To wonder what Starmer was thinking with this one

Lol. Just absolute scaremongering and no ability to think critically, just lap up media headlines.
I say let’s just bring it on. Get Nige as PM and see all our troubles melt away.

Interesting that India are about to Become the worlds 3rd largest economy. We are not the power house a lot of people still think we are. I assume China will overtake the USA before long. World powers will shift over the next few decades. Maybe we should be grateful India have agreed to do a deal with us?

I have read them - are you saying you can't see any possible issues with the modelling approach used?

Means testing of WFA was needed whether folk liked it or not. And the expenses jibes, whipped up media frenzy. And why on earth would Remainers back Reform ?

If we get a Reform government, well, it’s entirely on people like you.

I can't stand him, either personally or politically, but given who owns most of our media, it's not down to him how this is being reported.

No it isn't. If you actually read it, there are a set of links / references at the bottom to data and other policy sources to support the statements.

@RafaistheKingofClay he doesn't hate the UK economy but he is power hungry and he knows the way to get it is to appeal to all those disenchanted and fed up people who feel poor, marginalised and unrepresented. Whipping up anti-Brit sentiment is an easy way to do that. People need someone to blame and he will use any tactic he can to blame everyone else and say that Reform will be the solution. Power is all that he is interested in at any cost.

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/reciprocal-agreements/reciprocal-agreements

That page is just a collection of quotes - it's a poor attempt at spin and essentially bullshit that says nothing.

If you scroll down it gives you sources and data and is produced by the source of the actual policy, so it's as close as you're going to get.

"This agreement will operate on similar principles to the UK’s other Social Security Agreements (SSA) with the EU and countries such as Switzerland, Norway, Canada, Japan, Chile and South Korea.“

https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary/uk-india-trade-deal-conclusion-summary

Why does Farage hate the UK economy so much? What does preventing it growing of shrinking if appeal to him so much?

Perhaps not but then again, neither is Farage or the 'Mail... Farage was lying yesterday, saying unlimited visas and will undercut UK workers by 20%

Maybe the people who actually negotiated the deal are the ones best placed to give the details of it...

That's a government webpage so hardly unbiased!

They can already do that for a year. What's been the impact on local jobs? What's your estimation on the difference three will make rather than one?

Given that India will be reducing barriers to UK service sectors operating in India, and this deal is reciprocal - along with the manufacturing wins - this doesn't feel like the apocalypse that's being painted.

My Twitter algorithm occasionally goes batshit and presents me with a load of stuff I find offensive, like Free Tommy Robinson posts or whatever. A couple of months back my ‘For You’ tab was absolutely flooded with anti-Indian racism. Tonnes of it. It’s nothing I’d really seen before.

However, having seen it, knowing how much certain groups hate Indians, this flood of objections to a trade arrangement that we also have, uncommented upon, with many other countries makes far more sense.

You've got to wonder whether all the frothing is down to "is it cos they're brown"? The employers NI arrangements that are being proposed are similar to those that currently exist for Norway, Switzerland and Canada. Where is all the frothing for those countries?

Most economists are saying it is a good deal but all the racists are having a field day spouting actual shit and grabbing headlines.

For those who want to start picking at who the economists might be: British Chamber of Commerce, Flint Global, Ben Ramanauskas at Policy Exchange, David Henig at European Centre for International Political Economy, Miles Celic at TheCityUK, Marco Forgione at the Chartered Institute of Export and International Trade to name but a few.

Any Indian company bringing people over on secondment will still have to comply with employment law here. And they will still have to pay NI in India (24%).

India is not a country full of uneducated labourers

this NI issue is the same for lots of countries - have you issues there or are you relying on a rather odd view of the Indian workforce

Here's the info on the policy for anyone who wants to read it for the facts, rather than the various media opinion pieces.

www.gov.uk/government/news/uk-india-free-trade-deal-a-deal-for-growth

Yes I always think they do 99% of the legwork behind the scenes regardless of who the govts figurehead is to be honest. 😁

I’m genuinely not sure what’s lefty leaning about being supportive of what is widely touted to be a good thing for the economy. If Boris had signed this deal I’d also be supportive of it. I’m happy to see beyond politics for what’s best for the country.

I would say I’m left leaning but I’m not a rabid labour supporter at all. I voted conservative in the local elections last week and Lib Dem for mayor as I felt those 2 individuals were the best candidates.

i totally agree that Labours communication is dismal and I don’t think Starmer is a good leader from a “winning people over” pov. So while I think he’s generally doing a good job I think he’s walking labour into a real mess at the next election and something needs to be done. But the anti labour media bias is annoying. If Boris had signed this same deal the headlines would have been very different.

Yes, I think Farage may well be cracking open the champagne in a few years time, thanks to his many cheerleaders on the Internet working tirelessly to whip up fear and spread disinformation.

It's a common refrain that calling out prejudice and stupidity is what leads people to vote for far right parties, but that's just nonsense in my experience. If you actually talk to the people who are voting for Reform, the reasons that they give are typically focused on the lies that they have been deliberately fed about what is causing the problems that they face, and a mistaken belief that Reform is going to do something to fix those problems. They will be sorely disappointed, of course, but it will be too late.

OK, well I assume they would have more knowledge and expertise then. 😊

In my experience, its "almost" impossible to change entrenched views, see the polling on Brexit?
Yes more now think it was a mistake but thats not because people have changed their minds but due to demographics.

Likewise, no one is going to convince me Brexit was a good thing....

The growth of Reform isn't because of insults etc let alone the non witty comments of @Keirawr but because of the perceived failure of the 2 main parties, 14 years of the Tories, are seen as a total failure and Starmer messed up with expenses and WFA... mistakes Labour will never recover from, their defeat in 2029 is 99% baked in now...

So people look for alternatives, LDs & Reform both doing well.

Even some former Remainers are backing Reform, Labour want to "make Brexit work" so no point backing Starmer anymore over that issue.

I was hoping more for actual civil servant types to be honest.