites not especially so
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Whilst there is exploration i believe in Kent and Sussex it'll be mostly Northern areas that actually get approval.

Pretty sure Cameron or Osbournes relative who is a tory peer and lobbyist said something to the effect of only put them in the desolute north a year or two back. They won't risk tory heartland votes.
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
Your beloved Corbyn isn't offering much beyond the status quo of a few years past, and he would describe himself as a believer. But then it could be argued that our politicians are a but a mirror to the public's sentiments on the matter.
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https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-of-labours-new-green-agenda?CMP=share_btn_tw

While I'm one of those 'mad lefties' that would like it to go further, if that isn't "much beyond the status quo" you're a hard person to please.
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
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Now that he's reportedly okay i think its safe to mention that it sounds like he deserved it. Politicians taking people outside for a scrap ffs.

Good to see UKIP falling apart. I can imagine we'll hear more of whats gone on and why "insert UKIP Female leader" quit.
 
Dobba said:
https://www.theguardian.com/environ...-of-labours-new-green-agenda?CMP=share_btn_tw

While I'm one of those 'mad lefties' that would like it to go further, if that isn't "much beyond the status quo" you're a hard person to please.
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We've heard talk about increasing the capacity of the renewable sector before, without further detail there is no reason to believe that Corbyn will be any more effective. The home insulation is the revival of previous policy not without its benefits. Although i personally think the scheme should be switched from insulating foam to solar panels.

I've long been an advocate of devolving power generation, so he starts well there. Only the idea goes a bit off the rails with the establishment or regional based state-run utilities.

It's better than it might be, yet still falls short IMO.

Controversially for someone i do also think we have to accept a role for nuclear energy. What is your opinion on nuclear?
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
We've heard talk about increasing the capacity of the renewable sector before, without further detail there is no reason to believe that Corbyn will be any more effective. The home insulation is the revival of previous policy not without its benefits. Although i personally think the scheme should be switched from insulating foam to solar panels.

I've long been an advocate of devolving power generation, so he starts well there. Only the idea goes a bit off the rails with the establishment or regional based state-run utilities.

It's better than it might be, yet still falls short IMO.

Controversially for someone i do also think we have to accept a role for nuclear energy. What is your opinion on nuclear?
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It needs both. Too much of the focus on reducing CO2 emissions is on supply (e.g. renewable energy sources, electrification of fossil fuel infrastructure, etc) and not enough on demand (reducing energy consumption). Both are necessary for successfully tackling climate change. Large scale home insulation/retrofitting is an all around win as it provides a lot of low skilled work, can drastically reduce fuel poverty, and is also a very progressive environmental policy.
 
sun_tzu said:
Fracking ell

Big decision on fracking due today

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-lancashire-37567866

I'll be honest and say I don't have a particularly strong opinion either way (though as with most relatively new extraction techniques I suspect we would get a much better yield if we left it in the ground for another ten or twenty years)

I do think the government will probably say yes though which will to say the least be unpopular in some constituencies
Click to expand...

We are already at the point where we need to leave currently explored reserves in the ground if we are going to successfully mitigate devastating climate change. Fracking is just terrible short-termist energy policy at this point.
 
Dobba said:
May makes Flashman Dave look like Mark Labbett when it comes to answering questions.
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She's terrible isnt she. Although that might be a tad unfair, most leaders take a while to get a handle on PMQs. Unfortunately for her Brexit means she has no time to find her feet really.

Corbyn has improved lately but so has the message which is good to see.
 
The polling is just completely nuts. The Brexit process is a complete shitshow and yet the Conservatives' lead increases.
 
The good news is that, UKIP seem to be on he slide. The bad news is that they seem to have gone to the Tories. On balance, that's a worse effect because it moves the government to the right. Can't remember that sort of a lead since before e GE in 2010.
 
It'll be Brown levels of dumb if she doesn't call an election next year.
 
