Penny Mordaunt - PM for PM

[julian987R]

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

Good luck with that. First on Labours list is redefining what a woman is.

[cheesejunkie]

julian987R said:

Good luck with that. First on Labours list is redefining what a woman is.

Footnote, it isn’t.

[julian987R]

cheesejunkie said:

julian987R said:

Good luck with that. First on Labours list is redefining what a woman is.

Footnote, it isn’t.

just wait.

[Seasonal Hero]

julian987R said:

just wait.

Yeah so you keep saying. It gets extremely tedious.

[Diderot]

smn159 said:

Leithen said:

P-Jay said:

I don't know much about her, other than I doubt we'd see eye to eye on a lot of things.

She does seem to have a history of Politics and that Conservative Party, unlike say Rishi who appeared from nowhere and ascended to power in a way only someone with a lot of powerful friends (or bosses) could.

I'm sure she could be a decent Tory Party leader, she's more right of centre, but at least she's consistent. Not sure about the Homeopathy. but I wouldn't vote for her anyway. However it's not the way I hope they go. I hope they'll take the loss at the next GE, I can't see anything changing that now, certainly not an 11th hour change of leader, and re-emerge a tighter, centrist, pro-business, pro-opportunity party, not another xenophobic lot looking for a fantasy idea of what we were in the 50s.

I suspect that even if she was to saddle herself with sensible centre ground policies and attempt to genuinely improve the country, her political skills would not be up to scratch.

We haven't had a good political operator since Blair. And before you all clutch your pearls, that compliment has nothing to do with his policies or beliefs. Instead he managed to control his party, keep his nearest challenger close, but at the same time neutralise him. To be a good operator you really need to be something of a st. To be able to smile and charm your colleagues and opponents while you eviscerate them from behind without them realising.

Penny doesn't have that.

She doesn't, but more to the point she doesn't have anyone even vaguely competent to fill the various cabinet positions who could actually deliver 'sensible centre ground policies'. She would no doubt do a deal with the right for the leadership and be lumbered with culture war lightweights like Badenoch and Braverman who, as everybody knows, would get Daily Mail 'fury at...' style headlines but deliver nothing of any value

I think she comes across as a very decent woman and, from what I have heard from friends in her constituency, a very good local MP; they rate her highly (even though a couple of them are lifelong labour supporters). She was also, let’s not forget, mightily impressive in the days after the Queen died. She also isn’t from a monied background.

I wish her very well and hope she will become the next leader of the party, though not until the Tories are decimated in the next election. They need to rid themselves of the corrupt loons and get back to being ‘One Nationists’ again.

[Lotusgone]

Some papers today are reporting that Penny has a noteworthy chest. I wouldn't argue with that.

[Pan Pan Pan]

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

[blueg33]

Pan Pan Pan said:

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

Lets face it Labour are picking up a mess of almost unrivalled proportions. They are not equipped with a magic wand. It normally takes longer to fix an economy and services than its takes to break them.

[Pan Pan Pan]

blueg33 said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

Lets face it Labour are picking up a mess of almost unrivalled proportions. They are not equipped with a magic wand. It normally takes longer to fix an economy and services than its takes to break them.

Which is exactly the same as happened, when the tories got in, and had to clear up the vast, and deep mess that labour left the country in, when they were last in No10. (And they did not have a global pandemic ,or the global financial effects of a war which seriously effected the countries finances to deal with). If you believe that labour will improve the country, then you are just indulging in the same deluded, pointless, merry go round, that the country has been sitting on for the last 50 years.

[P-Jay]

Pan Pan Pan said:

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

I don't know about that, they did a good job in the 90s and 2000s:

Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s, low rates without going silly, minimum wage, increased Police numbers by 14k, cut crime by 32%, record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools, 85k more nurses, 32k more doctors, gift aid, paternity leave, 36k more teachers, 600k children lifted out of poverty. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since before the industrial revolution, Free TV licences for over-75s.

It reads almost like the Tories got bitter and decided to reverse it all, up to and including allowing actual human st to be pumped into rivers. Is that the deep st you're thinking of?

No, I don't suspect a beautiful rainbow to appear over No10 the day Starmer moves and it to all be okay again, but I believe they will at least try, instead of just being greedy bds.

[Bill]

Diderot said:

She was also, let’s not forget, mightily impressive in the days after the Queen died. She also isn’t from a monied background.

In what way? The only notable thing I remember of her at that time was the Britannia cosplay at the funeral.

[Tom8]

blueg33 said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

Lets face it Labour are picking up a mess of almost unrivalled proportions. They are not equipped with a magic wand. It normally takes longer to fix an economy and services than its takes to break them.

Exactly this. When Labour last came to power Ken Clark gave them a golden hello which they then spunked up the wall and some. This time there is no golden hello so the only real option would be to flog off more gold. None of their other ideas will generate anywhere near what Labour governments normally want to wast...spend.

[Pan Pan Pan]

P-Jay said:

Pan Pan Pan said:

smn159 said:

Otispunkmeyer said:

I genuinely don't believe Labour will be any different.

