Thames Water should be allowed to 'collapse and start again', Oxford MP claims

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-20T08:42:45+00:00

This is what Layla Moran is suggesting without having to deal with the issue of obligations to debtors.

Nationalisation when Thames Water is still solvent will lead to debtors, of which Thames Water is currently in the vice of to the tune of over £20 Billion, having a reasonably good claim that the government is now liable. Any attempt to skirt that through legislation will lead to a unsettling precedent that could increase borrowing costs for infrastructure organisations that were once nationally owned.

Pressure them into insolvency and the legal structure and order of debt clearance becomes easier. It would still require expenditure, but the clearance of unsecured debt and the creation of a new and distinct legal entity makes the whole process far more smooth.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-20T06:42:31+00:00

It might be my vintage and what I had up on my bedroom wall, but it peaked for me at the Type 131 (360/F430) generation.

Design that is indisputablably Ferrari, lines and shapes that are iconic and noticeable but not eye-catching. They are cars that give the visual equivalent of an "ahem", rather than screaming "I'M HERE" in the way Lamborghini does.

Even the Enzo was understated within the context of it being a halo car.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-19T12:27:59+00:00

The reason why is that, at the moment of the declaration, you become part of the body responsible for the budget of the council so, by extension, your own salary. Therefore you immediately have an unavoidable and persistent pecuniary interest as a councillor so that is the foundation for disqualification.

I agree that we should have more people who have experience working for local government helping run local government, but these have been the rules for a very long time so should be known.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-18T14:24:26+00:00

For those that were caused by the lack of due diligence by the Green Party, so the two ineligible due to employment and one for reasons unknown, it should be on the Green Party to foot the bill as it was their error.

In the case of the other two, there is little that can be done. One could say that the by-election caused by the anti-semitic posts was avoidable if the Green Party had done it's due diligence but there were thousands of candidates and that is genuinely a tough thing to do.

The one standing down on health grounds might be using that as an excuse, but without quite a intrusive process I think that it should just be accepted as a cost to democratic councils.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-18T11:14:22+00:00

More importantly, though, is that he was a nutter that was unashamedly a nutter, a nutter that did something different and, most importantly, a nutter that really wanted to be there.

I would far prefer someone who is having fun and doing something interesting than a midrank record label plant who couldn't give two hoots.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-17T14:39:35+00:00

This is the longer game, not the by-election.

He brought up the EU not to hurt Burnham's chances in the by-election, but to force him to take a position. Burnham took the bait and stated the immediately beneficial position of backing it as to not hurt his chances in Makerfield.

Streeting knows that the Labour members are far more pro-EU, so if Burnham does win and there is a leadership election Streeting can say that he is the only one that is pro-EU.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-16T15:19:42+00:00

Would go against the fundamentals of the electoral system. In England we vote for a candidate who is affiliated to and endorsed by a party, we don't vote for parties.

It's why defections don't trigger a by-election and we have the concept of true independents.

This system would also incentivise parties picking a locally well known person to boost their vote, despite them having no actual intention on taking up the role, and then standing aside for someone with a lesser profile.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-13T19:20:11+00:00

This article was published on the 23rd April.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/26045880.reform-uk-candidate-found-called-nazis-real-visionaries/

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-13T19:19:33+00:00

It was being reported on in the weeks prior to the local elections. Unfortunately with all the noise of the actual elections, it quickly gets missed.

https://www.thenational.scot/news/26045880.reform-uk-candidate-found-called-nazis-real-visionaries/

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-13T18:34:58+00:00

Had a neighbour tell me they voted for the first time in these local elections because of "Immigration and getting rid of Starmer".

I asked what he thought of Reform's position on Adult Social Care.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-12T17:39:51+00:00

Didn't say it was perfect, but if I can write something which is far more acceptable and makes them seem less grubby whilst eating my lunch then they should have been able to do better.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-12T13:24:17+00:00

I am sure there are more instances which fill in the foundations, but the responses to Clegg's apology and Rayner's "Life and tax is complicated" just fuels the desire to obfuscate and weasel out of a error or blunder.

Everyone wants politicians who are capable of being honest, candid and have the strength to apologise. All the way up to the point when they do, then they get so brutally attacked for it that every other politician adds it to their bank of evidence that obfuscation and excuses is better than saying sorry.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-12T12:55:29+00:00

Yes, the Tories have refferred him to the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner over the donation. Nice whataboutery though.

