Thread 30 Starmer - Magic Roundabouts

[DuncinToffee]

Pull up a chair for some friendly chit chat about politics and beyond

Taxes optional but greatly appreciated.

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5395939-thread-29-starmer-paint-your-bandwagon?page=1

I am @BIWI and have done half marathons both in the UK and abroad.
Those days are behind me however, and my ‘happy’ distance is now 10k, which I try to run regularly.

Impressive that you have run 25k. Can you get back in to it? Perhaps join a club or buddy up with someone?

Fair enough.

Very much so. Our economy will derive considerable benefit from it.

Oh no! Not 25K

C25K = Couch to 5K, in other words, get your arse off the sofa and run 5K. It’s actually a really good running programme, which starts you off very gradually and builds you up to running 5K, by doing 3 runs a week. Starts of with run/walk/run, building up the length of each run week by week, till you’re just running, and then running for 30 minutes. It’s actually quite a challenge to manage the 5K in 30 minutes, for a lot of people, but regardless, you’re still running non-stop for 30 minutes, which is obviously great exercise.

There are very deep UK-Norwegian ties. A lot of Norwegians fled to the UK when the Nazis invaded. And they certainly did their part ...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Norwegian_heavy_water_sabotage

Let's see where - and how - it gets reported.

That has no effect on the economic benefits.

economic benefits are facts and therefore not relevant in an ideological struggle. It's all perception and spin.

Look how despite a growing and thriving economy powering out of the pandemic, the Trump campaign was able to convince people they were poorer and getting more so. The spin outweighed the reality. And now we can see the realisation. Too late.

Good!

UK advertises contract to run Erasmus scheme.

Tender indicates ministers are preparing ground to rejoin European student swap programme

https://www.ft.com/content/c79dab61-d3eb-4c6f-9682-fa38f39e6055

That’s very good news re Norway.

The aligning with the EU continues.

TBH I hear rumblings about a new deal which is backed by many EU states.

The issue is the EU Commission who have imo much to lose in the process. But they maybe losing already because they aren’t managing to cope with Trump and their techniques of managing trade and investment simply can’t work with the political leveraging that other countries are now using instead of a technical legal framework.

There is something very unpalatable for the EU about Trump. If these tariffs of his hold up and do become the permanent base, then the UK will actually have a significant competitive advantage over the EU states. That was not the idea the EU Commission had in mind, and it does not look very clear they can fix it.

From the Telegraph

https://uk.news.yahoo.com/eu-willing-renegotiate-brexit-deal-070000709.html?guccounter=2

Oh that’s great .

Hopefully that will also have cross party support as some of the much more RW members of Tory benefitted from the scheme.

That’s phenomenal.

Power to everyone who starts off having done no or little running. I think doing a combination of walking and jogging 5k is a great start. It’s funny because your body wants to run after a while. And the time is irrelevant - just the fact that people are moving for 5k is brilliant. And in all weathers etc.

That’s genuinely terrific.

I'm totally in favour of reworking a better Brexit deal and the Erasmus scheme is great news too.

The timing of these remarks is extremely suggestive.

I don’t think the UK should rush back to discuss with the EU unless there is something in it for us. Because of Trump I can see the EU would be extremely concerned about some of its key industries relocating to near neighbours with better US relations.

I see the free speech champions are not happy with the Bishop of York's comments

Sky also mentions it's the 4th day of no small boat arrivals

I would say closer ties with the EU are more urgent because of Trump

I think if the EU is wanting more connection with UK as a response to Trumps reaction to them this could be the time for us to renegotiate - we could come out of better if the EU needs us.

Hopefully the new financial consultant/ advisor could be involved to make sure the number add up and they’ll out good ministers in charge of it.

And have good comms around it.

Hooefully they can get good comms around Norway too 🤞

But not perhaps on an economic basis @DuncinToffee

The EU has been fairly cheese paring with the UK on its deals. Our economy has big problems. The reason to talk to the EU is that. It’s all they can offer us. There are big ticket things they can do.

Otherwise the elephant in the room is that UK will sign a permanent US deal that addresses some of these economic problems we have. I’ve said it before. The EU is very slow. The small deal they gave in May was one offered at the point of Brexit. We accepted it in May. But without very substantial concessions from the EU Commission I might not bother revisiting it.

I did C25K a few years ago and loved it, and then my arthritis escalated (thanks to years of competitive fencing) and my right knee, hip and ankle refused to play ball. So now I walk and swim, and I do archery on a regular basis (we can now have an argument about the relative merits of field and target archery!).

It's getting outside in the fresh air and moving that is the ultimate goal.

Yay for the Norway contract and closer ties with the EU. It's not going to be easy, but it's the only realistic way forward if we want economic growth. Brexit really was the stupidest thing this country ever did.

A friend did C25K and loved it. It helped with her asthma as well. So pleased for her and I should start, though I prefer a bracing walk. My problem is that I fear tripping and falling.

Another friend, mid 50s, had an unfortunate slip and ended up with a fractured fibula, that was touch and go for a pin. That was in June and she's only just got the okay to drive her car which she needs for work - self employed.

Taco Trump can not be relied on when it comes to the economy.

The EU is far from perfect but the UK lost so much with Brexit

Sorry, but I don’t see it that way.

The Eurozone has some significant structural issues, led by Germany and France. Some of which are unique (tariffs hit Germany particularly hard given they have an export-led economy), and some of which share commonality with others (ageing demographics etc).

The US in contrast, is experiencing gdp growth of c.3%, and once Powell cuts, they will be off to the races, as it were.

People wont look at the mess Reform has made of the councils and think that means they shouldn't run the country though. If that was the case Brexit would have done for Farage. Instead, people who voted for Brexit because they felt they weren't listened to still feel not listened to now. The economic issues are blamed on migrants etc. Any problems in the areas run by Reform can be attributed to Labour and any frustrations exorcised in protests against migrant hotels etc.

I don't think a Reform government is inevitable but given it's a possibility I wish Labour were more responsible in how they use the law/legislate free speech. E.g. if a Labour government designates an organisation like PA a terrorist group then it's harder to push back if the next government starts designating new terrorist groups every week. If the far right are a genuine threat (they are) then you would think parties like the Dems and Labour would use/have used their time in power to shore up and fix democratic institutions etc but theres a complete lack of any sense of custodianship.

Sorry for ranting. I know this isn't meant to be a labour bashing thread just feeling a bit frustrated.