UK Politics & Brexit Discussion

[Gunnersaurus]

The greens did quite well in bristol. Got 4 second place finishes I think. You would have to drive over an hour to get to a place with a conservative mp. So bristol well and truly took out the trash 

[RandoEFC+]

1 hour ago, Gunnersaurus said:

The greens did quite well in bristol. Got 4 second place finishes I think. You would have to drive over an hour to get to a place with a conservative mp. So bristol well and truly took out the trash 

Wales didn't return a single Tory MP either .

[Gunnersaurus]

So correct me if I'm wrong. Proportional representation gives the parties that get the most votes more power?  So reform would have finished third?

Shy don't we do that surely it seems more democratic.

 

[Rucksackfranzose]

21 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

So correct me if I'm wrong. Proportional representation gives the parties that get the most votes more power?  So reform would have finished third?

Shy don't we do that surely it seems more democratic.

 

Well, why would a party that got over the half of seats with about a third part of the votes, in this case Labour, agree to getting less seats and having to form a coalition? As long as there's no plebicite demanding it, the ruling party would be stupid introducing it. Regardless whether it's more democratic or not.

[Gunnersaurus]

2 minutes ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

Well, why would a party that got over the half of seats with about a third part of the votes, in this case Labour, agree to getting less seats and having to form a coalition? As long as there's no plebicite demanding it, the ruling party would be stupid introducing it. Regardless whether it's more democratic or not.

We did have a vote on it a few years ago. But it was that system where you vote for candidates in order of preference. It was rejected massively. But having a system where more votes means more seats would seem fairer. 

[Rucksackfranzose]

1 minute ago, Gunnersaurus said:

We did have a vote on it a few years ago. But it was that system where you vote for candidates in order of preference. It was rejected massively. But having a system where more votes means more seats would seem fairer. 

Don't forget it would also mean less seats for the ruling party. You don't expect a political party to give up an advantage of their own for the sake of more fairness, do you? You can't be that naive.

[Gunnersaurus]

17 minutes ago, Rucksackfranzose said:

Don't forget it would also mean less seats for the ruling party. You don't expect a political party to give up an advantage of their own for the sake of more fairness, do you? You can't be that naive.

No of course not. But I am surprised there aren't more movements to push for a fairer system 

[Stan]

Start of Labour's government and the first few days of it seems positive. 

Hiring people with expertise into the correct roles. 

Solid press conferences and clarity about things. 

[Gunnersaurus]

2 hours ago, Stan said:

Start of Labour's government and the first few days of it seems positive. 

Hiring people with expertise into the correct roles. 

Solid press conferences and clarity about things. 

To be honest that seems like the basics you'd expect from government. Unfortunately the conservatives have been so bad the basics are considered very good now.

[Stan]

6 minutes ago, Gunnersaurus said:

To be honest that seems like the basics you'd expect from government. Unfortunately the conservatives have been so bad the basics are considered very good now.

It's a good start nonetheless. 

[RandoEFC+]

The bar was incredibly low admittedly but yes Labour have cleared that so far with a few unexpected bonuses such as the appointment of Timpson and the announcement by Reeves today about slashing the building restrictions.

It's probably good to have so many MPs that have spent so long in opposition to focus the mind. Having MPs who win seats for the already-governing party and end up with government briefs after being MPs for just 2-3 years is a problem. I mean many of Labour's cabinet have been MPs longer than Sunak or Truss who have made it from outside the House of Commons to the top job and back down in that time.

[Gunnersaurus]

Does anyone remember that episode of the Simpson where there is a bear seen in Springfield? They have to pay a bit of extra tax to cover the bear patrol and the mayor blaims it on immigrants. That episode makes a lot more sense to me now.

[Gunnersaurus]

Labour have discussed what they want to do about workers rights. It seemed good we'll see what happens.

Unlike a lot of people I've got mixed feelings about 0 hour contracts. They can allow exploitation. Essentially you can work for a company for years and then they can just not give you anymore hours anymore. But they do allow people pick up shifts at a second job when they need them and they allow students to get work when they need it. Maybe you could make it law that they can only be used for a certain amount of time and then hours have to be guaranteed I don't know. However if you need some work but need it to be flexible there are agencies.(which although are 0 zero hour contracts they are a different kind of contract and won't be banned) That's what I do. But then agency staff cost more so will that put prices up? Be interesting to see what they do. 

[Gunnersaurus]

https://uk.finance.yahoo.com/news/living-under-labour-cost-millions-140000838.html

 

Aww poor millionaires 

[Gunnersaurus]

Despite not having a chance is the constituency I live in the conservatives did send out a leaflet before the election. Just found it today. Nice that they are sending me free toilet paper 

[Reluctant Striker]

9 hours ago, Gunnersaurus said:

Labour have discussed what they want to do about workers rights. It seemed good we'll see what happens.

