Labour isn't working - Thread 23

[TheNuthatch]

A chat thread for those who don't like this Labour government. 💙

The problem with socialism is that you eventually run out of other people's money.

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When Farage was a boy prime TV popular programmes were showing it in millions of homes

Jack Booth in Love thy neighbour
Alf Garnett. Till death do us part.
Reg. On the buses.

Children collected figures from Robertson jam
The black and white minstrels performed regularly.

It was a different world Farage and his school mates were exposed to.

Oh please, when we were at juniors (80s) the school kids would play tig but when you caught the other person we'd shout 'aids' and then run off. Total product of our generation and scary advertising, viewed through the lens of kids whose parents told us nothing and for whom tricky subjects were deciphered through older siblings. Imagine having to explain that through the media cycle?

My son is earning 22349. 7p an hour above minimum wage two years post degree. He's now completing his two year masters hoping to boost his salary. His boss is allowing him to work two days a week, three days at university.

In 2004 his brother who did the same degree at the same age was earning 24k pa. He never bothered with a masters. Two years later went overseas for 78k

My other son degree in science was offered 14k pa in 2003. Decided to do the masters. A year and a masters later was offered 28k by a foreign company. His career soared his pay rises were in double digits.

We have such a downer on talent in the uk

I reckon you're spot on with this take. I agree we've been infiltrated by malign forces over time, some of it NGO funded, and I do wonder if it's because there is little or no redress when perpetrators do get caught.

One thing I do believe has happened and having lived through it think this graph illustrates it perfectly, the distribution of the right and left (here shown by the dems and the republicans in the USA)

if it isn't showing, just google "The Economist Asunder" and it will show under images.

I think the graph illustrates the UK too. I agree with 1994 in the wake of Thatcher and Reagan, I agree with 2004 moving to the left a point after years of Clinton and Blair, and I also agree with 2017 when even parties traditionally right governed left, Corbyn with 40% in a GE. I don't think we are too far from the 2017 position today.

People talk about polarisation and division in politics all the time, to reduce this we need a big overlap like in 1994 and 2004, shared values. This has been very diminished by 2017.

So what has caused this division. Well the BBC and MSM will blame it all on the mythical far-right, but as we can see from the above while the traditional republican (or UK Conservative) has moved a little to the right....from 5 or 6 to 6.5 average, the real change is the democrats or left moving from 4 or 5 to 2. If these people has stayed where they were in 1994 or 2004 there would be far less division now.

So 30+ years ago someone as far left as Starmer would be viewed as having limited appeal, however with the profound shift of the left we can see why he was elected.

If I had to mark the current UK parties I'd be somewhere around.
SNP/ Plaid/ Greens - 1.5
Labour - 2
Lib Dems - 2.5
Conservatives - 4.5 (not fooled by what they say, I saw what they did)
Reform - 6.5

@justasking111 so are people being asked to report if they think wood burners aren't compliant? I thought you were allowed to use ones that had been installed before a certain date and that those didn't have to be compliant

I don't live in Wales, so I may be completely wrong.

Agree, but I'd go further and argue they don't even have a starting 11.

This is in England not Wales Emerald.

@justasking111 sorry I don't know why I thought you were in Wales!

In that case, I have exactly the same question for England 😂

Starmer complimenting the McLaren team this morning. Was waxing lyrical.

Ummmm what about the driver. Can't mention him because he went to public school. Millfield.

Wood burning stoves in built up areas can be an utter menace if it's churning out crap. We have a neighbour who must throw any old shite into his burner but we just have to fill our house with air purifiers and spend a fortune on filters for them. I'm not one for just banning everything though, but I do wish there was some common sense about who needs one and who is in a mid-90s estate where you could swing a cat and hit ten houses.

Does Milliband still believe in a 2030 ban for Petrol and Diesel Car Sales if so the man is with the 'fairies' ..

Petrol and diesel car ban to be 'pushed back to 2040' in huge U-turn for drivers (msn.com)

I had a Google this weekend because not only was it in national media but localish press.

Fair.

Either way, wood burners in urban and semi-urban environments should not be permitted IMO.

Rural, absolutely.

Yep. Better stop those bursaries to help talented kids do the same.

"Wood-burning stoves could face partial ban in Labour’s updated environment plan | Environment | The Guardian" https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2025/dec/01/wood-burning-stoves-to-face-partial-ban-in-labours-updated-environment-plan

Labour is planning to force bosses to encourage staff to join unions under its workers’ rights reforms, it has emerged.

All companies will reportedly have to communicate to their staff that they have a right to join a union, including employers with no union presence.

Ministers are planning on handing bosses a government-approved statement, with official documents stating this would prevent “hostile” employers from discouraging union membership, The Times reported.

Gosh, how convenient for their biggest financial backers. <Sigh>

https://www.dailymail.co.uk/health/article-15344627/Labour-wood-burning-stoves-air-pollution-harm-health.html

Another @EmeraldRoulette

Friends of DH brothers one worked in the car industry in Oxford, the other in Birmingham. Both designers in the 70s . They said that the unions destroyed jobs and walked away.

Of course. Unite want to stop funding and Labour throw a bone. Corrupt fuckers. Just pleased the majority feel the same about Labour, that’s it.

I am increasingly depressed by the lies and disinformation put about by Labour.

The falsehoods about Tory covid corruption is what really upsets me: we had a global pandemic, we threw money at it - as we should - and some was defrauded. But, no, Labour wanted, and did, turn it into a massive lie about Tories deliberately benefiting their supporters.

And here we are: Labour openly greasing their paymasters.

Well, well, well.

@justasking111 thanks. I know about the potential ban but you mentioned something about people being encouraged to report? I'm curious on what grounds they could report. Sorry if I've missed something obvious. My brain function is really poor today. These are the worst couple of weeks of the year I find for SAD.

A union should be a really good thing. It should really just be keeping an eye out for workers rights. shouldn't have all the associated stuff that seems to go on.

I used to be surprised that more people weren't members of unions, having been in the private sector it's not really been obvious to me to join one. I was a member of one briefly for a specific contract and was genuinely taking aback at how much mad stuff they get involved in.

I wouldn't want a union to be political, I would just want them to help me with the practical things. I suppose you used to be able to get HR to help with that kind of thing, but not anymore. Well, maybe you can, I'm not in a permanent job anymore so I don't know. First time my post was made redundant in a private company was years ago, and both HR and my boss were very good and I got a very good package.

Second time I volunteered so that was different to actually needing someone to negotiate stuff for me.

Completely agree. The pandemic stuff is nonsense, I’m glad you counter it.

I’m an unabashed child of Thatcher, so to me, the unions are akin to the antichrist…