The UK Politics and EU Referendum thread - merged

[Doobs]

It's the faux piety that makes it all so unbearable.

I wouldn't care - it was a failed political stunt - if we hadn't had such sickening sanctimony about his honesty and decency.

David Cameron (allegedly) put his winky inside a pig's head and (arguably) had less heat than Corbyn, for this reason exactly.

Trump could probably set fire to an orphanage and we'd be over it in the morning.

I can kind of dismiss the cameron incident because there isn't really any evidence it happened, and even if he did he was young and likely under dome pretty severe pressure from his buddies to conform.

But there is a lot of truth in the latter.  If you set yourself out to be above this kind of thing, then when you get caught you are always getting more heat.  The older ones amongst us have been here before where the Tories got absolutely slaughtered after taking the moral high ground with "back to basics".  I hope I have got the name right, but they were preaching to everybody about the importance of marriage etc at the time.  So when half the cabinet were exposed to be having affairs, kids out of wedlock etc, then all sides of the press had a field day.  Even of there wasn't any truth in it the thought of David Mellor in a football kit is enough to make me shudder to this day.

It goes into the expenses scandal too.  You expect many of the tories to be greedy self serving bastards.  But you should be able to expect better from those who believe in social justice.  Unfortunately, there was little evidence that I should have expected better.  At least Corbyn wasn't guilty here, though I'd be pretty appalled if he was claiming tens of thousands to travel a couple of miles up the road to Islington.

[Jon MW]

Weren't more Labour politicians 'done' for expenses than Tories?

[redsimon]

Weren't more Labour politicians 'done' for expenses than Tories?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_parliamentary_expenses_scandal

there were more labour mps though 413 to 166 tories

[Doobs]

Weren't more Labour politicians 'done' for expenses than Tories?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_parliamentary_expenses_scandal

there were more labour mps though 413 to 166 tories

Wow, I am sure they are right, but they seem scarcely believable  with the current state of the party.  Next you'll be telling me the lib dems once got 57.   

[DaveShoelace]

Weren't more Labour politicians 'done' for expenses than Tories?

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/United_Kingdom_parliamentary_expenses_scandal

there were more labour mps though 413 to 166 tories

Wow, I am sure they are right, but they seem scarcely believable  with the current state of the party.  Next you'll be telling me the lib dems once got 57.   

Beat me to it, I googled it to verify they had that much of a mandate. Bonkers how things have changed.

[rfgqqabc]

Interesting that Virgin Trains can release cctv footage for point scoring reasons. Not quite sure that is the reason behind security cameras.

Also Corbyn trying to make this point on an 11am train from London to Newcastle seems even worse than his execution, not that I'm sure it was premeditated.

[Doobs]

Interesting that Virgin Trains can release cctv footage for point scoring reasons. Not quite sure that is the reason behind security cameras.

It has already been reported to the information commissioner.  I don't think it is clear cut.  Corbyn has stated that passengers have been made to sit on the floor in a ram packed train that had been identified as a virgin one.  Virgin could claim it was appropriate for them to release the footage that showed this to be false.  If Corbyn hadn't released the footage or made the ram packed claim then they wouldn't have any grounds to release the footage. 

Probably best to veer away from telling lies about a company that you intend to Nationalise. 

Fwiw on to today's news how the feck do you renationalise thd NHS?  Surely it needs to be privatised first?

[redsimon]

Best joke I saw today "JC in Virgin berth controversy"

[rfgqqabc]

Interesting that Virgin Trains can release cctv footage for point scoring reasons. Not quite sure that is the reason behind security cameras.

It has already been reported to the information commissioner.  I don't think it is clear cut.  Corbyn has stated that passengers have been made to sit on the floor in a ram packed train that had been identified as a virgin one.  Virgin could claim it was appropriate for them to release the footage that showed this to be false.  If Corbyn hadn't released the footage or made the ram packed claim then they wouldn't have any grounds to release the footage.  

Probably best to veer away from telling lies about a company that you intend to Nationalise.  

Fwiw on to today's news how the feck do you renationalise thd NHS?  Surely it needs to be privatised first?

Since 2013 there have been many private sector contracts in the NHS. Whilst I'm not sure that means you can call the NHS privatised, healthcare is no longer a purely public sector in the UK.

http://www.nhsforsale.info/privatisation-list/overview.html   *

http://www.virgincare.co.uk/service-hub/gps-practice/

I wonder why Branson has been so vocal?

*edit: Not fact checked the source at all

[DMorgan]

Best joke I saw today "JC in Virgin berth controversy"

haha 5*

[TightEnd]

this is an interesting read, in the guardian of all places

Column: Labour has forgotten how to do politics for people who aren't that into politics.

https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/aug/24/labour-complains-tories-govern

[rfgqqabc]

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Private_finance_initiative

http://www.nhsforsale.info/privatisation-list/surgery/the-great-pfi-swindle.html  

"The Cumberland Infirmary in Carlisle was first opened in 2000 under the controversial “private finance initiative” which sees the NHS pay a private company rent-like payments to make use of facilities."

Sorry for link spam but its really hard to read all the sources and concise this quantity of information down without inserting my own opinion. Admittedly, pasting a link swindle in the title isn't much better but this is what popped up when I started to google.

[MintTrav]

Would any taxpayer have a problem with paying for a first class seat so he can do some work on the journey? Some would consider the floor stunt work I guess.

I think this is the ideal reason why MPs should pay for a first class seat.

Earlier this month this story did the rounds http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news/jeremy-corbyn-rides-night-bus-6175223

In hindsight it was probably all bollocks but there were loads of viral meme things going around about why this showed Jezza was honest and a man of the people and all that. All I saw was someone who wasn't prioritising the important things and was being unproductive.I don't want a potential PM getting the nightbus I want them getting a private car so they can either get more sleep if they need it or spend more time on important things (Cycling is ok because I want my elected leaders to be fit and healthy). Just as I want my elected leaders using computers and email, not a pen and carrier pigeon.

Obviously I get with Corbyn did what he did as it is good PR for him (until now) but I want a leader not a martyr.

Not sure why, but this reminded me of the stories about Gandhi supposedly travelling "third-class" and Nehru's comment that it had cost India a fortune to keep Gandhi in poverty.

[TightEnd]

Are trains in Britain as overcrowded as Jeremy Corbyn claims?

a good summary

https://www.theguardian.com/business/2016/aug/24/virgin-trains-fares-overcrowding-jeremy-corbyn-railways-q-and-a?CMP=twt_gu

[TightEnd]

No independent country has finances **anything like** as bad as SNP-run Scotland

http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2016/08/independent-scotland-now-bankrupt/



the wholly unpartisan scottish daily mail took the news well

Click to see full-size image.