gizmoman

The main issue I have is the fact the BBC reporter used the "rolling his sleeves up and getting stuck in" line before he had actually done it, a bit like they reported the WTC7 collapse before it happened on 9/11. Maybe BBC reporters are just psychic.

You don't think it's even a possibility that something like this could be contrived? You don't find it strange how security didn't stop him? I certainly won't change my cynical outlook when it comes to politics and politicians, too many examples of dodgy dealings, criminal behavior and outright lies to start taking things at face value. It's pretty clear that Starmer is the chosen next PM, he is acceptable to the establishment in a way that Corbyn wasn't, the press dictate the publics perception of leaders by their reporting, Corbyn got trashed, Starmer is being promoted, should be easy enough to see.

Fair enough, I could be wrong, the fact is it has been a massive boost for him, couldn't have been better if it was planned.

Very good.

And yet he was still able to come up with the perfect line about "protest or power", I don't buy it, looks staged to me and how did the reporter know he was about to roll up his sleeves? He had only reached for his cuff when she said that. No actual reason for him to do so.

And that is why they did it, it was clearly set up, just watch the BBC live reporting, https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/av/uk-67065235 The reporter announces that his reaction is going to be "roll up his sleeves and get stuck in" even before he has unbuttoned his sleeve. Clearly a rehearsed stunt, why did he take off his jacket and roll up his sleeves? Not necessary unless he wanted to portray a more down to earth image. Security would have got him before he got to Starmer unless they were told not to.

Conspiracy theory,

A bit of glitter goes a long way.

Penistone is better.

That was the question I was just about to pose, if they had gone private and taken the patients with them there would not have been the pressure on NHS dentists we currently see, I suspect some have retired but the fact is the UK population has increased by around 10% over the past 15 years, mainly due to immigration, this has had an effect on services such as dentistry, and to be fair to you, this is something you have commented on before, the fact is, with an aging population we need some immigration but the continuous increase in the population leads to pressure on all public services.

So the problem is too many punters , not enough dentists, maybe we should cut back on immigration to reduce the demand? Or do you have a better solution?

Only 1 NHS dentist in Taunton? Wow that really shows how bad this is, I'm in a large northern city and it has been a problem for many years, dare not miss a yearly check up in case I get struck off, I've been with this dentist 50 years!

Well i was in my dentists today, the receptionist spent half her time answering the phone to people trying to get on the register for treatment, she said try again in 6 weeks, she has been saying this for years, there is clearly a real problem here, this could be a winner for labour if people trust them.

I've actually had experience driving in some of Wales 20 mph zones,, the fact is, much of the time you wouldn't be able to go over 20mph due to the congestion so I doubt there will be many prosecutions, it is pretty much a self regulating limit. During the day at least.

The same advice they had for the illegal signs for Ulez in London? We won't know if it's enforceable until someone challenges it in court, other 20mph zones in Britain have signs, I can't see how this can be legal as it stands. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2023/08/28/ulez-signs-could-be-unlawful-tribunal-ruling-london/

If they try this it won't be enforceable, we have a UK wide highway code which governs road users and provides for signage if a road is to be governed by a speed limit. "Remember that in areas of street lighting (other than on motorways) a 30 mph limit applies unless another limit is specifically signed" So they are going to have to spend an absolute fortune on new 20mph signs if they want to bring this in.

In the longer term air fares are going to rise, the EU have just introduced rules forcing airlines to use more biofuel which is far more expensive then regular fuel. https://oilprice.com/Energy/Crude-Oil/Air-Fares-Poised-To-Skyrocket-As-EU-Adopts-Green-Fuels-For-Aviation.html

Really good, some great points raised and discussed, pity the politicians governing us aren't as well informed and rational.

"The Tories, well some of them, want us to all work and work and work................." Not just the Tories I suspect, see Starmers quote above, "Labour will make Britain work for working people once again." Just working people then, what about the retired and those on benefits? It's not the first time he's used the term "Working people" recently, I see a real shift away from the benefit culture that Labour have, in the past, supported, state pensions are becoming unaffordable, hence the need to raise the retirement age, anyone still hoping for universal income may have a long wait, I can't see it being economically possible. Labour know they are going to have to make tough economic decisions, it looks to me like they have already decided to prioritize the worker over the economically inactive, bad news for those who can't work for some reason, I can see life getting even tougher for those.

It won't once you're a pensioner!

Clearly won't mention it before the election, once he's in power he will have to find the money from somewhere and the pensioners are the only ones with any!

The answer is pretty obvious, people need to understand what they read, https://www.mirror.co.uk/news/politics/keir-starmer-pledges-not-increase-30852604 Keir Starmer has vowed that working people will not be hit by higher taxes if he becomes PM. In an interview with the Mirror, the Labour leader pledged not to hike levies - including income tax. Making the landmark promise, he said: “We will do nothing to increase the burden on working people, whether it comes to tax or anything else. They have paid a heavy price for the incompetence of the government after the last 13 years.” Notice how he uses the phrase "working people", that clearly doesn't include pensioners, so he can reduce benefits or even increase taxes on pensioners and still keep to his promise, don't think this was a slip, that is the plan.

2004 was 19 years ago, how much do you think your house should be worth? If it has gone from £135k to £202k that's an increase of just over 2% per year, hardly a massive increase. Your parents house was bought with a mortgage and they have spend money in addition to improve it, they have had a bigger increase due to buying well but the price now has to reflect the true price they paid including the interest on the mortgage and any loans they had to fund the improvements. Stevie wants to tax this "profit" but the truth is it's very hard to calculate how much additional money has been made, fact is, if they are buying another house there is no "profit" as the house they are buying will have risen by the same margin.

Not used it for a while but have used the Distill add on for firefox in the past, they also do other versions, can send you a text if there is a change but you may need to have a paid version, worth a look anyway. https://distill.io/apps/web-monitor/

The water problems in Britain stem from the privatization and mismanagement of the water companies, that can be solved if there is an appetite for it, we are not short of water, we do need a better "water grid" to pipe water into areas that may occasionally have issues. However none of that is relevant to my argument, I wasn't arguing against compost toilets, just the current implementation of them, better design and improved manufacture could sort out the issues people have had. "hessian bags hung in each cubicle" Really? is that the level of technology available to us? What about some sort of automatic dispenser? We have people living for months in a space station but can't design a simple system that people are happy to use at a festival. It can be done, needs a bit of investment and imagination.