UK Politics Thread 🇬🇧

[DaRealness]

Heathrow airport closure deeply concerning, says PM

Sir Keir Starmer says he is 'deeply concerned' about the closure of Heathrow Airport as a result of a power cut caused by a fire on Friday.

www.bbc.co.uk

 

[the next guy]

Labour just cutting everything.

Heathrow airport closure deeply concerning, says PM

Sir Keir Starmer says he is 'deeply concerned' about the closure of Heathrow Airport as a result of a power cut caused by a fire on Friday.

www.bbc.co.uk

Bloke has NO aura.

 

[Heimdall]

Can you bullet-point explain what MMT means for deficits in your opinion?

Does it mean that any country can print its way to prosperity? Are you saying printing > borrowing?

Can you spell it out?

ok I'm byke

So it seems to me that deficits (or specifically eradicating them) are much less of a priority in the world as described by MMT - as it is just the difference between what the government spends and what it receives in taxes, the difference is what has gone into the economy, that's all.

I was trying to think of an example, but I don't think the description works well on a small scale. Certainly, there are some things a government could increase its spending for while not expecting a good return in taxes (a hospital or something), which would increae the deficit, and would arguably be a pretty good reason to.

Inflation is a much higher priority, and puts a limit on how much the government can spend.



Hmm, on the face of it that is the suggestion but I am sure this is affected by many variables such as how that increased money supply is used (who receives it/where it is spent, which in turn affects what sort of economic activity that created money is used for, and as a result how much of it can be recouped/'cancelled' by taxation) Plus borrowing (from financial markets) comes with higher costs, I think?

 

[Heimdall]

Our Government Tracker’s four months old – and it shows we need far greater transparency to win back trust in politics - Full Fact

We take a look at the latest findings from Full Fact’s Government Tracker project.

fullfact.org

 

[Heimdall]

Though this change is specifically due to small landlords forming limited companies, it was a little funny to me. The Renters' Reform Bill will (probably) be watered down to nothing, and this, let's say, loophole, has been left wide open, while they are going after the sick and/or disabled. An easier target, no doubt.

Jon Davis on government cuts to disability benefits – cartoon

Labour is pressing ahead with its much-criticised plans

www.theguardian.com

L

Some Spring statement stuff:

 

[DaRealness]

Big queues at Birmingham waste collection site amid bin strike

The council has set up mobile bin collections for residents to unload their waste amid the strike.

www.bbc.co.uk

William Timms, a pest controller in Birmingham, said since the strikes had begun, this was the busiest he had ever been.

He said: "Calls have gone up by 60%. I actually pulled out a rat from a trap two weeks ago that was 22 inches in length.

"In a perfect habitat, which is what they're in at the moment, they give birth every three weeks. That's six to 12 pups per female, so we're going to be absolutely inundated."

Mr Timms said even if all the rubbish was collected, the pest issue would still linger, with the rodents likely to start nesting in residents' homes or cars.

He called the piles of rubbish a 24-hour banquet and added: "They have all the protein there, so they're getting bigger. They're the size of small kittens."

Spoiler

How the fukk is shyt like this even happening in a warless first world country in the year 2025?

 

[jj23]

UK creating ‘murder prediction’ tool to identify people most likely to kill

Exclusive: Algorithms allegedly being used to study data of thousands of people, in project critics say is ‘chilling and dystopian’

www.theguardian.com

 

[null]

UK creating ‘murder prediction’ tool to identify people most likely to kill

Exclusive: Algorithms allegedly being used to study data of thousands of people, in project critics say is ‘chilling and dystopian’

www.theguardian.com

meanwhile civil rights lawyer in charge remains silent

 

[Heimdall]

but whose details are already on the police national computer?

 

[jj23]

but whose details are already on the police national computer?

 

[jj23]

Legal definition of woman is based on biological sex, UK supreme court rules

Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women, after gender-critical campaigners’ challenge

www.theguardian.com

 

[Heimdall]

Legal definition of woman is based on biological sex, UK supreme court rules

Judges say Equality Act definition excludes transgender women, after gender-critical campaigners’ challenge

www.theguardian.com

Hmm. I really hadn't given this much thought but the judgment makes sense to me. I didn't even know GRCs were a thing, never heard of them. I'm even struggling to envision what this ruling really applies to beyond single-sex spaces (that is, what rights trans people are being denied by this ruling, if they are still protected under the Act against harassment and discrimination).

I also hadn't realised it was such a huge concern to some in this country (apart from maybe JK Rowling and her opponents). But even the desire for protected single-sex spaces - to agree with the ruling - is apparently hateful:

Ocado apologises to Mumsnet over 'hateful political views' comment

Mumsnet's founder says a number of advertisers have pulled out over the site's gender discussions.

www.bbc.co.uk

Ocado has apologised "unreservedly" to Mumsnet for citing "hateful political views" when it pulled out of a commercial partnership over the parenting forum's stance on the definition of sex in the Equality Act.

Founder Justine Roberts said Ocado "abruptly pulled out" of the partnership after Mumsnet called at the last election for the act to be reformed "to ensure women can access single-sex places".

Ms Roberts said she had "feared the site might not survive" because of the number of advertisers which withdrew support over the discussion of gender issues on its forums.

Her post came after the Supreme Court ruled on Wednesday that a woman is defined by biological sex under the Equality Act.

Mumsnet's call for reform would have allowed for spaces to be reserved for biological women.

Ms Roberts said the forum had also made "repeated attempts to explain our position - as a platform committed to amplifying women's voices" but Ocado had "refused to speak to us".

(I don't have a point, I just wasn't aware that it was that deep, here.)

 

[Heimdall]

The video itself is (I just like Yanis rly) but while I was watching it I was looking into electricity prices...

How has any industry survived here with these prices?

Why Britons pay so much for electricity

Almost all the time, expensive gas sets the price

www.economist.com

https://archive.ph/j8yOS

 

[null]

How has any industry survived here with these prices?

i have to pay german prices too

 

[Heimdall]

i have to pay german prices too

It's mad that there's such a big difference between industrial and domestic rates too. I hope they reconsider the use of nuclear power - shutting them all down because of one completely freak incident (a whole chain of events tbh) seemed rash at the time, even more so now!