Question Time & This Week

Where in London was that supposed to be?

Enjoyed the bit where Oakeshott, outraged at the suggestion that anti-immigration sentiment may in fact have a xenophobic element to it, gets asked about the "go home" vans and replies "that was years ago".
 
There always seems to be some pointless SNP politician on this program
When is it in Manchester?
We need to start a campaign to get Mata on the show
 
711 said:
Vote Leave was cross-party. That worked out well.
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Fair point. I just think that certain policy areas, that need to be long-term in outlook by definition, such as healthcare and pensions, need cross-party consensus. I've had the misfortune of writing about pensions policy at different points over the years, and it really isn't suited to the five year parliament cycle. People auto-enrolled into a pension at 20 are now on a 50, or thereabouts, year path generally to retirement, before drawing that pension. Tinkering with the rules every five years, particularly when very few save enough anyway, is really unhelpful, undermining confidence in the regime. The government is widely expected to reduce the tax incentives for higher rate payers in the Budget on Monday too. Muddled strategy.
 
Jippy said:
Fair point. I just think that certain policy areas, that need to be long-term in outlook by definition, such as healthcare and pensions, need cross-party consensus. I've had the misfortune of writing about pensions policy at different points over the years, and it really isn't suited to the five year parliament cycle. People auto-enrolled into a pension at 20 are now on a 50, or thereabouts, year path generally to retirement, before drawing that pension. Tinkering with the rules every five years, particularly when very few save enough anyway, is really unhelpful, undermining confidence in the regime. The government is widely expected to reduce the tax incentives for higher rate payers in the Budget on Monday too. Muddled strategy.
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Having no long-term planning is Britain's problem. Thatcher and the right-wing loon economists were happy to see whole industries that supplied the public sector disappear, along with their jobs, so long as in the short-term they could save buying abroad. Private companies worry about today's dividends and share price, not so much where they'll be in ten or more years time.

I agree about healthcare and pensions, but add transport, power generation, defence and the rest. Strangely I'm not too worried about higher rate tax payers pensions, they can tinker about with that annually for me, I'm pretty sure they can look after themselves and it's keeping your lot in work after all.
 
711 said:
Having no long-term planning is Britain's problem. Thatcher and the right-wing loon economists were happy to see whole industries that supplied the public sector disappear, along with their jobs, so long as in the short-term they could save buying abroad. Private companies worry about today's dividends and share price, not so much where they'll be in ten or more years time.

I agree about healthcare and pensions, but add transport, power generation, defence and the rest. Strangely I'm not too worried about higher rate tax payers pensions, they can tinker about with that annually for me, I'm pretty sure they can look after themselves and it's keeping your lot in work after all.
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Not sure that's really just a British problem - short-term thinking tends to be prevalent in most countries partly because governments are encourage to find immediate solutions to things that'll keep them in power instead of doing what's best for the country, and partly because humans in general can often be short-term creatures who like to act impulsively and immediately.
 
711 said:
Having no long-term planning is Britain's problem. Thatcher and the right-wing loon economists were happy to see whole industries that supplied the public sector disappear, along with their jobs, so long as in the short-term they could save buying abroad. Private companies worry about today's dividends and share price, not so much where they'll be in ten or more years time.

I agree about healthcare and pensions, but add transport, power generation, defence and the rest. Strangely I'm not too worried about higher rate tax payers pensions, they can tinker about with that annually for me, I'm pretty sure they can look after themselves and it's keeping your lot in work after all.
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I agree with you on infrastructure, utilities etc...I guess making it all cross-party would make any government hamstrung and inert. It just feels like certain things do need multi-generational planning, particularly things like social security and healthcare, which are two of the most expensive government departments.

Saying this, can you imagine trying to get cross-party agreement on Brexit, when both parties are fundamentally split on the issue?
 
Cheesy said:
Not sure that's really just a British problem - short-term thinking tends to be prevalent in most countries partly because governments are encourage to find immediate solutions to things that'll keep them in power instead of doing what's best for the country, and partly because humans in general can often be short-term creatures who like to act impulsively and immediately.
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Not just British, but where's our equivalent of Germany blocking company takeover by foreigners, or France aiming to ensure at least one world-class company in every field, or China planning strategically to ensure resources across the world for decades ahead?
 
Jippy said:
I agree with you on infrastructure, utilities etc...I guess making it all cross-party would make any government hamstrung and inert. It just feels like certain things do need multi-generational planning, particularly things like social security and healthcare, which are two of the most expensive government departments.

Saying this, can you imagine trying to get cross-party agreement on Brexit, when both parties are fundamentally split on the issue?
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I know, I was tongue in cheek referring to Vote Leave, sorry. Maybe there's a case for PR and more coalition governments. I've generally been against them, but lately I've thought we were actually quite fortunate to have the Libs toning down Cameron's mates, even if they didn't win any popularity by doing so; and if we have to have Corbyn and McDonnell I'd rather have them in a coalition than in total power. (shudder).
 
