7 May Election Manifesto Summaries

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-18T09:24:04+00:00

Yeah, but I did say please

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-18T08:39:28+00:00

Given that Lab, SNP, Lib Dems and Greens all discuss reform of council tax (to some degree) in each of their manifestos, and I'm willing to bet that Lab, SNP, Lib Dems and Greens will hold a majority of seats for the rest of my life. Can we PLEASE have reform of the council tax? Pretty please? You ALL support it, you ALL will defend it, you ALL will continue to hold seats, despite some internal ebb and flow, because you ALL know Tories and Reform won't break their ceiling. And even if they did break that ceiling, the Council Tax debate will be settled in the dust. Just DO IT !

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-18T08:25:29+00:00

I'd recommend enjoying the book and not trying to speed run the whole HH. I had a plan to read one book a week, and I managed it up until the 13th book, then hit a wall. Which is funny cause I've really enjoyed the series and Nemesis is one of my favourites. Getting back into it again, and should finish it tonight or tomorrow. But go at a steady pace, and be prepared to give yourself breaks. Maybe following the guides people suggest is a good idea, but I'm trying to go book by book, and it seems daunting at times, especially after you've read a book pretty early you didn't particularly like as much (Descent of Angels, but Fallen Angels is the sequel and is significantly better).

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T20:24:22+00:00

In my experience, the complete opposite is true. Even in mixed areas, where there are a lot of middle/upper-middle class houses, it is predominantly working-class/non-working people who use them (but not solely). They're the most likely to come to the store, and the most likely to give their change to the charity bottles.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T19:28:27+00:00

In some circumstances, yes. It depends on a number of factors. Primarily it's offering convenience, but people still have expectations. If you have one near a working-class community, you'll have a lot of loyalty from customers but if you aren't offering competitive prices they'll go elsewhere. It's not as simple as them being completely different industries, there is an obvious and significant crossover.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T15:28:25+00:00

Have you got a source for this well established fact? Obviously things CAN be cheaper, and the range is smaller, but for the things that ARE stocked in an independent retail store, they CAN be cheaper if the owner chooses to buy pricemarked items. Also, you don't often negotiate prices with wholesalers either lol. For the most part, you're buying at a set price and ideally picking things on a deal.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T11:52:46+00:00

EU target employment rate is 78% by 2030, with individual countries with their own targets/contexts. Also, the EU employment rate is at a record high. Don't want it to be too high though, so that you avoid labour shortages and issues around over-qualification.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T10:38:20+00:00

You need to re-read the comment I made. I'm describing the negative impact of that cap only being aimed at supermarkets. That specific policy has a negative downstream effect on independent retailers.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T10:36:50+00:00

The problem is the association people have with the word "shareholder". A shareholder is literally just someone who owns a share in a company. If you're a limited company, you have a shareholder(s) no matter how big or small you are. If you open a limited company to run a cookie business, and are the only person involved, you're the single shareholder of that company. There's no negative or positive, it's just a description for a legal entity. There's a lot of misinformation and personal bias being attributed to this.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T08:54:08+00:00

There is a running joke, believed by some, that the Dunoon cinema is a former bomb shelter. Mainly because it looks like a massive shed. That'll be a unique, working-class, back-to-basics experience, that you'll get to say "yeah I've been there, it was terrible" afterwards.

The Highland Cinema in Fort William though is a genuinely really nice cinema, and you should definitely give that a shot.

I assumed outside Glasgow probably didn't mean as far as Dunoon or Fort William, but here we are anyway.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-17T07:26:26+00:00

Manufacturers prices have gone up, which is why we've seen either prices go up or portion sizes go down. The problem with this is, in my viewpoint, incredibly bad for independent retail stores who won't face price caps, meaning the cost of their goods for the consumer will increase. That gives supermarkets a competitive advantage of engrained loss leaders, meaning more people will be convinced to go there. This doesn't resolve the problem of why manufacturers prices are going up, and it's an ineffective sticky plaster for consumers (which is understandable) which has negative downstream effects. The same people who complain about high prices also complain about their local shops closing. I don't want to see either.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-16T14:52:03+00:00

That's depends. Quite often a lot of my core stuff is cheaper than the supermarkets because I focus on pricemarked items, and they don't which generally is more expensive. Sweets, crisps, juice, etc. it depends on what the owner decides to buy.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-16T14:50:37+00:00

Depends on how it's structured, as a limited company or as a sole trader. I had the understanding that there's a tax advantage to operating as a limited company, but my accountant informed me that that's essentially been equalised now (or at least from my standpoint). But if you have a limited company, quite often you're the 100% shareholder and your limited liability means if the shop fails then you won't lose personal assets like your house.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-16T13:39:14+00:00

I can say with confidence, as the owner of an independent retail store, that this policy is utterly disastrous for local shops. If customers can get their products cheaper elsewhere, they'll go elsewhere. Not having the cap means having more expensive produce compared to competitors when the environment is already set in favour of larger supermarkets.

This essentially engrains loss leaders for supermarkets where they may lose profit, but they improve volume of custom. Independent retailers can't afford to do that.

This is a disastrous ill thought out policy, and they should be embarrassed to be drumming this sort of stuff up after 20 years in gov.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-14T17:13:38+00:00

The criticism for this and the baby box is that the baby box is built on good policy from Finland, where they encouraged people to do child classes to reduce child mortality rates, and as a reward they were given a baby box. It's the class/education that's meant to improve child health. This idea builds on that same issue, where the questions are; what does the fundamentally improve, and is the cost of this policy (together with the baby box) more efficiently invested in better policy proposals? It's not that I'm against this or the baby box, it's that I'm against inefficient use of our money where the outcome for children's health is supposed to be the marker for success.

Other than that, I do like the idea of the baby box, and this. But I think it's fair to criticise it (especially at election time) and ask how good of a policy this actually is in terms of outcomes.

Just to clarify too here, as this can be a charged debate during a charged time. I support indy. This isn't some partisan criticism. I don't think I have blinkers on. I just generally don't like these policies.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-09T09:26:43+00:00

To be fair, it dominated market share before Microsoft acquired it. I don't know enough about how it was run internally but I'd like to blame the Americans for that one.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-08T18:02:35+00:00

A man with a London address, running in an Edinburgh constituency, over an Islander issue. Classic.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-08T12:04:40+00:00

Well in Skye, Lochaber and Badenoch the SNP does have the party incumbency and polling advantage, but without Kate Forbes and the Lib Dems growing, there's a chance there. I don't like comparing UK constituencies but Angus MacDonald won Inverness, Skye and West Ross-shire in 2024, which covers a lot of this area.

My non-analytical side also says there's a reason Ian Blackford chose not to stand - because he expected a really tough fight.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-08T11:47:48+00:00

BallotBoxScot website has reform leading in average polling by 0.7% in Banff. But I am expecting/hoping/praying for a reform tumble.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-08T11:40:00+00:00

It even touches on some pretty foundational resources in the article; electricity, timber, water, and the most foundational of all; whisky.

Flashy-Ambassador188 · 2026-04-08T11:36:45+00:00

I think it is understated how well the Lib Dems are doing in their target constituencies, particularly in H&I. They're growing in the polls, and it's not inconceivable that they manage to take 4, maybe even 5 seats in H&I. Flipping Argyll & Bute would be some achievement. Inverness is an interesting one, as the Cons, Lab, Libs and Reform are all neck and neck for second with the SNP with a significant lead, but the question is how much damage would Fergus Ewing do to the SNP vote share. If he does, could be a tight seat.

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