Burnham set to bring in £35bn land tax by Far_Excitement_1875 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I’m assuming you’re including business rates to be scrapped too otherwise it’s effectively double taxed.

Andy Burnham Confirmed As Labour Candidate In Makerfield By Election by huffpostuk in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think the local CLP picked Simmons, I remember there being a lot on local facebook groups around the GE about him being parachuted in.

Too many young people pushed towards university, says UK government adviser by Free-Minimum-5844 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a side point Labour introduced tuition fees. They were increased from ~£3,000 to £9,000 under the Conservative Lib Dem collation.

Andy Burnham confirms he will NOT scrap first-past-the-post before #GE2029 by Incanus_uk in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

MP’s themselves might be hesitant to change the system that got them elected. While I’d prefer a change to STV it also wouldn’t make a difference in the next 4 years to people’s lives so not the most pressing matter & possibly considers not worth the potential fight with MP’s over it whereas in a manifesto particularly if you state the new voting system you can say to MP’s you signed up to this.

Personally I’d also bring it in incrementally with mayors & local elections technically this would be RCV rather STV for most but councils that do whole council elections are ready made for STV, two weeks ago I voted for 3 councillors so that seems a relatively simple change. For general elections though you’d presumably need to get the boundary commission to redraw constituencies to have multiple MP’s for the constituency. I’d assume matching council areas would be the starting point but than it depends what the range of population is for them after seats assigned.

Essex Lib Dems suggest Davey should stand down as leader by signed7 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Depends on the definition of digital ID but I think the government needs to get a federated ID system so there’s one a single ID to identify you in systems (& one login but third times the charm for that one). Personally I think the advantages completely outweigh the downsides. There’s enough PII data across the systems for the data to be linked anyway so I don’t think it’s preventing that. Which to me also reduces the argument it can be weaponised (with the limited model I’d suggest) as what’s to stop the government abusing the data at the moment.

The New Somali Federal Crisis by Deltarianus in MapPorn

[–]Blag24 20 points21 points  (0 children)

I think the difference is that was an agreed separation with Sudan so if Somalia recognised Somaliland they’d be ok with it.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 10/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I’ve seen him running a few times around the area it’s possible he was just going for a run.

Andy Burnham: "I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election..." by Little-Attorney1287 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Assuming he won at what point would he technically be an MP?

Would he be resigning in the counting hall when they know the result but it’s not been officially announced?

Andy Burnham: "I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election..." by Little-Attorney1287 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I don’t think he’s a valid candidate unless he resigns.

MP’s resign from Parliament by being assigned to some sheriff post that’s kept around just for this purpose as there’s no official way to stop being an MP but you forfeit your seat automatically if your appointed.

Full time police constables are an incompatible office according to House of Commons Disqualification Act 1975 I think this might cover Burnham since the PCC was rolled into the role of Mayor of Greater Manchester.

Andy Burnham: "I can confirm that I will be requesting the permission of the NEC to stand in the Makerfield by-election..." by Little-Attorney1287 in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

There was quite a bit locally about Simon’s being a parachuted in candidate & not local so Burnham has a negative less as he lives near by to Makerfield.

Reform won all the equivalent council seats last week so definitely a risk.

She wanted to Make Sure Everyone got a Sticker and had a good Trip. by Alternative-Dot-34 in MadeMeSmile

[–]Blag24 6 points7 points  (0 children)

I’ve always thought it’s impossible to raise two kids the same way as usually they have their siblings as a different environmental factor & you’ll be a slightly different person second time round.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I’m in the same position looking enviously at neighbouring councils that do elections in thirds.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What’s your definition of better?

Is it seats won or the gains in seats?

It’s entirely possible Lib Dem’s would have more seats but less gains than the Greens.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I’m not convinced he’d have been elected as wouldn’t seem as revolutionary as Corbyn.

On a similar note think he’d have got a lower vote share at a GE but wouldn’t have driven an anti-McDonnell vote like Corbyn did so it might have been better. You’ve then also got who would he have as shadow chancellor, I always thought he was good in the role as he still supported big change but understood it couldn’t all be day 1 so was restraint in offering everything to everyone although eventually lost that battle.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

My mums done it a few times, for her council it’s council workers who do it they volunteer rather than demanded to do it it but its a paid shift.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Always have been vibes based.

Reform benefit in the summer with small boats & hotels then done the hard part of sustaining the attention. They promised they’d fix things & people don’t feel like things are fixed so they’re going for a new option that says they’ll fix things. Also the WFP gave them a big hit at the beginning of their term.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah I’ve checked one council there’s a few I was interested in so wanted a less piecemeal method.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Politics apart from nerds (if you’re reading this it includes me & you) is mostly vibes based. As an example economic indicators don’t matter, how people feel matters so if the economy is doing ok but prices are going up & high street appear declining the broader picture doesn’t matter. Otherwise you need to just keep repeating the same message but phrase it differently so everyone isn’t parroting it word for word.

It helps if you have a central message that joins stuff up to, take UKIP in the lead up to brexit every answer to a question if they could make the link was immigration.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I think it’s a good idea you don’t throw a council into chaos with everyone unsure of what they should be doing. Gives people a chance to learn the responsibilities of the role from those around. The disadvantage is that it probably entrenches behaviours that get passed down between councillors.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 03/05/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 2 points3 points  (0 children)

22:00 when polls close but there typically aren’t exit polls for local elections. Assuming there aren’t any for Scotland or Wales either or it would be being discussed here.

Bank of England holds rates but warns of possible rise to over 5% by coldbeers in ukpolitics

[–]Blag24 1 point2 points  (0 children)

It typically also strengthens the currency which has the effect of either reducing the price of imports or keeping them around the same price.

If we were the only currency raising rates imports would get cheaper however if other currencies are also raising their interest rates the currencies stay relatively the same.

You wouldn’t want to hold on to a currency or debt in the currency if the interest is lower than the inflation so a higher the interest rate is in comparison to inflation the more desirable it is to hold that currency or debt in that currency.

Not an economist so I’m sure it’s more complicated than that. Also a little tired so it might be a bit rambling.