To think that the USA is a dictatorship now?

Unless you are white and middle class the US is not the place to go for equality :)

Further more, I suspect you’d prefer the country to be run properly, not ran properly. What with the latter not being grammatically correct ;)

However, I completely agree that Starmer is incompetent in matters of domestic politics, preferring as he does to focus on building up his status on the international stage to further his earnings potential for the post PM part of his career :)

Not to mention the fact that you end up spending your days stressing out about insurance admin, chasing up insurance payments, fighting for the better care options etc instead of focusing on your health and wellbeing! (not firsthand experience thankfully but that of close friends who ended up in dire financial straits)

I rather suspect @Champagneandpringles24 isn’t that interested in the facts, and probably lacks the skills to interpret them anyway ;)

'...evil, thick, orange toddler clown...'

That's bigly rude, Spoonface.

Hundreds of thousands in fact.

Those of us who have read many ‘history books’ are those who clearly see the direction in which the US is heading. Although I’m not sure you’d need to have read much more than a restaurant menu to work it out at this stage.

OK. I hope you remember that if you develop cancer and require treatment costing tens of thousands of pounds. You’ll be able to put your money where your mouth is then.

I strongly suggest you look up Ricky Jones, the Manchester Airport brothers and Lucy Connelly and then come back to me and tell me there is not a 2 tier justice system in this country.

There’s thread about this where numerous patient posters have used facts to explain why this isn’t the case. I strongly suggest you read it. Obviously you won’t because you’re a fact free zone..

Funding isn't limitless. People should take personal responsibility for their health.

Thank you. That’s really helpful.

I strongly suggest you look up Ricky Jones, the Manchester Airport brothers and Lucy Connelly and then come back to me and tell me there is not a 2 tier justice system in this country.

No people may not be being dragged off the street, instead we have masked people walking around stabbing instead. London is now classed as one of the most dangerous cities. Even Mexicans are being advised again travel to the UK....let that sink in!!

It absolutely is my opinion that Starner is an incompetent cretin and I stick by that!!

Why should I have to move to America when I just want equality and the country to be ran properly, how about you piss off & live somewhere else!!

That's the issue yes. I've never understood why Biden didn't seize the chance to reestablish some balance within the SC during his own mandate. He was within his rights to appoint a couple more judges. The Dems' concern to retain the moral & political high ground ultimately did the country a great disservice because that was one more potential barrier gone. It's all a bit fail to prepare and you prepare to fail...

Thank you. I understand the US system but hadn't realised the executive branch could ride roughshod over all. I thought that Congress/Supreme Court had more power than they seem to, right now.

At what cost? He’s cut off millions of people’s Medicaid.

I think the problem is that the Constitution has always allowed for a strong executive branch. You cannot compare the US system (presidential system, more similar to that of France) with the UK's which is a parliamentary democracy and an appointed PM. That's the crux of it. Trump (well, Trump's lawyers) are constantly testing and stretching the constitution to its limits but it's fast becoming worthless if all branches of power are undermined at the same time.

Can we put the UK bit on one side for a minute? Not arguing about the UK but I think many of us simply don't understand what is happening in the USA. Trump seems to be able to do what he wants but I thought the whole point of US government was checks and balances? Can he do everything on executive orders?
Really interested in how this works. It seems very different practice to the presidents who have gone before.

You do forget that in December 2019 the US economy was booming and thriving. Strong wage growth, record low unemployment.

He's deporting illegal immigrants. His "One Big Beautiful Bill" has some juicy tax cuts.

What is he conserving exactly, apart from the wealth of his cronies?

The Tory party in the UK didn't actually do many conservative things.

Donald Trump is actually doing conservative things.

From the Cambridge Dictionary; a dictator: someone who rules a country with complete power, has complete control over the armed forces, and destroys any political opposition.

1. complete power: not yet but there are worrying signs regarding removal of checks and balances; Congress is ruled by the GOP which is entirely loyal to Trump and red states like Texas are using extreme gerrymandering to make sure it stays that way, the Department of Justice is now there to serve Trump. FBI and CIA, there to serve Trump etc.
2. control over the armed forces: again, not there yet but numerous generals critical of Trump have been swiftly removed and new generals promoted on the basis of their loyalty to Trump.
3. political opposition: removal of WH press accreditation for news agencies deemed too critical or antagonistic, favouring mouthpieces and propagandists, removal of funding for public service media such as NPR and PBS which were deemed too leftist, pressure on CBS to change the editorial line of 60 minutes (flagship current affairs magazine), cancellation of hosts like Colbert who are deemed too critical. Higher education under attack, spread of censorship in schools and libraries across red states... It's a slippery slope to say the least.

Having said that, there are very important hallmarks of hard dictatorships that are NOT seen at this stage such as imprisonment of political opponents or political assassinations. That line has not been crossed and to be fair that's the main one. Putin crossed that line many years ago. My conclusion is that rule of law is absolutely being dangerously undermined in the US and this administration is playing with fire but we're not at the dictatorship level yet. However, this feels like a very dangerous time right now, not least because the economy is not doing well and social divides are worse than ever.

Our country is in a diabolical mess!! It's a shit show, a complete and utter disgrace.

But we don't have masked strangers picking people up off the streets for being a bit brown - including actual citizens.

We don't have increasing censorship in our school and library system.

We don't have women dying because they're denied abortions.

We don't have a government that decides what our national museums display.

We don't have a Health Secretary who slashes vital research funding into highly promising cancer treatments because he doesn't understand what mRNA is. And our Health Secretary doesn't undermine vaccination programmes either.

We have a two tier justice system, we have an incompetent cretin prime minister who is a compulsive liar.

We don't have a two tier justice system - there's a whole thread on this. Maybe read up about the difference between what happens if you plead guilty compared to pleading not guilty.

Your opinion of the Prime Minister is just that - an opinion. Do I think he's great? No. Do I think he's better than the last lot? Hell yes.

Lastly, if you think it's so awful here, you could always get a job in the US and move over there. I'm sure it'll be great.

Our country is in a diabolical mess!! It's a shit show, a complete and utter disgrace.
We have a two tier justice system, we have an incompetent cretin prime minister who is a compulsive liar.

Wake up and look at what's really going on here before you judge other countries.

I bet you his ultimate goal is to set up a Trump dynasty, which is after all quite an American tradition...

Donald Trump’s not a dictator. He’s a wanker.

‘Dictator’ is thrown around by the left too easily. I remember Margaret Thatcher being labelled a dictator by left-wing types all those years ago. In the UK and US, to the left the word ‘dictator’ means “a person I don’t approve of who’s been elected”.

I agree with @SamPM