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Big Dog is enjoying his last weeks. Who will be leader - Truss or Sunak Thread 13

997 replies

cakeorwine · 08/08/2022 19:09

New thread as needed.

I wonder what new promises will come out this week?

OP posts:
Thread gallery
7
Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 10:08

Before anyone thinks about installing a log burner get your chimneys checked and an experienced sweep in.

I don't think woodland on it's own would be sufficient. Our house just had a wood burning stove and a coal fired aga. We had a bit of woodland and good relations with our local landowners who occasionally sent wood our way. Still needed log deliveries. We also spent hours splitting logs and making sure they were dry enough and stacking them properly. Think about where you'll store logs.

This is bringing back a few memories. The fire was the first job of the day and heaven help you if it went out on your watch!

After a particularly awful chimney fire (kink in flue) I swore I'd never have a log burner in my house.

the80sweregreat · 29/08/2022 10:12

I asked on a different thread , but will the government have to give the factories money to keep going ?
Whenever I've seen Greg Wallace in one on bbc two they are huge and must use a ton of energy every day ( places like Amazon too)
Or will they be expected to just pay up and keep going ? Or do they have their own generators ?

Cornettoninja · 29/08/2022 10:36

the80sweregreat · 29/08/2022 10:05

I'm a bit clueless about the economy outside my own finances ( and an 'o level ' grade B in economics) so why is the Chinese property market stalling going to affect us?
Is it to do with our pensions , the stock market etc? Just the knock on effects of a big country in recession?

I’m not much more knowledgable than you but basically yes. Much like the American sub-prime market triggered 2008, chinas market is similarly tangled up with international economies.

that’s my understanding - more than happy for it to be corrected!

Cornettoninja · 29/08/2022 10:48

Here’s an article on the China situation if anyone is interested

amp.theguardian.com/business/2022/aug/28/crunch-time-china-tries-to-fend-off-property-crash-global-economy

Piggywaspushed · 29/08/2022 11:04

I was so glad when I moved from my old village not to be choking on the smell 9f everyone's burning logs and coal fires ( only to be placed round here by people with these outdoor fire things and farmers burning stuff). I guess asthmatics and allergy sufferers need to brace themselves...

Aren't we replacing one problem with another in terms of pollution?

borntobequiet · 29/08/2022 13:07

I loved my woodburner (actually a multi fuel burner). It kept the whole cottage warm as there was a huge stone chimney breast that acted like a three storey storage heater.
But even ten years ago logs were becoming very expensive and as others have said, there’s a fair amount of work involved storing them and lugging them about. Logs are heavy, especially before they’re seasoned properly. I wouldn’t want to forage for wood!

DowningStreetParty · 29/08/2022 13:33

Christ, it feels like end times when we’ve got a whole proportion of the population about to starve and freeze and an indifferent leader coming in who’s also going to abandon the few inadequate environmental efforts we had been making around fuel sustainability.

The climate crisis being other looming crisis we’re not tackling while we’re at economic war with Russia and ordinary UK citizens can’t feed themselves or heat their homes.

I wish I could add anything positive about any of this but I can’t, so I’m going to leave the link here for Positive News, just in case anyone else finds any of it useful as a distraction.
www.positive.news/

And again- please write to your MP asking for a recall of Parliament to deal with this unaffordable energy crisis. Mine is a Tory, presumably off on his holidays like Boris Johnson has been and hasn’t responded to my email yet, but I feel fractionally better for having emailed him about that.

DuncinToffee · 29/08/2022 13:34

Thanks for the replies re woodburners. It confirms what I was thinking when I see it being mentioned as a solution on threads and SM. And I hadn't thought about the necessary chimney sweep.

We don't have a chimney and only ever used logburners in holiday accommodation, the logs were always quite expensive so we used them maybe once or twice as a novelty Smile

the80sweregreat · 29/08/2022 14:19

The IFS has said today that Liz Truss's ideas on the economy and tax cuts are not very good.
I wonder if she'll change her mind ( again?)
There are a few chimney sweeps around where I live , they are busy apparently.

DuncinToffee · 29/08/2022 14:39

We are all in it together....

latest menu from the House of Commons MPs dining room
twitter.com/brawday/status/1563993192894238728?t=rkPZvfefQy7T3er9b3LWFA&s=19

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 15:25

That's a very nice menu for a very reasonable price.
But I'm sure you see similar in most offices, school dining rooms, hospital canteens, care homes etc.

