Labour isn't Working - Thread 36

[Nuthatch26]

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.

Previous thread
https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/_chat/5544016-labour-isnt-working-thread-35?utm_campaign=thread&utm_medium=share

She puts on a really decent, and long, show from what I've heard. I would definitely go if given a ticket (buying one would make me cry at that price!).

She also donated loads to food banks in every city she performed in. And she's been brilliant with the Southport survivors. I wish her well in her marriage. ♥️

Yes its back to 1am UK 6 Pm Mexico Time what a farce ! in 1986 Mexico World Cup matches kicked off at 7/11pm UK teams also had time to acclimatise to the altitude of Mexico City. Why ow why would you in todays world decide to have any matches in 'bloody' corrupt cartel dangerous Mexico City. We know why it was to get votes for the USA World Cup give those pesky Mexicans a couple of games, where they can play 'Stupid' Mexican stereotypical music even when the game is pathetic ! The levelling effect is around 25% so yeah of course a home draw would give the home team about 3-5% advantage, but 25% is shite. Not that I give a shit whether we win or not, this for the first time in my 53 years I could not care less, yes I will continue to watch if we progress. I have been watching football live or on television since the age of 8 when I first stood on the terraces at Gillingham with my father !

The very worst case, say we go out in the Semi Final against a very 'lucky' Argentina side Andy Burnham would probably arrange a 'national celebration'. That's right a 'Failure' but for Mr 'Wigan Casino' what an opportunity for a bounce and man of the people moment.

I am utterly utterly very fucking angry and depressed about this country

Agree.

Neil Woodford (disgraced, star fund manager), wrote an apposite article on LinkedIn.

The electorate has virtually no interest in devolution. It is a Westminster preoccupation, not a doorstep one. But set that aside, because the more serious problem is the evidence.

Nails it.

www.linkedin.com/pulse/governments-dont-create-growth-neil-woodford-4lzzf?utm_source=share&utm_medium=member_ios&utm_campaign=share_via

@Parsley4321 @WildClover

I didn't go to the Eras tour - I actually didn't even try to get a ticket because I didn't think I would cope with the crowds. The last time I was at Wembley Stadium, it did feel like watching little dots moving around on stage!

However, in 2023, I had a nervous breakdown, being me I took a week off and then I was back working so it took me a long time to put myself back together in the other ways. A pretty normal timeframe according to the doctor.

Anyway, the excitement around the tour on social media honestly kept me going through 2023 and 2024. seeing all that happiness was so nice! It would've felt like a black void at times I think if the tour wasn't going on.

Certainly 2023 was a year I was very glad to see the back of. This is partly why I have a blank space (sorry) about what was happening politically at that time. I did go to the film and had a bunch of teenagers asking me soooo many questions about being an OG Swiftie 😂

Being a fan of TS from the beginning is probably a bit like being an adult fan of George Michael - you see the teenager trying to navigate the music industry and then growing up. Obviously with owning rights to your own work, that's been a similar story.

there were crazy people on MN though - calling her a flash in the pan and a social media invention... I find it strange, just because you haven't heard of somebody, does that mean they'll suddenly sell out Wembley Stadium because of a gimmick?

Similar lack of thinking is often applied to political concepts I think!

anyway, I wasn't trying to derail
the thread last night. I was just making an observation that it's strange to see this country singer who I've loved for nearly 20 years having become so big that news channels are running a live feed for updates about her wedding...! and also there's a lot of weirdness associated with that in my opinion but it looks like she/her team managed it pretty well.

there was an also a launch party for Madonna's latest album in London I think - I'm one of these people who is not particularly a fan of hers but I have huge respect for her as an icon if you know what I mean. Anyway, it's nice to see the joy around that as well. It's just important to find the joy right now.

And fingers crossed for 3 am Monday happiness! I'm not going to watch but I suspect any sleep I get will be punctuated by noise from within my block of flats!

Mexico City, though - oh dear. I had a lady from Mexico tell me not to visit as a tourist. Her family are still there, she goes to see them every year

I wasn't planning to go but the things she told me were pretty eye-opening

I promise, this is the end of my random observations today!

Yes agree. Plus devolution gives a handy excuse for failings in education and health. Someone else to blame. Although Labour previously benefited from that, not anymore.

Burnham needs to focus on developing places rather than sucking out money and redirecting it.

