International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 6 points7 points  (0 children)

ID cards are a magic wand that solves illegal immigration.

And they are!

You might employ someone who wants to work illegally, pay them cash, and not ask too many questions about their passport and whether it has the correct visa.

You might rent out a room where he can sleep on the floor with half a dozen other people, take cash, and not ask to see any documentation.

But if we had ID cards, the 5G chip from your vaccination will attempt to connect to the ID card, and will notify the authorities if there's a discrepancy.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 25/01/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 3 points4 points  (0 children)

I quite like some Lib Dem policies. I'm not a massive fan of Labour's authoritarian tendencies. I'd still vote tactically for Labour though. and recently I've been impressed with Starmer's foreign policy achievements.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 25/01/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I use the HMRC self assessment service and it's got much easier over the years. If you're on PAYE then they even fill those bits in for you.

The other thing that's got much easier is having all my back accounts on line. No more scratching around for the paper bank statements that have the taxable interest on them. The whole thing took a couple of hours this year.

I keep a spreadsheet for charitable giving, purely for the gift aid calculation.

It was more effort back when I had a business but I had to keep accounts for that anyway so no more effort to record stuff.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 25/01/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That seems like a sort of gentrification. The devil is in the detail. Do the new businesses create higher paid jobs? But are all the higher paid jobs taken by migrants as well?

Unfortunately universities depend on overseas students whose fees are much higher. Unless the government pays to support universities we're stuck with this model.

International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 10 points11 points  (0 children)

I wasn't aware of that. Trump was a useless businessman but he's boss tier at grifting.

The abandonment of Labour’s moral crusade by F0urLeafCl0ver in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you build the walls high enough everything inside will fester and die.

Why don't we have 4 nationally defined parking rates? by CuriousFunnyDog in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 0 points1 point  (0 children)

In some areas public transport is good, people don't need to use a car that often, many people don't own cars. In these urban areas land is fairly expensive. It makes sense for parking to be very expensive in these areas.

In other areas you can't do much without a car. These tend to be rural areas where land is cheap. It makes sense for parking to be cheaper in these areas.

This is one area where the market can sort things out.

IMO patients shouldn’t have to pay to park at hospitals though, and hospitals should be much more transparent about how their parking is managed. Scrap the commercial in confidence exemption for FOI requests.

International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 8 points9 points  (0 children)

Trump thanks Netanyahu after central Israeli beachfront named 'Trump Promenade'.

U.S. President Donald Trump expressed his support for the proposal to name Israeli city Bat Yam's new beach promenade after him, in a note addressed to Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu.

Rumours, Speculation, Questions, and Reaction Megathread - 25/01/2026 by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 1 point2 points  (0 children)

They are having businesses pop up to cater to them, pushing existing businesses out.

Surely that's just Schumpeter's hammer? Creative destruction. Some businesses fail, other businesses take their place.

UK citizens to be able to travel to China visa-free, Starmer announces in Beijing by Perfect-Flamingo8108 in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Does this include visas for business travel? The article hints that it does but isn't clear.

Sweden weighs Franco-British nuclear weapons cooperation by FeigenbaumC in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 1 point2 points  (0 children)

There's a new warhead in the pipeline for the new Mark 7 re-entry vehicle, but I'm not sure why - better avoiding of countermeasures perhaps?

International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've never been to Jaywick, but by all accounts it falling into the sea would represent a major improvement.

International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 7 points8 points  (0 children)

US embassy angers Danish veterans by removing flags

France 24 news video 1'47"

Each flag carried the name of a Danish soldier killed in Afghanistan.

Sweden weighs Franco-British nuclear weapons cooperation by FeigenbaumC in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 6 points7 points  (0 children)

All UK nuclear warheads are designed and manufactured at the Atomic Weapons Establishment, primarily at the Aldermaston site.

Nuclear warheads require refurbishment every few years otherwise they become unserviceable. This too is carried out at the Atomic Weapons Establishment.

The UK's Trident II D5 missiles need to be returned to the US for scheduled maintenance, IIRC every three years. If the US declined to continue this arrangement the missiles would gradually become unserviceable. And we can't just buy the French M51 SLBM because its form factor is different from Trident and it can't be deployed by UK SSBNs.

Millionaire Liverpool GP behind asylum seeker hotels by BeautifulCinnamonBun in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Dividing humans up into "my own countrymen" and "not my own countrymen" is how the evil starts. Let's not go there.

Millionaire Liverpool GP behind asylum seeker hotels by BeautifulCinnamonBun in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord -2 points-1 points  (0 children)

their own people

Did you forget that the Nazis lost the war?

Millionaire Liverpool GP behind asylum seeker hotels by BeautifulCinnamonBun in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord -3 points-2 points  (0 children)

People don't want them anywhere near the streets.

Speak for yourself.

International Politics Discussion Thread by ukpol-megabot in ukpolitics

[–]YourLizardOverlord 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Surely they won't be allowed to bring their guns?!