Cornettoninja · 29/08/2022 16:15

they can do away with their bar and canteen and get a nice Costa like everywhere else.

countrygirl99 · 29/08/2022 16:54

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 15:25

That's a very nice menu for a very reasonable price.
But I'm sure you see similar in most offices, school dining rooms, hospital canteens, care homes etc.

I wish! Bank Head office canteen, sandwiches dearer than M&S by along way.

itsgettingweird · 29/08/2022 17:11

Tbf I can get a cooked lunch for cheap (few quid) but you have to either like school dinners (some are actually nice like the lentil curry) or like jacket potatoes.

But that's beside the point.

What I don't get is how they think cutting taxes will help people. Those who need the help aren't paying taxes because they are disabled and on PIP or low earners below the threshold (or marginally above it) and being topped up by UC/TC.

I know there's extra £650 and then £150 for disability etc but when the "average fuel bill" (I get it's not quite that simple) will be going from £1900 to £3600 a year that £1400 won't cover it let alone all the other cost rises and tax cuts won't generate them any extra to cover that shortfall.

And that's just until January.

DuncinToffee · 29/08/2022 17:23

Truss is following Johnson into the fridge

Liz Truss has cancelled her BBC One interview with Nick Robinson which was due to air this Tuesday evening (30th August) at 7pm. Ms Truss’ team say she can no longer spare the time to appear on “Our Next Prime Minister”.

Piggywaspushed · 29/08/2022 17:47

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 15:25

That's a very nice menu for a very reasonable price.
But I'm sure you see similar in most offices, school dining rooms, hospital canteens, care homes etc.

That's irony, right?

Not sure as you aren't jgw!

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 17:55

Yes it was. I'd don't have jgw's flair Grin

Not at all shocked by Truss pulling out. She's never handled 1-2-1 interviews well (I don't count hustings) and I'm sure they are worried that she won't connect with the electorate.

Shame though as it would be nice to have at least seen something more than the drivel they've put out to members.
Nick Robinson was involved in Young conservatives in Cheshire. He was Chairman of Oxford University Conservative Association. I imagine the BBC thought was he was a safe pair of hands to offer up.

jgw1 · 29/08/2022 17:57

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 17:55

Yes it was. I'd don't have jgw's flair Grin

Not at all shocked by Truss pulling out. She's never handled 1-2-1 interviews well (I don't count hustings) and I'm sure they are worried that she won't connect with the electorate.

Shame though as it would be nice to have at least seen something more than the drivel they've put out to members.
Nick Robinson was involved in Young conservatives in Cheshire. He was Chairman of Oxford University Conservative Association. I imagine the BBC thought was he was a safe pair of hands to offer up.

I was impressed. I may need to up my game.

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 18:08

Tied highest % to say 'incompetent.'

Government Competency Rating (28 August):

Incompetent: 54% (+2)
Competent: 14% (-2)
Net: -40% (-4)

Changes +/- 21 August

redfieldandwiltonstrategies.com/latest-gb-voti…

twitter.com/redfieldwilton/status/1564291836017000448?s=21&t=VlVMFQMj9KUOLc_TjIDyQw

tobee · 29/08/2022 18:15

I also have B in o'level economics @the80sweregreat! Go us! 🙌🏻 I'd rather have us running the country than the past and future Tory governments.

We have a usable open fire place at home. Wood (especially seasoned stuff) seems to go very fast so we use smokeless coal which lasts ages and is very warm. Not sure how great it is environmentally, even though smokeless, is expensive and quite often damp in the bag upon getting. We use the fire more "recreationally" in previous years.

54isanopendoor · 29/08/2022 18:33

DowningStreetParty · 10/08/2022 04:40

Boris Johnson defends leaving fuel crisis response to successor
www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62477155

Energy bills forecast to hit over £4,200 a year
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62475171

Do the Tories even have control of the economy any more? Do they even care, seeing as they just want to finish their holidays before saying anything at all?
I think back to August last year when Kabul fell to the Taliban while Boris’ government refused to recall Parliament.

Yet again, one year later, we’re now in a unbelievably bad domestic economic catastrophe… and they couldn’t give a shit either.

The fact that yesterday the most awful yet unprecedented energy price rises have been announced and Boris is still committed to being on holiday and is saying that this all this is a matter for the next PM.

WHY IS BORIS JOHNSON STILL PM IF HES NOT GOING TO DO ANYTHING? Why didn’t he just resign cleanly? Why didn’t we get a general election then? Why are we being expected to swallow all this while the Conservative party continues to put itself before people’s lives- no exaggeration whatsoever, this level of economic stress will be killing some very vulnerable people in the UK right now.