Unlike a lot of people I've got mixed feelings about 0 hour contracts. They can allow exploitation. Essentially you can work for a company for years and then they can just not give you anymore hours anymore. But they do allow people pick up shifts at a second job when they need them and they allow students to get work when they need it. Maybe you could make it law that they can only be used for a certain amount of time and then hours have to be guaranteed I don't know. However if you need some work but need it to be flexible there are agencies.(which although are 0 zero hour contracts they are a different kind of contract and won't be banned) That's what I do. But then agency staff cost more so will that put prices up? Be interesting to see what they do. 

Yes, there's a range of things off the radar of well meaning people who are just far too removed from anything other than office admin jobs.

There are zero hours workers, which means no set weekly hours. Is still an entry on a CV. Is still work experience. For sure it will suit those who are not pushed into accepting the work or do not necessarily need to pay the bills. But it can suit both employee & employer. A bit like part time perhaps.

And at the same time there are jobs where they do minimum 12 hours per day, starting at 6am, or earlier. Often more than 5 days per week. With intense pressure to accept any available overtime. And it very much happens in the UK. Not just far off places that we see on clothes labels. And the work force is primarily those where English is their 2nd language. Very much doing the kind of work we (British born) are pretty much taught to study to avoid. By teachers, parents & society.

[Spike]

11 hours ago, Gunnersaurus said:

Labour have discussed what they want to do about workers rights. It seemed good we'll see what happens.

Unlike a lot of people I've got mixed feelings about 0 hour contracts. They can allow exploitation. Essentially you can work for a company for years and then they can just not give you anymore hours anymore. But they do allow people pick up shifts at a second job when they need them and they allow students to get work when they need it. Maybe you could make it law that they can only be used for a certain amount of time and then hours have to be guaranteed I don't know. However if you need some work but need it to be flexible there are agencies.(which although are 0 zero hour contracts they are a different kind of contract and won't be banned) That's what I do. But then agency staff cost more so will that put prices up? Be interesting to see what they do. 

Think about it like this, mate. The zero hour contract is a weapon to be used against working people, it makes their income unreliable, that being their livelihood. Since the threat of no working hours is present workers have less leverage to refuse shifts, refuse jobs, or assert any control over their own time lest they be punished with zero hours. This is not a good policy, it is exploitation, and what the UK needs are bands of employment that guarantee hours necessitated by the worker’s requirements. If a student can do and only needs 20 hours a week they need to be guaranteed 20, not 15, not 0. 

People shouldn’t need two jobs, and students shouldn’t work to study. 

[Spike]

If you want to get into economic nitty gritty you can read about the concept of ‘wage slavery’, that being the minimisation of opportunity, the reliance on wage to support livelihood, and the implicit threat poverty with employment termination, which alienates the worker. @Gunnersaurus 

The zero hour contract really is a brutal attack on people. Always ask what is next? Getting paid for bi-hourly? 

[Reluctant Striker]

Even if it is a person who's partner pays all the bills, or a young person that just wants a job for the CV, they would ideally like the clarity of it being 3 hours every Saturday. It is a niche type of person that will find many aspects of zero hours appealing. The type of employer it is & how it is used should certainly have some control over it.

But at the other end of the extreme, nearly all employees are given a form to sign to opt out of working a maximum of 48 hours per week. So that they can voluntarily choose to work more. Or they can look for another job. There can be quality of work-life balance. Even if very well paid.

[RandoEFC+]

Unserious bellends taking less than a week to start falling out after getting their first seats in parliament. 

[Stan]

10 minutes ago, RandoEFC said:

Unserious bellends taking less than a week to start falling out after getting their first seats in parliament. 

It's all a power trip for them. 

It'll go to their heads and they won't actually serve their constituents like they should, or actually be serious about their posts.

Wouldn't surprise me if the media began to dig up some dirt on them, more than anything out there already.

[Dr. Gonzo]

6 hours ago, RandoEFC said:

Unserious bellends taking less than a week to start falling out after getting their first seats in parliament. 

He needs to update his bio to remove Deputy Leader of Reform UK

[Carnivore Chris]

2 suitcases with human remains in them found in Bristol.

Also a man arrested for killing 3 women with a crossbow. This country gets worse.

 

[Carnivore Chris]

Riots in Leeds.

 

[Gunnersaurus]

On 10/07/2024 at 03:23, Spike said:

If you want to get into economic nitty gritty you can read about the concept of ‘wage slavery’, that being the minimisation of opportunity, the reliance on wage to support livelihood, and the implicit threat poverty with employment termination, which alienates the worker. @Gunnersaurus 

The zero hour contract really is a brutal attack on people. Always ask what is next? Getting paid for bi-hourly? 

I suppose its something where I've seen the positives of it. But a few positives wouldn't be enough to justify millions of people having no job security. I'd have to look into it more.

Meanwhile Mel Stride may be attempting to become leader of the conservatives. 

Stride said there was a mental health culture and that many of the issues aren't real issues that deserve time of. As someone who can't work full time due to mental health, with a history of self harm and anxiety attacks I feel I'm qualified to say. He's talking shit.