Less idiot agenda culture war and more actually governing would be a massive improvement TBH

If you believe that labour can, or even will improve the situation for the people of the UK, you are utterly deluded. it will be different, but better? not a hope in hells chance of that.
We will just carry on with the same tory/labour/tory/labour merry go round that we have been on for years, if not decades, and we will STILL be in the same deep sh*t. it might have a slightly different flavour every now and then, but it will still be the same deep sh*t.

I don't know about that, they did a good job in the 90s and 2000s:

Longest period of sustained low inflation since the 60s, low rates without going silly, minimum wage, increased Police numbers by 14k, cut crime by 32%, record levels of literacy and numeracy in schools, 85k more nurses, 32k more doctors, gift aid, paternity leave, 36k more teachers, 600k children lifted out of poverty. Cleanest rivers, beaches, drinking water and air since before the industrial revolution, Free TV licences for over-75s.

It reads almost like the Tories got bitter and decided to reverse it all, up to and including allowing actual human st to be pumped into rivers. Is that the deep st you're thinking of?

No, I don't suspect a beautiful rainbow to appear over No10 the day Starmer moves and it to all be okay again, but I believe they will at least try, instead of just being greedy bds.

That is the problem, they did NOT do a good job in the 90's and 2000's. the quality of the job they did, depends on your particular view point. It only `seemed' like they did a good job.
For many others, their term in office, was seen as an abject and complete disaster (they even left a message saying the money;s all gone!) which was why the tories gained an 80 seat majority, at the `last' GE. And so the farce that is UK politics goes on, (and on).

[Riff Raff]

Tom8 said:

Exactly this. When Labour last came to power Ken Clark gave them a golden hello which they then spunked up the wall and some. This time there is no golden hello so the only real option would be to flog off more gold. None of their other ideas will generate anywhere near what Labour governments normally want to wast...spend.

So the state of the nation's finances at the end of the last Labour administration had nothing to do with the GFC? You know, the biggest world wide recession since WW2?

[s1962a]

Pan Pan Pan said:

That is the problem, they did NOT do a good job in the 90's and 2000's. the quality of the job they did, depends on your particular view point. It only `seemed' like they did a good job.
For many others, their term in office, was seen as an abject and complete disaster (they even left a message saying the money;s all gone!) which was why the tories gained an 80 seat majority, at the `last' GE. And so the farce that is UK politics goes on, (and on).

And Labour want to tax private school fees (VAT) and no doubt they will eventually put up income tax for the "higher earners". The cheek of it.

[Pan Pan Pan]

Riff Raff said:

Tom8 said:

Exactly this. When Labour last came to power Ken Clark gave them a golden hello which they then spunked up the wall and some. This time there is no golden hello so the only real option would be to flog off more gold. None of their other ideas will generate anywhere near what Labour governments normally want to wast...spend.

So the state of the nation's finances at the end of the last Labour administration had nothing to do with the GFC? You know, the biggest world wide recession since WW2?

All global issues impact a countries finances, regardless of which government party is in office. Gordon Brown sold off a big part of the countries gold reserves when he did not have to, but wanted to, because he did not want have to go back to the IMF for yet another financial bail out, like he did before. Something the UK taxpayer has had to pay back for years.

[smn159]

Some of you might want to keep this handy for the election

[valiant]

Riff Raff said:

So the state of the nation's finances at the end of the last Labour administration had nothing to do with the GFC? You know, the biggest world wide recession since WW2?

No, you're not allowed to mention that but it's fine to give the Tories the excuse of COVID and Ukraine as a reason for why things are so st but Labour and the GFC? Nah mate, didn't affect us...

[JagLover]

Riff Raff said:

So the state of the nation's finances at the end of the last Labour administration had nothing to do with the GFC? You know, the biggest world wide recession since WW2?

A large part of the deficit was structural, assessed by the IMF at 5.2% of GDP in 2007 and before the GFC.

That also ignores PFI liabilities that were close to £300bn, though some of that would be for committed operational spend. It also ignores the liability for public sector pensions that were not reformed despite rising life expectancy, with changes left to the coalition government to put through.

If you inherit public finances heading into surplus and then create a large structural deficit, combined with off balance sheet debts of hundreds of billions more, it is very easy to lavish money on public services, regardless of how affordable it is.

So this is why many are forecasting disillusionment because all the money has been spent and the only way Labour will get more money to spend is higher taxes or if they have any answer to the growth/productivity problem.

[2xChevrons]

Pan Pan Pan said:

All global issues impact a countries finances, regardless of which government party is in office. Gordon Brown sold off a big part of the countries gold reserves when he did not have to, but wanted to, because he did not want have to go back to the IMF for yet another financial bail out, like he did before. Something the UK taxpayer has had to pay back for years.

This is Booker Prize-level fiction, PPP. You must know this?

1) When did Gordon Brown go to the IMF for a bailout?

2) What has the UK taxpayer 'had to pay back for years'?

3) The whole point was to convert gold (which at the time was at the end of a long period of not earning anything, so was effectively just metal sitting uselessly in the Bank of England) into cash - that cash would be used to pay off national debt (thus reducing interest payments) and to buy bonds that provided more day-to-day return via compound interest.

The error was to telegraph the sale years in advance and do it in several stages, thus pushing down the already low price of gold. And the long period of low interest rates meant that the bonds were not as productive as predicted - although they have still returned an estimated 60% of the original gold value to the Treasury.