Council Elections

[OneTealShaker]

The first declared seats going to Reform.

Reform +2
Labour -1

Buckle up people.

Who pays to process their claim? Who pays their legal bill when they contest deportation? Who pays for their accommodation? Who pays to educate their DC? Who pays for their health care? Or do you suppose none of these cost exist? You are very naive if you genuinely believe each immigrant only cost £49 per week.

He is 22, I'm so proud of him, he has worked so hard for this & it's for the area our family & us have lived in all our lives.

@SapphOhNo but at least we would have some. .we absolutly need to use our own supplies whilst there is. Global supply issue and we are totally reliant and vulnerable on others.

It's not for ever we are moving to other greener ways but it's not there yet

I’ve seen asylum claims from EU criminals where we are forced to house and feed them while paying for the processing of their claim and legal fees, even when it’s patently obvious they have zero right to asylum. They do it to kick the deportation can down the road.

Let’s hope he isn’t scrutinised for his age like George Finch! Well done to him.

Canada has nationalised healthcare but that does not include medication. Shall we all pay for our own meds now? That would save the NHS quite a bit. Apart from when people couldn’t afford the medication and require expensive tertiary care as a result.

If Reform further privatises the NHS (which already has many internal markets thanks to Thatcher and successive Tory govts), we would not get a Nordic or German or French model. We would get an American model. US healthcare companies are already here. We are a very tasty market for them. I wouldn’t be surprised if Farage had not already met with US CEOs.

But, be careful what you wish for:

In a comparative 2024 study on the health systems of 10 countries: Australia, Canada, France, Germany, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Sweden, Switzerland, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

The United States ranks last overall.

The three top-performing countries in 2024 are Australia, the Netherlands, and the United Kingdom. …

Yet, the U.S. spends more than 16% of its GDP on health care in 2022. That figure is predicted to exceed 20% by 2035. From to 2023, the other countries healthcare went from between 4 percent and 8 percent to between 8 percent and 12 percent by 2023.

https://images.jifo.co/25471861724097511158.svg

Edited to add that healthcare in the UK is affordable to the poorest person. Free at the point of need. Yes, there are long waitlists. Same as in most countries.

Granted, with insurance in the US, you get fast access (subject to your provider’s restrictions). You pay in excess of $20,000 a year for your insurance mind you. And if you’re a 17 year old boy with covid but no insurance, you die in a taxi being sent from the for profit hospital emergency to the free for the poor hospital emergency. I’m so glad that is not the UK… currently.

@Q2C4 what are stable coins ?

It’s likely we wouldn’t get an American system at all. Honestly!!!

A cryptocurrency which is designed to be more stable than the likes of bitcoin or ethereum.

A type of crypto asset backed by fiat money, gold or other secure assets eg gilts.

“The UK government is actively integrating stablecoins into its regulated payment framework by 2026-2027 to foster financial innovation while ensuring stability. The strategy focuses on regulating fiat-backed stablecoins as a secure payment method, with the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) overseeing issuance and the Bank of England managing systemic risks.” https://www.gov.uk/government/publications/policy-note-draft-statutory-instrument-amending-the-cryptoasset-regulations/draft-statutory-instrument-amending-the-financial-services-and-markets-act-2000-cryptoassets-regulations-2026-policy-note

They'll also have fuck all say over healthcare and how it's funded.

The councillors that have been elected to local council.

Do Reform voters take pens because they can injure themselves with pointy pencils?

The French have a good system.

I don’t think this is the bloodbath people are expecting at all. Labour have suffered losses but they still hold by far the most councils, and most of those they’ve lost have gone to no overall control. Reforms gains have not really turned into control - with the exception of Essex and 2 of the districts. The BBC is reporting change not absolute numbers. There are about 15000 council seats in the UK. Labour have about 5,600 of them. They’ve only lost about 300 so far.

