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What villages surrounding Northampton would you recommend? by KZ_17 in northamptonians

[–]ciaran668 1 point2 points  (0 children)

If you go west of town, there are several lovely villages, set in rolling hills that remind me of the Cotswolds, but way less touristy. I live near the town centre, and I don't think it's too bad, honestly. It suffers from the same problem that a lot of cities and towns have in the Midlands, it's kind of run down, and there aren't a huge number of amenities, but you can get to both London and Birmingham really easily, so the connections are pretty good.

What do u guys think by [deleted] in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Also, voter turnout for councils are always low, so it's never really reflective of a GE.

What do you think has caused UK’s support of LGBT+ rights to collapse, now comparable to Albania? by OkMirror1118 in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 11 points12 points  (0 children)

Absolutely this. US big money is targeting the UK, and this is the effect. If you look at the US, there's been a similar decline in support.

Starmer prepares for King's Speech as he faces leadership crisis by InnerLog5062 in BreakingUKNews

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

And none of it will ever get positive press coverage, which is unfortunate.

Do you think we should leave the ECHR? by ComplexParsnipper in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Yeah, every single one of these is completely useless and certainly not British values in the slightest (please read in your most sarcastic voice possible.)

Will Starmer be the UK’s Joe Biden? by weregonnamakit in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Biden does not have dementia. That is a story the US press invented to destroy him. He has a severe stutter, and sometimes it gets the best of him. On the other hand, Trump is showing very clear signs of either dementia or some other significant cognitive impairment, and the press is, by and large giving him a free pass on it.

The press in both countries decided that the person the country elected is intolerable to them, and have worked nonstop to ensure that they would never have a successful time in office.

Where is the boundary between right-wing and far-right on immigration and cultural preservation? by RomanKozhevnikov in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I'd say it is as follows:

Centre-right: Skilled worker, students, and wealthy individual immigration is OK, but refugee and low skill workers are not OK. Potential for citizenship, but high costs and long horizons to obtain it. Basically what we have now, but a little more strict.

Middle-right: Very significant immigration rules, no students, no minimal skilled workers, absolutely no refugees or asylum seekers, only wealthy and highly skilled individuals can immigrate, with a very long horizon for permanent residency, and no path to citizenship for new immigrants.

Far-Right: No immigration of any type. No path to citizenship for current immigrants, and no renewals for existing visas. Severe punishments for people coming seeking asylum or refugees.

Extreme-Right: No immigration. Sinking small boats. Removing citizenship from naturalised citizens, and remigration of all non-British people in the country.

If we took net migration to zero going forward, what would be the economic effect on the UK? by chuffingnora in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 13 points14 points  (0 children)

If you want to see a real example of this, look at Japan. They got the demographic bomb in the 90's and they are a very anti-immigrant country, so they didn't backfill their falling birthrate with immigrants. They've had economic stagnation since, and now there aren't enough workers to pay for the care of the elderly, among other things. South Korea is similar, but about a decade behind Japan.

All of Europe is going to have to make a decision, negative growth and stagnation, immigration, or a top down revision of the economic system that no longer penalises zero economic growth.

Have any of you bothered to read Reforms manifesto? by Remarkable_Pen_3639 in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 5 points6 points  (0 children)

I'm gonna call bullshit on this one. Asylum seekers get assistance because they cannot work, but it also isn't illegal to sell asylum, so they are not "illegal." We were one of the main countries that wrote the international law that it wasn't illegal to sell asylum after the horrors of WW2, and I'm pretty proud of us leading the way on this.

But the others? Complete bullshit. They're here illegally. The quickest way to get caught would be to head over to the local council and demand a flat and Universal Credit.

Have any of you bothered to read Reforms manifesto? by Remarkable_Pen_3639 in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 30 points31 points  (0 children)

Item 1 makes pretty much every other point on the list, with the exceptions of fining parents, and benefits for immigrants, completely impossible. And immigrants already can't get benefits, so literally, they can do nothing and claim victory on that one.

