And so it has begun....

[jake]

The dismantling of the Fire Service, national standards built up over years being wrecked at a stroke, Police morale  at an all time low, patients stacked up on trollies in dirty hospitals, trains that don't run ... welcome to New Labour's Britain.


P.S.  It was Maggie's vision of the future ... what next?

 

[PartTimePongo]

Next Jake, you and your merry band of scribes get this government on the ropes, and keep it there till election day  

 

[PTE_BOZZ]

well all we can do is get rid ofthem at the next election. but at the moment they seem to be the best of a bad lot. i cant see the tories or the libs comming close until at least the next election plus.  ???  

 

[vespa]

maybe BNP ?


'all tongue in cheek of course lol '

 

[Dzerzhinskiey]

...

 

[Baddass]

The dismantling of the Fire Service, national standards built up over years being wrecked at a stroke, Police morale  at an all time low, patients stacked up on trollies in dirty hospitals, trains that don't run ... welcome to New Labour's Britain.


P.S.  It was Maggie's vision of the future ... what next?

Have you been asleep for the past 10 years or something?  This is f*ck all new.  What paper do you work for......the Farming Weekly?   F*ck me, you're quick off the mark you aren't you?  

What do they call you in the office.....Scoop?

 

[jake]

So then, is it time now to look at 'root and branch' electoral reform ?  :-/

 

[LE_OC]

Not much point, Jake. The next election will probably be the last. Once his Tonyness has made us a province of a country called Europe we won't have a Parliament. Regional government will lie with the regions that Tony is setting up at the moment.

Could be a good thing, this country called Europe. One penal code, same levels of taxation and duty will see the price of booze, ciggies and fuel plummet. Harmonisation of benefits across the EU will be a bonus too as it should get rid of a lot of our scum and asylum seekers as 300 euros dole is much more attractive in Ibiza than Manchester. Those of us that used to shoot should get our guns back too.

 

[woopert]

So then, is it time now to look at 'root and branch' electoral reform ?

No, because despite it's flaws the "first past the post" system means that you vote for who you want to represent you and if enough people agree your candidate wins. If we move to PR then the candidates that get the least votes may still win. Let's say we had a choice between Tory, BNP, Lib Dems and Labour. The right-wing vote is split, but still a majority force of opinion, Labour polls about a 3rd, but as a 2nd choice in PR everyone thinks the Lib Dems are better than any alternative. No real vote for the Lib Dems but they get in anyway.

No wonder they are so keen on PR, it's the only way they can legitimately get a foothold knowing no-one would vote for them. Oh, and Italy is a prime example of the hung parliament it creates with its 57 governments in 52 years.

 

[Shotgun]

Could be a good thing, this country called Europe. One penal code, same levels of taxation and duty will see the price of booze, ciggies and fuel plummet. Harmonisation of benefits across the EU will be a bonus too as it should get rid of a lot of our scum and asylum seekers as 300 euros dole is much more attractive in Ibiza than Manchester. Those of us that used to shoot should get our guns back too.

Nothing personal, but utter shyte.

Standards and taxation, penal codes, duty..everything..will go up everywhere to match the cost and regime of the highest.

 

[LE_OC]

Shotgun,

In many respects the UK pays the most duty in Europe now - fuel, booze and cigs being the prime examples. A single country will mean one rate for all. VAT, income tax and excise duties will be the same for all. So, our region loses out in direct taxation but gains, in some cases massively, in indirect taxation. The EU constitution that Tony is so keen on, and won't let us vote on, will make it happen.

The penal code is a another good example. Under the new EU constitution there will be a unified penal code for Europe. Got to be a big plus for province GB. At present we have the highest crime rate and highest prison population per capita in the EU - we also have by far the most lenient penal code - even my pet lurcher can work out the correlation on that one. At last we could expect burgling scumbags to spend a respectable amount of time in jail.