Polanski Is saying the new politics is Green v Reform. He’s completely deluded isn’t he? Green are still bottom party by a considerable margin. Their numbers plus Labour or the Lib Dem’s don’t even match Reform and the Tories

You do know that not all seats were being contested? So they have lost a large share of what was being contested.

Heh, I should have known my post answering @Q2C4 's post would get insta-banned! Not sure how I can answer it without using bad words. I'll try again:

"A form of secret money that is a lot more stable than the more well-known forms of secret money that you will have heard about but I can't mention here."

All council meetings are public welcome and if like my LA all recorded and available to view live or online afterwards.

There is going to be some ‘interesting’ viewing as all of these new and many inexperienced councillors attend public Overview and Scrutiny meetings.
The councillors role is to question senior LA employees with many years of knowledge and experience. To hold them to account, to ensure policy and strategy is followed, targets met.

The councillors where the newly appointed, inexperienced, 19 year old Reform councillor was the elected member responsible for the Children and Young People’s Service springs to mind.
In my LA, the staff member who is the (employed) Director of Children and Young People’s Service is an ex social worker, 33 years service safeguarding vulnerable children, setting strategy during his career, in other LA’s, for schools, early years, social care, safeguarding etc etc.
How on earth is an inexperienced lay person going to fulfill his role?

Some great viewing coming.

I'm well aware Brexit was a disaster, thanks. I'm on the left myself and didn't vote for it.

What's pissing me off is the complete and utter failure of Reform's opponents to comprehend WHY people are voting the way they are and doing anything effective in any way to change it. A decade of sneering and calling people stupid has been proven a completely failed strategy for changing people's minds. What are you not getting about this? I'm talking about the left's complete failure of political strategy in getting the population onside, not the brilliance of Reform or Brexit, ffs. And yes, I think continuing to follow the same bloody failed, out of touch, sneery and classist political strategy is likely to continue achieving the same result. A lot of people who are not voting for leftist parties see this as a kind of class war. Perhaps do some self reflection and start changing the approach? Is this too hard for you to understand?

We will never agree . I just don't think immigration is the cause of the decline of this country. Why do you think the right wing billionaires are buying up the media, and are so keen to channel our anger towards people with nothing? Does the concentration of assets, wealth and power not even bother you?

In which case they’re not illegal, are they?

Which costs the taxpayer more than ours.

Thanks @SapphOhNo . Spot on. Trouble is real common sense is hard and not very exciting. Nevermind. Things are about to get very exciting in some local authorities.

On the subject of oil and gas , it might be worth drilling in the North Sea if petrol stays above $130 a gallon for an extended period I suppose. Might be worth planting a few spuds come to that. If things get to that stage I think cooperation with the EU would be more helpful than Nigel's Trump tribute act.

I don’t think PP needs you to agree. She knows her own experience better than you.

Of course we would. We already have elements of it.

GP Practices:
US health insurance giant, Centene, through its UK subsidiary, Operose Health, has been taking over GP surgeries and practices in London and across the country for many years. Centene has recently taken over AT Medics, a primary care provider responsible for 49 GP surgeries and over 370,000 patients in the Greater London area. With a total of 70 GP surgeries and practices, Centene is almost certainly the largest single provider of NHS primary care in England.

Hospitals:
The Ohio-based Cleveland Clinic is launching its first UK medical centre in an eight-storey, 325,000 sq ft building that overlooks Buckingham Palace in the wealthy neighbourhood of Belgravia. This is the first big push into the paid-for UK healthcare industry with an investment of £1 billion by the company.

It will also be the biggest private hospital in central London after the 206-bed HCA-owned (also American) Wellington when it opens on Tuesday. The Wellington Hospital in St John’s Wood, London is the largest private hospital in the United Kingdom and is owned by the American company, HCA Healthcare.

HCA Healthcare, a major US-based healthcare provider, has a significant presence in the UK with over 30 facilities

That's the difficult to control 5% the other 95% is entirely within our control - how we set the rules and whether we stamp the visa "approved" or "decined". The other 95% is relatively easy.