The Poolie Bunker

And the PFI deal with hospitals ….talk about a millstone around the neck of the NHS….an expensive quick fix.

The Chester-le-Street hospital PFI is/was a financial disaster.

And after voting against the Tories 3rd Country asylum seekers scheme (Rwanda), then scrapping it the week they got into power they're now talking about setting up 3rd Country schemes - they couldn't run a Fecking bath.

Some daft sod has reported that ayslum seekers will have a 20 year wait before they get the nod to stay here permanently ???? Someone taking the mick, eh..

Just add the £90 billion black hole if Reform ever get in to power with their proposed tax cuts which they now admit are unrealistic.
The Brexit benefit now called Nessie, everyone talks about it but have never seen one.
Brexit's economic cost to the UK is estimated to be around £100 billion a year in lost output, according to Bloomberg Economics. Other analyses suggest the total cost to the economy so far could be £140 billion, with a long-term trade hit of 15%. These figures reflect impacts like reduced GDP, lower productivity, and decreased exports

Knew it wouldn't be long before you were back with the Reform deflection tactics.
Reform don't have a £90bn black hole because they're not in government.
The Brexit numbers you quote are as usual selected from your favourite anti Brexit reports, even the OBR are saying it's difficult to put exact figures on the net cost of Brexit.
What's hitting GDP, productivity, reduced exports, and your favourite pension funds are the increased costs on businesses due to increased NMW, increased employer NI, increased energy bills, etc - there's nothing new about Brexit that is negatively affecting businesses and business confidence, it's all down to the clown show masquerading as a government.
Just as an aside Reform have been in power over County Durham since the last elections and guess what? The Armageddon that you prophecy hasn't materialised almost everything is unchanged since Labour were in power apart from the EU and Rainbow flags being taken down. Refugees are still being welcomed with new HMOs being approved daily in the towns and villages, the council hasn't gone bust, the schools are still open, bins are being emptied etc
Sort out today and tomorrows problems rather than looking at what might or might not happen in 4 years time is not a bad plan imo.

So brexit wasn't to blame then.They'd have come anyway.

Does this bloke look familiar…?

Looks like Jamie but not sure which one. I'll go middle for diddle and say number three.
Am I close????

Number 3…the one who owns ‘Thrust and Bounce’ in the Far East….got it in one.

I don’t know where you get your info about Brexit from probably some daily rag but you are way out, start by googling the benefits of Brexit.
Brexit is affecting the UK economy by contributing to lower productivity, reduced trade with the EU, and a negative impact on economic growth. While some sectors like services exports have performed better, increased trade barriers with the EU have hurt goods exports and overall trade volumes compared to other major economies.
Negative impacts
Productivity: The Office for Budget Responsibility (OBR) estimates that Brexit will reduce long-run productivity by 4% compared to remaining in the EU.
Trade: New trade barriers have led to reduced goods exports to the EU, and overall UK trade has not recovered as quickly as other G7 countries following the pandemic.
Investment: Increased uncertainty following the Brexit vote had a negative impact on investment, which has contributed to weaker growth.
Growth: Bank of England Governor Andrew Bailey has stated that Brexit will have a negative impact on economic growth for the foreseeable future, citing it as one of the factors behind slower growth.
Inflation: Import prices have risen, and while this has also made domestic producers more competitive in some cases, the overall impact on inflation has been a concern.

What about the other Councils you haven’t mentioned, yes you won’t see any info on GB News your favourite TV channel about nearly 40 councillors resigned, sacked, suspended or changed parties or the fact they promised in their manifesto not to raise Council Tax which some have.
Ken Clarke sums it up.
https://youtube.com/shorts/SGbxraETFjQ? ... G87p_y67hC

Yes you can all laugh and joke at my expense but you will all rue the day if Reform wins the next election paying the premiums an insurance based NHS and the Triple Lock gets scrapped, if the selection of the local Reform Councillors is anything to go by as prospective MPs the U.K. will be in trouble.

Them reform councillors certainly have some swagger about themselves nowadays Yes,confidence is running high.

As you live on the other side of the world now, how could you possibly know…especially so as you only read news sources that share your opinions…..according to your past posts that is…?
Comfortably living in the steamy far east in some sort of Paradise according to you, why should you care……..especially so, as you recently advised everyone to leave this country because it’s finished….?

I haven't claimed that Brexit hasn't impacted the economy though have I? A 4% hit is nowhere near the number you were claiming earlier. There have been some wins with Trade deals outside the EU and particularly with being able to negotiate lower tariffs with the US which has negated some of the damage.
Which councils have you got experience of that have become disastrously worse after Reform took power? I'm living in one such county and the impact to date has been negligible, you're living in Fecking Thailand and quoting your favourite media outlets. I'd say I've got a slightly better grip on reality.
The country is failing badly and faster since this lot got into power, the UK had the highest growth in Europe before the GE and I don't have to watch any news channels or read any media to know that, it hits you in the face on a daily basis. Reform are not ruining this country are they?
Labour got in by a huge majority, the next election if they govern well should be theirs to lose, but even as early as this we know they're going to get trounced and it's all their own doing not Nigel's.