In no way am I suggesting that I agree with the Project, just pointing out that it won't be all bad. I'll be very glad to see the end of economic migrants for a start as benefits will be the same throughout the EU (paid in Euros). Why on earth would these fcukers want to come here and suffer our climate when they will get the same on the Costa-del-sol (or back in their own countries once the EU expands - Adolf called it Lebensraum).

The main thing to remember is it will be the same for all Europeans as we will all be citizens of a single country - so even if the highest rate of every tax, excise duty, unemployment benefit etc. etc. is set as the European rate we should still gain many of the benefits listed above not to mention road traffic laws, gun control, class A drugs..............

 

[Shotgun]

In many respects the UK pays the most duty in Europe now - fuel, booze and cigs being the prime examples. A single country will mean one rate for all. VAT, income tax and excise duties will be the same for all. So, our region loses out in direct taxation but gains, in some cases massively, in indirect taxation. The EU constitution that Tony is so keen on, and won't let us vote on, will make it happen.

The UK, even though Blair has raixed taxes massively since 1997, is still the lowest taxed country in the EU, and this could only change or else fiscal problems would occur around other EU states. Ergo, our tax rates would go up to meet the mean average, or more likely the highest. Vehicle tax and excise would shoot up. You are assuming the best from what the EU constitution will bring.

In a best case scenario EU officials, not elected representatives, and that is in the EU constitution, will make laws that have primacy over State laws made in individual countries, they will also make diktats and decisions that have primacy over UK laws and decisions. At best we will be a province with our own provincial and federal laws and taxes.

The UK economy is very different from mainland European economies, and therefore there are different strictures and fiscal rules that we must follow.

A single tax regime may suit Germany and France, but not the UK, and vice versa, but never, in a million years, will the taxes come down to meet ours, and there is no way the Government will forego the taxes gathered by duty and vat and excise as it is today, ergo, taxes will rise, inevitably.

The Germans and French especially are depserate to get the UK into full EU membership because their problems with the pensioners is much worse than ours and they need our money and strength in economics around the world in order to service their massive shortfalls.

The bottom line is that they need us more than we need them because over the past two decades the UK has become a global economy while the EU states have staganted in their own little club. Why tie ourselves to decaying European economic ideaology when we are glaobal and prospering without them? Don't forget it costs us £6 billion a year more than we put in to the EU. I say save the money and let them rot.

 

[El Gringo]

I'm in agreement with Shotgun on this one.

Why should we have those tw&ts in Brussels tell us which laws we can and can't have?  Can you imagine what would happen to our defence budget?  (Take a look at the Italian/Spanish/German armies for clues!)

Foreign Policy - don't make me laugh.  We have already seen how 'moral' French (and therefore EU) foreign policy is - we sell all our excess produce to the world at knock down prices, tax imports to the hilt and make the EU consumer pay inflated prices to meet the CAP subsidy.  

That is to say nothing of the EU's fondness for bureaucracy and political correctness, which would make even a Labour politician who was capable of independent thought shudder.....sorry, they don't do that in Labour, must be thinking of your average man in the street -me!

I'm no great fan of America generally, but I'd far rather be the 51st State than tied in with that bunch of lunatics and socialist co£$s in Europe.  (Yes, the thought of being in Europe scares me that much I would run gladly into Americas bosom!)

 

[El Gringo]

Just a thought on my last rant - couldn't we just stay what we've been since 1066?  Like an independent country, making our own laws and picking our allies as we see fit?

 

[vespa]

The Germans and French especially are depserate to get the UK into full EU membership because their problems with the pensioners is much worse than ours and they need our money and strength in economics around the world in order to service their massive shortfalls.

yet they treat us like sh1t burning our sheeps, banning beef and not generaly playing by the rules ,and same for the spics constantly hassling people crossing into Gibraltar even tho we have "free movement" of goods and people and the frogs and germans are quite happy to let bogus asylum seekers cross into uk WHILE LOOKING THE OTHER WAY .

is it any suprise that we don't want to join a club of hypocrites

 

[Ford_Prefect]

I think in 3-5 years time the BNP will be the only opposition group in the UK.........will I dip out of interesting Int jobs if I vote for them