Adisa said:
The good news is that, UKIP seem to be on he slide. The bad news is that they seem to have gone to the Tories. On balance, that's a worse effect because it moves the government to the right. Can't remember that sort of a lead since before e GE in 2010.
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May made a deliberate move to get those votes, also worth saying that after the announcement at the Tory conference about asking firms to list the number of foreign workers, a poll came out finding that the British people(At least the ones polled)were in favour of such a policy.
 
How the feck is a party that has been in government for 6 years, 18 fecking points ahead in the polls despite austerity and the economy barely growing?
 
Ubik said:
It'll be Brown levels of dumb if she doesn't call an election next year.
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I'm not sure. The Conservatives might look at it as: We can easily beat Corbyn whenever. By holding a snap election we get rid of Corbyn and move Labour's next winnable election from 2025 to 2022.

I don't share the analysis that Corbyn could never win, and certainly not the analysis that Labour cannot win in 2020 (I don't consider those two statements identical - so much can happen between now and then). But if one predicts that Corbyn will lead Labour until the next GE, and that a Corbyn led Labour will be such an electoral flop that a Conservative win is inevitable, an early election is the dumb call.
 
Untied said:
I'm not sure. The Conservatives might look at it as: We can easily beat Corbyn whenever. By holding a snap election we get rid of Corbyn and move Labour's next winnable election from 2025 to 2022.

I don't share the analysis that Corbyn could never win, and certainly not the analysis that Labour cannot win in 2020 (I don't consider those two statements identical - so much can happen between now and then). But if one predicts that Corbyn will lead Labour until the next GE, and that a Corbyn led Labour will be such an electoral flop that a Conservative win is inevitable, an early election is the dumb call.
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Her popularity isn't going to stay positive for that long, she has hordes of mad backbenchers and a tiny majority, and a high likelihood of an economic shock the year before the next election is due. If the 18% lead isn't a one-off, you have the chance to reduce Labour to their lowest parliamentary level for nearly 100 years and kill off UKIP in the process, I'm not sure why you wouldn't take it. Bird in the hand, etc.
 
If i were May i'd want to have at least one Autumn Statement and one March budget under my belt, so as to more clearly differentiate her administration from that of Cameron and Osborne. And if the Commons (headed by Labour) can be shown to be impeding Brexit, the Tories should also garner some of those Labour-UKIP voters.

It's still a bit weird seeing the Lib Dems on such low single digits, but then Farron is probably the worst leader they've ever had.
 
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Untied said:
I'm not sure. The Conservatives might look at it as: We can easily beat Corbyn whenever. By holding a snap election we get rid of Corbyn and move Labour's next winnable election from 2025 to 2022.

I don't share the analysis that Corbyn could never win, and certainly not the analysis that Labour cannot win in 2020 (I don't consider those two statements identical - so much can happen between now and then). But if one predicts that Corbyn will lead Labour until the next GE, and that a Corbyn led Labour will be such an electoral flop that a Conservative win is inevitable, an early election is the dumb call.
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It's still a terrible call. There are so many totally unpredictable events between now and then (along with a couple of very predictable ones, like the possibility of an economic crash after Brexit actually happens) that just assuming you've got it in the bag this far ahead would be insane levels of overconfidence. If they had any sense, they'd have called the election for prior to Article 50 being invoked, ensuring they were in office with a big majority prior to any negative shockwaves, and giving them grounds to claim a nearly unshakable mandate for it so they can spread the blame if it all goes terribly wrong. Hard to blame the government if they were elected on the basis of doing that exact thing just a month or two earlier.
 
Nick 0208 Ldn said:
If i were May i'd want to have at least one Autumn Statement and one March budget under my belt, so as to more clearly differentiate her administration from that of Cameron and Osborne. And if the Commons (headed by Labour) can be shown to be impeding Brexit, the Tories should also garner some of those Labour-UKIP voters.

It's still a bit weird seeing the Lib Dems on such low single digits, but then Farron is probably the worst leader they've ever had.
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I would have expected them to capture more of the 48%. But as you say, Farron is not inspiring at all.
 
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