‘Nigel’s’ their bogeyman now.
A bit sad really.

So after 18 months of a new government it’s failing, up until last week the U.K. Stock Markets were hitting record highs, hey what political school did you attend or can you produce link to say the U.K. is failing, mass unemployment, people starving unable to make ends meet etc.
My take on Brexit one more time, Brexit was seen by a majority of the English population as an opportunity to put a boot in the establishment.
Unfortunately they missed wildly and kicked themselves in the bollocks.
Brexit hunilitates both the Tories and Reform,
https://youtu.be/zb9JuCw5SDk?si=YA9Sryh2BI_apaSP

Snowy I read both articles and watch vlogs about both sides, it’s not paradise here but I lead a far more affordable comfortable life here on my State Pension some thing I couidn’t do in the U.K.with out dipping into my savings which I now use for holidays, I have just come back from Hong Kong.

Where you fall down is you always agree with your side…anyone watching all viewpoints from a neutral standpoint would find fault with all Party’s, not just they Party’s they align with.

If course this government is failing and the country is declining, since when did the average man on the street judge any government by the state of the stock markets FFS!! And by the way you were bemoaning the state of the markets just the other week because of Trumps tarrifs and Brexit!!
The average person, living in the UK, bases the government on how they're impacting their living costs and thus their standard of living and believe me using those metrics they're failing.
If we judged governments by the state of the stick markets Starmer would be the most popular PM in history, he's actually among the least popular in history and that proves the point.

made worse now by the average person who might read about the stock market giving the saying a little knowledge is a dangerous thing some truth. much prefer to judge on what i see and hear from others especially when most are saying the same thing. seems strange that profits and a strong market never drifts down to our level but if the opposite happens we seem to suffer even more.

How's the French economy shaping up atm ,jamie?..Is all well? I know poorer countries like Greece etc rely on them when it comes to the begging bowls..

Brexit was a disaster for trade , billions of tax revenue lost every year which would more than cover current shortfalls. Sold to us by the peop!e who run Reform and of course the blind one.

How does the rest of the world survive outside the EU…?
Don’t worry… Starmer’s doing his best to sneak back in through the back door.

Not sure why Brexit is topical at the moment? The biggest harm to our economy came from Dr's Doom (Starmer and Reeves) talking the country down as soon as they got into power and then their budget which has hit businesses hard causing job losses and price rises. And things are not going to get any better after next week's budget.
Still Brexit, Farage, Trump, Truss, Uncle Tom Cobley and all will be blamed by some on here rather than accepting Labour haven't a clue.

I'm not arguing about the political side of Brexit. My beef is with the impact on trade and I saw it first hand in 2 companies I worked for. One had European investment withdrawn and the other had contracts across the continent crushed. The impact was real and is still felt across the economy. It did reduce the tax take and meant less resources for any GOvt. Coupled with Covid and then the energy crisis caused by Russia we have a monumental cluster fuck for any Govt to deal with.

I know someone who worked in the Ford Transit Plant outside of Southampton……befor Brexit, site was closed and production transferred to Turkey, aided by EU financial backing, so much for European unity when good jobs were exported outside the EU with EU finances. Political intrigue always ran rampant in their machinations.
Oddly enough VW van production has been transferred to Turkey recently…surprise, surprise.
The EU’s trouble was it’s own intrigue….which ran above everything else.

the problem was it was the political side of the EU that caused brexit to happen. when it was the common market and all about trade the vast majority were happy being part of it. free movement and talks about a united nations of europe swayed many to vote the way they did.

Ken Clarke is one of the few politicians who many people have respect for as most of the times you cant tell which party he is from.
He represents "one nation" not "division and strife".

We've now got a Labour MP offering to give up his seat to Andy Burnham so he can take Starmer's job, how the feck can this be happening when Starmer's doing such a fantastic job and delivering on every one of his manifesto promises?
And btw I can honestly say I've never ever watched GB News.
Life as a pensioner under this Labour government is a bed of roses when you live in Thailand, not so much when you live in County Durham.

Move to Thailand or another location then if things are so bad, don’t criticise people who have, I can’t disagree but life under the previous government wasn’t any better. If they had been re elected they might not have increased income tax but would have made cuts elsewhere at the expense of the pensioners, I.e. abolishing the triple lock.

I have great respect for Clarke also Heseltine and the late Tebbit, but how can you have respect for this fella, members were laughing at him, started off as Labour 1983–2018, Conservative 2018–2024 now Reform.
https://youtube.com/shorts/WCKw9ZjmaxM? ... gfNIMLybAZ

Political gymnastics!

So someone who has moved parties as he doesn't agree with his present parties objectives is worse than someone who stays loyal to a party even though their beliefs don't align with theirs?....I know who I'd rather show confidence in.