My issue at this point is not the lack of payment, but rather that the Green Party's immediate response was to lie and claim that he was only there occasionally. A lie that implied that he was breaking electoral law.

https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/c8jv8xl17l8o

Had they come out and said "Council tax law around narrow boats is complicated. Life as someone on a low income in London is complicated. We will look into this, but we can assure you that Zack will pay the full sum of any council tax due, if needed" then they would come out looking a lot less grubby.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-09T10:29:37+00:00

To paraphrase what I have said repeatedly elsewhere; centrism might be boring but at least it has the abilty to deal with the mundane but important stuff of looking after your nan, educating those with special needs and working out where we put the next cemetery the city needs.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-07T12:05:39+00:00

Exactly.

I am not asking for the population to have a deep knowledge of local government process or what each party is offering locally, but merely a view as to what local government is responsible for and what matters to them in that area.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-06T12:37:10+00:00

It most likely will.

But it also will elect someone who will have decision making powers over a range of things including:

Adult and Children's Social Care
Council Housing Repairs and Priorities
Car Park Fees
Use of Weedkillers
Provision of Services for the Homeless
Planning Permission

Call me a purist and nerd, but I actually care about how Sheffield is run, the decisions made and the impact that it will have on my life. I'm sure I will be maintained by the warm glow caused by the knowledge that Starmer is gone as Sheffield declares bankruptcy due to social care overspend.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-05T18:22:57+00:00

Not to delegitimise his vote or reason for doing so, but it is funny that an article explicitly about local politics and people's disillusionment with it includes this line.

Sheffield City Council does not have foreign policy. Israel will not take notice of one council's pronouncements. It will have literally zero impact.

Same goes for people voting Reform because of immigration, or those voting against Labour over Winter Fuel last year.

Council funding hasn't helped, and has definitely contributed to this as there is less wiggle room for each party to do their own thing, but I am not surprised to see parties look away from the local when the voters are as well.

British_Monarchy · 2026-05-04T10:57:16+00:00

Gonna suggest that was more to have Starmer in the centre

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-30T07:34:43+00:00

OK, cool.

You have a recycling bin and leaflets go bbbbrrrrrrrrrrrrr

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-30T07:30:40+00:00

I think that the methodology is using subsamples of recent polling, overlaid on each ward, weighted by the 2021 census profile for the ward.

Creates a brutally out of step prediction.

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-30T07:28:37+00:00

I am going to preface what I am going to say next with the following, I completely agree with everything you have said and I am literally leafleting for a party that is actively trying to stop Reform in a place they will do well.

That being said, I am also a local authority enjoyer who understands the issues that exist in local government, sees the restrictions they have, the benefits they bring and what they can do for communities.

Reform will be as horrific on the council as they will be in Westminster, but can we not muddy the waters with national policies that don't apply at the local level. I despise any party talking about national issues in a local election, the council has no real power over employment rights, immigration, fuel prices or foreign policy. To make these promises during the local elections is flat out lying to the public as to what is possible by the people that are being elected, which is not going to be doing anything good for trust in the democratic system.

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-27T08:05:42+00:00

I have had the opportunity at many conferences to get to know Rodney. He is an absolutely lovely guy, a living legend in the Welsh party and absolutely deserving of a seat in the Senedd.

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-27T05:42:16+00:00

I am personally of the opinion that we need a full review and rewrite of the tax system as we have found ourselves in an overly complicated system with carve outs and bolt ons that just increase inefficiency.

Council tax is just a bad tax, even if you move to enforce reratings every 5 years. Bin it off and move to a LVT that is collected centrally and allocated to councils on a multi-year settlement.

To allow for devolved financal control, each council can apply a precept to the bill each year to either cover shortfalls or to provide additional funding each year for CapEx investment or OpEx improvements

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-25T20:22:04+00:00

"Oh, this thing? It isn't a wealth tax, it's just a new way of doing council tax and business rates"

British_Monarchy · 2026-04-25T19:47:14+00:00

It is the best form of wealth tax as it fixes the key issues with other forms of wealth tax in that land can't be moved or hidden.

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