Westminstenders: Silly Season

[RedToothBrush]

It's that time of year again when politicians seem to completely lose their marbles in order to impress the faithful. And it is beginning to feel like conference season is increasingly an exercise in religious ferver to the party rather than considering what's in the best interests of the whole country.

Labour have got off to a good start before their conference opens, by almost starting complete melt down.

The Tories have promised to break from convention and try and over shadow the others, so that's something to look forward to.

And early this week we have the supreme Court ruling which could, regardless of which direction it swings, have massive ramifications for our democracy.

Big week ahead.

Well, indeed. We had the announcement of Facebook's "supreme court" just last week. Bit of window-dressing from the pseudo-nation, without any change in who has the power.

Facebook unveils its plan for oversight board
www.bbc.co.uk/news/technology-49735795

"Facebook does not have a court," said Bernie Hogan, senior research fellow at the Oxford Internet Institute. "The only vote that really counts is the majority shareholder, Mark Zuckerberg."

He added: "Facebook's 'supreme court' invokes all the pomp and circumstance of actual judicial practice without any of the responsibility to citizens."
[...]
Facebook's primary concern is that it doesn't want the power it currently wields - or at least, it doesn't want the scrutiny that power attracts.
[...]
"This panel is seen as an attempt to do something, but it appears to be just short of having enough teeth to make a difference," argued Mr Hogan. "It is a way to tell critics 'lay off, we are doing all it can'. Such a panel, while admirable is no match for some well organised trolls or broad systemic issues."

TheMShip I have everything crossed! And I'm thrilled about Unison.

"Money is the worst invention in human history. Discuss."

Apart from facilitating the exchange of goods and services and the accumulation of capital that created the economies upon which the last few millennia of human civilization have been built, what has money done for us?

Apart from facilitating the exchange of goods and services and the accumulation of capital that created the economies upon which the last few millennia of human civilization have been built, what has money done for us?

I wasn't serious

The flipside is the moment you have money, you have a reason why you can't just rock up at a place, build a house and farm the land.

And if you want to justify money, you have to accept what it brings - which is to give everything a monetary value. So much so that things that can't be assigned a monetary value are not priceless. They are worthless. (As people denied a vote earlier this year will find out.)

Right, that's enough discussion about money. Next; Transubstantiation: is Christ gluten free ?

The Labour party has traditionally owed far more to Methodism than Marxism

Matthew 19:23-26
I tell you the truth, it is hard for a rich man to enter the kingdom of heaven.

Again I tell you, it is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.

DGR migrant pensioners returning to the UK because their S1 had been taken away would have instant access to the NHS. The S1 denotes that the UK is their "competent state". For the same reason they are, at the moment, fully entitled to NHS care in the UK whilst living in the EU.
French law says that after three months of legal residence in France people are entitled to access the health service through the PUMA scheme. This may have a cost implication.
I don't think private health cover is at all possible. Sarkozy tried to throw us out of the health service ten years ago and DH then in his early sixties could not get cover because he had one BP tablet a day. My insurance, with no pre-existing conditions would have cost £4k per annum back then.
It is very worrying though. People have already lost about 20% of pension income since the referendum.
And I still haven't met anyone who voted for Brexit.

Repent, you rich sinners ! 😂

DGR migrant pensioners returning to the UK because their S1 had been taken away would have instant access to the NHS.

I wasn't aware - thanks.

So my subsequent suggestion - that we could see UK residents being bumped for medical care because a bunch of Spanish expats suddenly turned up and were put ahead of them in the queue - takes on a more immediate dimension ?

I appreciate it won't be their fault. But it'll be them in the waiting room taking the brunt.

See also: housing and education provision.

BigChoc The man who wrote the populist playbook put forward the strategy that you give people someone to blame for issues rather than present them with a detailed plan. Implicit in that is that you do not present them with a detailed plan, his example was a six point plan on pensions. (Sorry can’t link as the source is the FT and it has bought down a paywall on me). That is exactly my point, neither party is prepared to lead a process that leads to a detailed plan, indeed have actively avoided it because any solution is politically toxic. And labours policy is not even close to any sort of joined up thinking. So as far as I am concerned it is just more populism. If you don’t think all these crowd pleasers, free tuition, getting rid of private schools, all of which raise more issues than they do solutions to the real issues, are not coming from the playbook I think you are underestimating Corbyn’s advisers.