711 said:
Not just British, but where's our equivalent of Germany blocking company takeover by foreigners, or France aiming to ensure at least one world-class company in every field, or China planning strategically to ensure resources across the world for decades ahead?
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Certain countries may have some long-term planning in some areas but they're hardly devoid of their own problems, and plenty of them aren't exactly teeming with ideas when it comes to addressing long-term issues like climate change and automation.

China doesn't exactly strike me as an ideal model - they're slipping further and further towards greater authoritarianism under Xi, and violate a ton of human rights in tackling dissidents and targeting minority groups. They may be able to plan for the long-term to a greater extent under a leader with absolute authority but the pitfalls are also potentially greater if things go wrong because there isn't anyone to hold Xi to account or challenge him if he does make critical errors. Here we may struggle to think ahead for the long-term, but the benefit of inconclusiveness and political division is that it makes it difficult for any one individual to push through disastrous legislation or reform without their moves being tackled or stopped.
 
Cheesy said:
Certain countries may have some long-term planning in some areas but they're hardly devoid of their own problems, and plenty of them aren't exactly teeming with ideas when it comes to addressing long-term issues like climate change and automation.

China doesn't exactly strike me as an ideal model - they're slipping further and further towards greater authoritarianism under Xi, and violate a ton of human rights in tackling dissidents and targeting minority groups. They may be able to plan for the long-term to a greater extent under a leader with absolute authority but the pitfalls are also potentially greater if things go wrong because there isn't anyone to hold Xi to account or challenge him if he does make critical errors. Here we may struggle to think ahead for the long-term, but the benefit of inconclusiveness and political division is that it makes it difficult for any one individual to push through disastrous legislation or reform without their moves being tackled or stopped.
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I wasn't mentioning those countries in some sort of attempt to prove they had all-round better systems, I was trying to show that it is possible for a nation to plan ahead long-term, as it seems to me we don't.
 
esmufc07 said:
This Tory MP is a bit of a nob, isn't she?
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Very biased tonight. Tory woman allowed to speak longer than anyone else and interrupt at will, whenever someone else spoke the camera broke to show her and her expressions, but rarely the other way round. Gardiner, who I personally think is completely useless, was hardly allowed to get a sentence out without interruption from her or Dimbleby. A shame, I thought the program had become fairer over the last year or so.
 
Fair fecks to Claire Perry, she went on to do an absolutely thankless task and still managed to do a worse job than I thought possible.

But it sort of sums up the state of the country.
 
711 said:
Sometimes I think that, and sometimes I wish I could stay sober long enough to know what the feck was going on, but in general it is an entertaining program, if you're into politics at all, and maybe a bit even if you're not.
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I hear you. I'm swilling down a bastard Bud cos room service ran out of Corona. I thought it would be interesting tonight, but hell, being in Cancun trumps watching it


How many times was 'will of the people' spouted?
 
Monty Python's Life of Britain.
 
Ubik said:
Fair fecks to Claire Perry, she went on to do an absolutely thankless task and still managed to do a worse job than I thought possible.

But it sort of sums up the state of the country.
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She just openly accused Corbyn of being an Anti-Semite on live TV. I wouldn't be surprised if the idiot was sued for defamation of character
 
Jippy said:
I hear you. I'm swilling down a bastard Bud cos room service ran out of Corona. I thought it would be interesting tonight, but hell, being in Cancun trumps watching it


How many times was 'will of the people' spouted?
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It's late, too late for Corona late, only shite beer left late, even at Lulus. Speaking of shite, apparently half the people in Mexico shit in the open air, the dry climate desiccates it, and the wind blows the resultant microscopic shitty dust over everything you touch, which is why you're a dead man walking, as far as intense diarrhoea goes. I'm almost glad I can't afford to go their. Almost.
 
711 said:
It's late, too late for Corona late, only shite beer left late, even at Lulus. Speaking of shite, apparently half the people in Mexico shit in the open air, the dry climate desiccates it, and the wind blows the resultant microscopic shitty dust over everything you touch, which is why you're a dead man walking, as far as intense diarrhoea goes. I'm almost glad I can't afford to go their. Almost.
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Last time I came here I got a bug that led to me not producing a solid shit for a fortnight.

I do have a can of Delirium Tremens from NOLA as a Belgian antedote to this US piss when I get back to my room at least.
 
So on QT last night Claire Perry outright called Jeremy Corbyn an Anti Semite.

I thought there would be at least a mention of it today as it is at the very least unprofessional and probably slander.

Yet, all I can see today is that she accused David Dimbleby of hating it when women talk.

So, if anybody still question the obvious BBC bias towards the Conservative party then I can only conclude that this country is fecked.
 
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