We Londoners would love to move Heathrow’s 480,000 flights a year to Sheffield, and instead have one of those shonky little northern airports, where you just roll up and get on the plane and whoever’s least pissed goes in the cockpit. I know you can only fly to Lodz, Alicante or the Isle of Man, but it’s much less stressful.

😂I love Giles Coren. I hope he's okay. I think he's been having treatment for cancer and that's why he hasn't been writing much recently.

It gets better:

Every day I look up at the oil-funded, 300m, desert phallus they call the Shard rogering my home town to death, and wish it was in Bradford instead. And now it will be. Get rich and powerful up there and the Qataris will literally move it.

And then your residential areas will suck out all our super-rich expat wankers in their 4x4s with their carriage drives and their video entry phones and all the fat little Saudi princes driving Lamborghinis around Mayfair in August. And if you’re taking them, will you take the London Eye and Buckingham Palace (the King doesn’t want it) and, please, all the goddam tourists?

I like Woodford's conclusion:
Devolution is not the answer to Britain's growth problem. It is a way of looking busy while avoiding the answer.

But I actually think Burnham is just not very bright, has no real ideas, and has excessive self-regard. I can almost hear the cogs clunking round his brain:

"I'm amazing and everyone loves me...
Have to come up with some ideas for them...
What's special about me??
I'm from Manchester!
Right...More Manchester! More North! "

There’s definitely the strong whiff of ill-thought through gimmickry and word clouds about Burnham’s proposals. It’s all very vague about where the money is going to come from for anything tangible and the rest is just ideas from adolescent advisers that have to include the words ‘North’ and Northern’ at every opportunity.

Very much agree. I don’t think anyone needs a grand plan. They only need to bring the cost of energy down and control immigration. Both are surprisingly easy to do. They are both problems of our own making that we could change within a parliament.
I think these alone would deliver a second five years. Then they could work on supply side reforms which are all about unpicking 20 years of bad ideas accreting, and improve some of our crumbling infrastructure.

I absolutely agree!

I saw a video this morning some rich influencer guy in New York at a huge protest saying that the state was turning Muslim anyone who didn't comply was out. He said it was now Newyorkistan. It was frightening seeing the crowds there. I honestly don't know where this is all going in capital cities around the world.

How funny

He clearly doesn't know what ‘istan’
means
because Newyorkistan means
land of the New Yorkers

All this having days or mornings off from School because England are playing football is a relatively new thing I can remember the 1988 Euro Champs In school when the early kick offs took place. I found it quite Pathetic and actually a symbol of what this country has become to take days off school or work for lets get this right a last '16' match not a World Cup Final not even a Semi . In any other non lets let anybody in 42 team competition a 2nd round game for christ- sake can't people get a grip on reality !

Sorry 48 team competition

Maybe tell him that. 🤷‍♀️

It’s all a bit Fast Show.

You're talking about Jake Lang I believe. He is not a good person, in fact he is dangerous. Apart from being a deadful far-right racist he was one of the January 6 rioters who were pardoned by Trump and is currently awaiting trial for various misdemeanours, including making a terroristic threat. I would not give credence to anything he says.

I agree. So much of what is wrong in the country is actually remarkably easy to improve.

It’s quite useful in a way. Labour men doing shite like Chagos, digital ID, ending jury trials, photo op nonsense and taxing endlessly is so bad Starmer is kaput.

Good stuff. Burnham can keep busy setting up Manchester look alikes and if he leaves everything else it’s better than more Labour shite. Keep him busy.

Can’t believe I missed the swiftie chst - I cannot believe so little has leaked about the wedding…I hope they’ve flogged official photos to donate the money to charity…TS is one of the tiny number of self made female billionaires.

my LinkedIn is full of logistics techs who’ve been laid off (apparently AI plus big push to get rid of middle and senior earners in the UK ahead of Jan workers rights bill to uncap the employment tribunal salary cap), and people angry at the tax logistics to pay for pubs stuff…

We’ve got to stop pitting one group of tax payers against the others - Burnham has learned nothing at all if he think he can keep doing this. And they wonder politics fragments..

Respectfully, I think this government are pitting tax payers against non-tax payers.

It cannot carry on - it’s not sustainable. Taxing your way to growth is nonsense.
Better if Burnham comes clean and either confesses they don’t have a clue, or they are simply trying to buy votes.

It’s one or t’other.

The swiftie wedding is going to be made into a documentary. Can't stop laughing.

This is true, but taxes should be broad, and we should “all be in it together” rather than one group hoping to shift the burden onto another.

Taxes on particular industries but not others are pernicious and creat special interests.