I agree on inheritance tax as a way to greater fairness though but it ain’t going to happen is it in the febrile political atmosphere where both extremes are shying away from presenting any uncomfortable truths and the centre seems to have disappeared up its own fundament.

Repent, you rich sinners !

Of course, Warren Buffet, Bill Gates and Larry Ellison have donated more to charity since 2000 than then entire world did 1900-2000.

(Actually I have no idea if that's true or not. But Brexiteers need to learn they aren't the only ones that can make shit up.)

And from my (admittedly limited) understanding, the Jewish faith is crystal clear than unless you donate 10% of your wealth to charity every 3 years you ain't Jewish ...

www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/what-is-tzedakah

Expat health coverage Notes:

(I'm so thankful I kept my own private healthcare. Being mistrustful of our govt is a survival characteristic)

• S1 only covers those who receive the UK state pension, so obviously not those who have retired early on a private pension but are still not of UK state pension age

So they would need other health insurance, which currently is not checked for EU citizens, but is likely to be after No Deal.
They may not be able to get new cover, if they have any health conditions or take any meds

• Some of those under pension age may still be working and covered under the state scheme of their host country But that may not continue if some E27 citizens, e.g. SAHPs, are denied NHS access

Again, they may not be able to get the required comprehensive private coverage

Queries:

• I don't know if any Brit who has not made at least 10 years NI contributions

• and hence is NOT in receipt of a state pension, even if old enough -

would still be entitled under S1 to have their healthcare paid by the UK

Anyone know ?

• the May govt said that for any UK expat of any age returning to the UK because of Brexit, the 6 month residence period for non-pensioners would be waived

Has this been implemented yet ?

emily Your wish to improve dementia care can also be called a crowd pleaser
It would certainly be very expensive and raise a lot of issues.

Populism - with its inherent blaming of an elite or a ethnic / religious / other group and its bypassing of normal parliamentary constraints -
is a whole different ballgame to popular policies

God forbid that parties should offer policies that people actually want, rather than make them eat all their broccoli
rather than impose austerity again

One could say that any govt that manages to get elected, because people like its policies and / or leader is populist

I manage to be a Socialist although no longer Labour and can count

My dad is a higher rate tax pensioner (although not as high a pension as some doctors for various reasons) and is happy to pay his tax (in fact, he once contacted HMRC to tell them that they'd miscalculated and undercharged him by £20 ) - and was a Labour voter for over 30 years before abandoning them after the Iraq War for the LibDems and then coming round to the idea that the only sane route for Scotland was self-determination through independence from the omnishambles of Westminster.

I'm happy not to inherit much, if anything, from my dad. In fact dh and I were just talking to him last night about making sure he should live life and if he wants to spend money on business class flights to South Africa (where his lady friend lives), then he should

He's very aware of how fortunate he is though: he has a friend in Zimbabwe who is still working at 80 , not because he wants to, but because his pension got lost in its economic meltdown and he needs to work for money just to live

We're also in Scotland, so mum's last 2 years in the dementia annex of a BUPA care home were covered. They looked after her very well. She ended up having to go in as she was falling regularly - one of the symptoms of the dementia - but didn't understand, because of the progressing dementia, that she couldn't just get up and do things. And as they live slightly out of town, dad couldn't stay with her 24 hours out of 24 if he wanted to shop, go to the dentist, doctor.....let alone have any sort of life himself.

We have the opposite problem with MIL: she is not coping at home, with regular UTIs, falls and being miserable at home (but then she's a miserable cow anyway dh's own description ) but refuses social care visits to support her. Plus one of his sisters (who had the main financial power of attorney dh is only if she's not available ) is, shall we say, quite enjoying having access to her mum's financial affairs It would help his mum's quality of life tremendously - and that of her offspring and their OHs who run about after her (the one who does the least is the sister with power of attorney ) if she went into sheltered housing (say,selling her house to buy a smaller one where there is a warden) but she's a cantankerous old besom who likes having her family running after her (and said sister doesn't want the house sold as it would reduce her inheritance can you tell that dh has no trust. in or respect for his sister ) His other (nice) sister and her dh are being run ragged trying to keep looking in on her while the other sister actively tried to get their mum discharged without a care plan after her last admission following yet another fall and UTI Dh is helping out only to help out his nice sister as he'd been trying to go low/no contact with his mum because of his mum's abuse (both emotional and physical) over the years. (and breeeeaaaathe )