Jamie what I'm saying is that we living in the UK are telling it as we see it 1st hand, you are just going off what you see on YouTube or other media so how do you know it's now no worse than under the Tories?
As I recall during the run up to the GE Sunak committed to Triple Lock Plus which maintained the Triple Lock but also committed to raising tax thresholds for state pensioners so that the State Pension would never be taxed, where you got the info about the Tory's scrapping is a mystery?
I don't want to live abroad thanks, I want to live right here in a reasonable standard but the country is changing for the worse and it's up to the present government to stop and reverse the slide - it's futile whining about the past government or Brexit or potentially the next government, this lot have another 4 years to go and desperately need to up their game.

It’s just a standard repetitive comment from the LibLabCon confederation of scaring people off Reform with tedious stories…..that’s how low they’ve sunk.
Jamie is just ‘obeying orders!’

He moved parties each time because he knew would lose his seat if he stuck with the original one.

Obeying orders from who Snowy, as I said before I am partyless.

But you’re not ‘partyless’….anyone who repeatedly criticises certain Party’s but gives other Party’s a thinly veiled free ride, is someone who is trying to hide their true intentions…and when the thin veneer of neutrality is scraped away, their tue allegiance is plain to see……..as a notorious KGB officer once said.

Your trouble is he’s working class, a commoner, ex miner and the Uni feckwits who form the majority in Parliament look down on people like him.
I like commoners, they tell it as it is.
The Royals can be left alone, the aspiring middle classes are the ones you have to worry about nowadays, the ambitious no marks with ego’s to match their heads.

By the way which number Jamie is on shift today..,?

Someone who is truly "party less" would be criticising this shambolic government, not constantly harping on about a 5 MP party which may or may not be part of the next government. Surely to be terrified of the prospect of Reform being favourites to form the next government only 16 months into term must open even the most staunch Labour supporters eyes to the piss poor job they're doing.

I do criticise the current government more so Starmer, they have made many poor decisions, U-turned etc.Reform are currently favourites but there is a lot of water to pass under the bridge before the next election. Reform are a 1 trick pony, all they ever talk about is immigration, it actually was down 20% in 2024. They need to come with some serious policies which will actually work, currently they mention cuts in public spending but not on what, made no feasible legal options to stop the boat crossings. The councils Reform now control are all going to raise council tax some thing they said they wouldn’t do. No different from any political party, promise the earth to get into power then renege on them.

Yes the man who said you can live on 30p a day and bragging how he got his blue passport back one of the benefits of leaving the EU but forgets to mention you now need a visa just to go on holiday. How many shifts did he do down the pits, he worked down the pits 10 years and went on to work for the Citizens Advice Bureau. Me I worked for over 45 years where ever work took me, that was my choice, I am as much a commoner as he is.

There you go again Reform need to do this and Reform need to come up with policies that actually work? How about applying that to Starmer and his cronies, they can't even deliver their basic manifesto promises let alone anything that is actually working.
Starmer is currently abroad again, not visible to back his Chancellor when she made her pre-budget speech or U turn over the last couple of weeks, or to back his Home Secretary announcing tougher immigration policy (probably because his human rights lawyer background is totally against). He's at a G20 summit not attended by US, China,Russia but he needs to be seen on the world stage again as he tours for his next, soon to be needed, job - and he's said his biggest priority is Ukraine! No, you Fecking idiot your biggest priority is sorting out the UKs problems. Of course he's not capable so he dithers about on the fringes of world politics achieving the total sum of feck all.

have always wondered if other countries leaders are just the same or are more bothered about there own country and people. thing is its hard to find out even with your own research as if it does not happen in the usa we know little.

That’s why a government has a cabinet to cover for the government when the PM is out of country,there is no need to be in the U.K. 100%. Can you name anyone in the Reform shadow cabinet, spokesperson for finance, home affairs, foreign affairs etc, nope they don’t have any only Farage.
Whats the difference between a supermarket trolley and a Reform voter, a supermarket trolley has a mind of its own.

Yet again trying to turn it against Reform, you just can't help yourself can you?
He's out of the country hiding and as I said touting for his next job, if you believe anyone would leave the country confident in Lammy, Reeves, etc al to run the show you need sectioned mate.

Your bias is screaming from the rooftops while defending Starmer and his so called cabinet…an IKEA cabinet would be less wooden.
Which Jamie is on shift now, because this one sounds like a Party yapping dog with the usual Pavlovian Dog stance of a dig at Reform.

Best apply for your Thai passport for when Labour leave office.

Lammy on Mastermind…… That was classic TV.

On top of that the five of them are deliberately hi jacking threads by introducing Reform into the debate when the debate is clearly about what is occurring under Starmer et al. The current Government and it's decisions, which affect us all, are not Reform orientated. Reform's influence on Parliament and the decisions emanating from the place are in no way being orchestrated by Reform with it's minute membership compared to Labour.
Abuse of our moderating leniency I would submit.