Gordon Brown was in the Observer last Sunday saying that we need an emergency budget, recall of Parliament and a Cobra meeting on the cost of living crisis. Yes we do. And what does our Conservative Prime Minister Boris Johnson do- absolutely nothing, because he’s too busy having parties and holidays paid for by god knows who, and flying military jets for fun at taxpayer expense. He’s disgusting.

Gordon Brown wrote: “The facts are grim: Four in every five pensioners, four in every five single parents and four in every five large families face fuel poverty – that’s when their energy bills come to more than 10 per cent of their weekly incomes. About 35million people in 13.5million households are under threat of fuel poverty in October – that’s an unprecedented 49.6 per cent of the UK

OK this is mass economic catastrophe.

Where is Johnson’s OR Truss’ or Sunak’s or anyone else in Government’s sense of shame and responsibility about this? They’d rather that millions of people live in fear over how to live- than to do their actual jobs and pause their holidays to help. I’m still constantly shocked by how shamefully this Conservative government can treat us. They’ve done it again. This is jaw-droppingly bad.

www.theguardian.com/politics/2022/aug/06/gordon-brown-set-emergency-budget-or-risk-a-winter-of-dire-poverty

Labour are working on their economic solution, tbc. Meanwhile Lib Dems have just suggested a new approach that looks worth exploring- Liberal Democrats call for scrapping of energy price cap rise www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-politics-62466386

i’m going to write to my Tory MP to express my utter disgust at this failure of duty but I’m fully expecting to just get an Out of Office reply instead. I wish we could all heat our homes and cook our food on the burning hot shame that the Conservative party should be feeling right now.

Whats it going to take, to find some government responsibility, a plea from the Queen?

I don’t know how anyone with a conscience can justify remaining a Tory party member while this goes on, let alone supporting this protracted leadership election just to serve Johnson’s vanity and wish not to be a shorter-serving PM than May.
I’m baffled how anyone would consider voting Tory ever again after they’re apparently so relaxed about this complete and utter failure of their government, in their own interests if they really couldn’t care less about anyone else’s lives.

Now we are seeing, out of necessity, news reports giving out debt advice to the public:

*Households already in debt as energy bills rise’
www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-62483770

Just reading this thread, I was struck by @DowningStreetParty post. Then I was further struck by the fact it was posted nearly 3 weeks ago, & we are all still all so very worried about the situation with no leadership.
Obviously those in already fragile situations, such as myself (a Carer, & disabled myself to boot, in an old poorly insulated house in rural Scotland) are worried.
But, even those in less fragile situations should be worried as this is going to have such HUGE & deep effects on the economy which could last for years.

54isanopendoor · 29/08/2022 18:36

I'm not sure I expressed that last bit properly.
I meant, from those in fuel poverty already, to those who may be ,more able to 'take the hit' -we should ALL be worried (angry!) about the effects on our society.

Notonthestairs · 29/08/2022 18:54

54 I do think the general public are worried and not just about their own bills but for their workplaces, schools and the broader economy.
The vacuum in leading the country hadn't gone unnoticed.
The summer & hot weather may have been a temporary distraction but I think - in England admittedly - the August Bank Holiday signals a look to the future.
The Government can't hide any longer although it seems they'll try.

Elodie09 · 29/08/2022 19:00

All these woodburners and open fires are going to be horrendous for the environment but what do the current governing party think we can do with the few options left to us? I'm going to write to my MP (again) but I think that he might still be on his honeymoon.
( I'm still waiting to hear from my last letter as to whether or not he supports our WASPI campaign. His answer was that he has been working on that matter for some time so I had to ask again , does he support WASPI or not? He gives all these stupid soundbite answers that never answer the real question being asked. So sick of it .)
BTW I still think Sunak might get it in a sudden jast minute swerve.
The world outside of the UK is mocking Truss (apart from the countries where she made deals which will make things worse for UK farmers. )
Idiot that she is.
At least Sunak has no need to be *managed " by the ERG , or to promise allies the earth as he is a rich as croesus in his own right so he will have a nice life whatever happens.

54isanopendoor · 29/08/2022 19:03

@Notonthestairs Yes, I expressed it badly. I think we ARE all worried of course.
Question is: what can we DO? Is it worth taking to the streets a la the Poll Tax?
(maybe but that was a different kind of issue) I suppose I just hate feeling so powerless. I wish we could all peacefully protest in some way that would force a more timely response from the Govt. I understand that it's a global / war related issue but I am also very clear that our Govts lack of preparedness & reactive approach to things in general & this RIDICULOUS 'we'll get our leadership election over first' nonsense is making the situation worse, unneccessarily.

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