The problem with Labour having Remain in its manifesto is that they and the LDems are then both chasing the 48% and splitting the vote

It would only help much if the 2 parties agree on an electoral pact, which looks most unlikely

Swinson looks likely to continue her attacks on the bogeyman Corbyn

Even after Corbyn steps down, probably after the next GE, the new Labour leader will be demonised by the Tories and most of the media
That has happened to every Labour leader I can remember, going back to Harold WIlson

Blair had a break his first several years, after he made a pact with the Devil Murdoch and promised not to address foreign / monopoly media ownership, or to tax billionaire non-doms properly

However, they fell out later, when Murdoch decided on Brexit
“When I go into Downing Street they do what I say; when I go to Brussels they take no notice.”

Brexiteers need to learn they aren't the only ones that can make shit up.

Don't descend to their level!

So a Remain Labour is more likely to lead to a hard right Tory govt having a working majority
and hence immediate No Deal, if that hasn't happened before the GE

Also, the Tories would certainly have the mandate for that, if they win a GE with No Deal in their manifesto
So even if they are the largest party, any all-party alliance against them would be on very dodgy ground politically

Swinson looks likely to continue her attacks on the bogeyman Corbyn

Swinson looks likely to continue her attacks on the bogeyman far left property seizer Corbyn.

Fixed that for ya! I know, I know “populism” is mysteriously only a problem for you when the right is doing it. For some reason.

the May govt said that for any UK expat of any age returning to the UK because of Brexit, the 6 month residence period for non-pensioners would be waived

Except - as Boris keeps reminding us - this is a new government and so not bound by anything May might have said. And indeed not bound by the law anyway. So anything the May government signed up to is now questionable.

I'm not bothered by it, because:

a) I don't believe Labour will win anyway, especially not if they have full-on Remain as their policy

b) The ECHR prevents confiscation without compensation
and after No Deal especially, the extra billions will not be there for everything

The state can already confiscate your house / land if e.g. they want to build a road, power plant, prison etc
So the principla has been there for centuries

c) All that privatising of public assets, started by Thatcher & continuing, is seizure of public assets, which are then sold at a knockdown price to the better off
often to buy votes, e.g. the original council house selloff

PMK

Leftwing populism is quite likely to gain power a couple of years after a No Deal Brexit

Then you'd really see the real thing - which isn't the current manifesto

• which btw I'm not particularly keen on, but it doesn't horrify me either All a bit "meh" really

Voters do seem desperate for some sort of change, so looks like the hard right will do their thing, then maybe the hard left
Depends if the pendulum swings back, or gets stuck

The hard left wouldn't have had a hope of getting elected for decades, if ever, if it weren't for the Tory nihilists and their mad Brexit screwup

The ECHR prevents confiscation without compensation

How are prisoners votes coming along ?

BigChoc I think people who had no state pension of their own could be covered by their partner as an "ayant droit" as it is called here. When we came DH was my ayant droit as we were pre state pension age and I had cover as someone who had just retired. Then Sarkozy tried to stop that and we then had cover as small business owners until we got to state pension age. It is extremely complicated here!
I don't think there is a delay for residency in the UK for any returning migrant. I have always understood that if you arrived and confirmed that you were now permanently resident and returning to the tax system then that was it. There is a delay for benefits.
Please, please can people stop saying "expat" pensioners. We are migrants.
Not accusing anyone on here, but on Twitter etc "expat pensioners" feels like the group everyone loves to hate.

“When I go into Downing Street they do what I say; when I go to Brussels they take no notice.”

Which is weird way to think, if you then consider how much less clout the UK will have in the world after Brexit. Has echoes of the ugly step sisters cutting bits of their feet to try the fur glass slipper ...

I know Labour are desperate when they start referring to "class"

• that btw would be populism, if they descend into specific attacks on the mc,

rather than policies which would most affect the mc, but without trying to scapegoat / demonise them

With Tory Brexiters also constantly demonising "mc elite Remainers", the beleagured mc better find a safe hole to hide in

Lewis Goodall@lewis_goodall

McCluskey:
“It is only Jeremy Corbyn’s Labour which says that whether you’re Leave or Remain matters less than your class.”

I suppose we’re going to have an answer to that hypothesis quite soon.