Thread 22 Starmer - Running up to local elections

[BIossomtoes]

Here we go. Previous thread.

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5305431-thread-21-starmer-casting-nasturtiums?page=40&reply=143731831

To add - it would have to be font and centre in their manifesto, so would give everyone a chance to challenge

Nope - too difficult to disentangle from central funding I’d imagine.

Besides which Reform haven’t announced a policy fit to be enacted.
Which insurance model?
How much would it cost to implement?
How much will it cost the patient?
How long to be functional and what happens in the meantime?
They’ll suggest another referendum at most and then dodge all the difficult questions.

Farage talks a good game but will veer away from any action which might be measurable.

Wont stop him playing Fantasy Politics however.

Their no working from home policy is going well

The fact Reform are advertising 17 jobs, nine of which are based on home working, shows the weirdness of trying to ban wfh. These are regional jobs, presumably where Reform literally don't have offices. This particular genie will never go back in the bottle.

https://job-boards.eu.greenhouse.io/reformuk

I think @Notonthestairs is on to something re: funding. While the Welsh NHS has separate funding the money sent to Wales comes from general taxation which is collected centrally, not in Wales. Would be very difficult to work out and would definitely need at least cooperation from Westminster. They might blame Westminster for not being allowed to do it I guess…
Id lay money Farage and his crew don’t know enough about how devolution and the Senedd function to plan for something that major.
Also not being FPTP means you have to be a lot more than ahead in the polls to get overall control. I hope.

The Lansley reforms didn't apply to Wales so presumably it has some power to make changes.

Yes, all good points. I will stop scaring myself!

I’d be grateful…🤣

UK and India agree ‘landmark’ trade deal

The government has described the agreement as the biggest and most economically significant bilateral trade deal the UK has done since leaving the EU

Just heard this on the radio coming home. What great news.

also heard a fab interview on R4 this morning from a minister (can’t recall who) who really knew his brief and could answer all the questions. Think it annoyed the interviewer that they couldn’t fluster him!

I may not agree with everything this government are doing but it does feel like they are calm and considered and know their brief.

Just heard this as well on the way home, seems like very good news🫰

This might upset some people

https://bsky.app/profile/jdportes.bsky.social/post/3loj7dxtqrk2e

Mobility provisions in the UK-India FTA.

Not transformational (and definitely not free movement which was never on the table) but nevertheless useful and beneficial to both sides. More chefs please!

It has!

God, have you seen Farage sending the Express and others into a spin because of the reciprocal agreement with India over NI contributions?

He seems to think this is something new, when it is in fact similar agreements already exist with other countries.

I mean, this is what Farage wanted, wasn't it. For the UK to be able to make its own trade deals? But still he is not happy.

He will never be happy

Or until him & his cronies own this country stripping away employment rights/benefits a health service only the wealthy can afford & the majority of us become peasants beholden to our feudal overlords with absolutely no recourse he makes me sick along with most of the newspapers & supposed journalist & the total utter fuckwits that vote for him.

List here

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

So the deal with India is a Very Bad Thing according to some.

I bet it would be a different story if Sunak had managed to finalise the deal before the GE.

It would have hailed as the second coming the messiah & every other accolade they could think off

Some things may not be for sale, but Carney absolutely owned the orange one here;

https://bsky.app/profile/artrapnell.bsky.social/post/3lojfyhgzqk2j

He did

I’m losing the will to live tbh. Literally everything the government does ends up being couched in negativity by the press. I’m not sure how they are expected to govern because whatever they do someone is affected. James O’Brien on LBC was discussing the WFA changes being rolled back and even he admitted that no one anywhere wanted to be inconvenienced by any of their policies whether it be non doms, wealthy farmers or pensioners whist otoh Farage was freely talking about cutting public services with no kick back at all. It’s all completely mad.

Watching C4 news now, and it’s really not doing my blood pressure any good.

Interviewing Douglas Alexander about the trade deal with India, and it all came down to immigration, having dissed the potential contribution to our economy.

Then a piece with Andrea Jenkyns, who wants to get rid of DEI (or EDI, depending what we call it here), who went on to say that she wanted people to succeed whatever their background, race or sexuality.

<head hits desk>

Being replicated on MN as well. Another iteration of "brown people foreigners coming for our jobs" incoming I suspect.

I’ve just been reading a bit more about the Indian trade deal. Fair play to Starmer, it looks good. It seems very likely that Trump’s tariffs concentrated the negotiators’ minds and led to agreement. But that’s not a reason to attack the deal. Very positive.

👍

(I imagine if Sunak had got the same deal these threads and Byline Times would have accused him of a bad deal and hinted at corruption linked to his wife - sorry, couldn’t resist that.)