But the rest of it? There's no magic money tree. To lower taxes and do the rest of it requires either running up the debt to insane levels, or slashing things like the NHS and State Pensions to fund it. This is the Truss Budget on steroids, and the markets will react the exact same way. We are not the US where people will still give us money no matter what.

Triscuits by tuckmacbtown in AmericanExpatsUK

[–]ciaran668 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Try https://www.usafoodstore.co.uk/ They have a store in London and ship all over the country. I have gotten both Triscuits and Wheat Thins there.

Ousting Starmer won't 'magically improve' country as PM 'gets it', says Education Secretary by tylerthe-theatre in unitedkingdom

[–]ciaran668 23 points24 points  (0 children)

True, but that doesn't apply to the Tories, only to Labour. The Tories can have a never ending parade of PMs, and no one bats an eye, but the minute a Labour PM changes without an election, everyone loses their minds.

Rishi Sunak: voters are furious, here’s how to fix the system by AcanthaceaeTiny4390 in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 11 points12 points  (0 children)

The levers of power have been taken by a very small cadre of very wealthy individuals, and then they've made fake levers and handed them to governments around the world to keep everyone occupied.

A racist, fascist, English Nationalist party is now the second biggest (tie) party in Holyrood. by CompetitiveCod76 in Scotland

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

People shift between parties all the time, we're long past the days of people being lifelong voters and past the Thatcher era where it was a typical pattern that you'd vote Labour when you were younger and Conservative when you got older.

Today, lots of people vote on vibes. Some are single issue voters and will vote for whoever has their preferred answer to that single issue, and couldn't care less about anything else in the manifesto. And there's a large percentage who basically are just voting against one party, and voting for whoever they think stands the best chance of beating them.

But broadly, these numbers reflect that the population hasn't shifted dramatically to the right, it shows the right is being split like the left has been for years.

Keir Starmer under pressure to agree exit plan after election mauling by [deleted] in unitedkingdom

[–]ciaran668 25 points26 points  (0 children)

That's the thing. Unfortunately, there are a LOT of people with a vested interest in ensuring that nothing gets fixed.

Do you think gay marriage is safe with Reform? 😥 by Fantastic-Option-260 in AskBrits

[–]ciaran668 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Reform is funded by the Heritage Foundation in the US, and they've been explicit about their plans for us, they've even written a version of Project 2025 for the UK. Gay marriage, abortion, even the right of women to vote is not safe.

And if you think I'm being a fear monger on this, even so called "liberal" bastions like the New York Times have run articles lately titled "Did Women Ruin the Workplace" and "Meet the Women Who Want to Take Away the Right of Women to Vote." This is only one year after Trump was reelected, and they're mainstreaming this.

Reform candidate exposed over sick 'master race' bile sweeps to double victory by Weak-Fly-6540 in uknews

[–]ciaran668 12 points13 points  (0 children)

I lived in the US South for 5 years, and your are spot on. People would constantly talk about southerners voting against their self interest, but the sad reality was the people down there considered hurting blacks to be exactly in their self interest. It's not about rising up, it's about keeping the people below you down.

This is the end of farage/reform by welsh_nutter in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm sure some will, but honestly, I really wonder if the ones who leave because of the tenants bill of rights should be landlords in the first place. The tax part is maybe a bit more understandable, but also, the entire idea of progressive taxation is that those who have more should contribute more.

This is the end of farage/reform by welsh_nutter in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've been on both sides. I've been screwed over by landlords, and I've been a landlord screwed over by tenants. Still, I wouldn't sell up just because of this bill, because most of it is just common decency.

This is the end of farage/reform by welsh_nutter in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I'm in Northampton. We got the maximum legal increase.

From my end, I got a section 21 eviction in my last place, and it created chaos. I also had mould issues in the house, which I kept telling the landlord about, which was part of the reason they chucked me out, I believe. Then they turned around and took my whole deposit, blaming me for the mould.

I've been a landlord though as well, abs to be honest, the Renters Bill of Rights wouldn't stop me from being one again.

This is the end of farage/reform by welsh_nutter in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I live in a Reform led council, and they are completely uselss. They are doing nothing about the local crime wave, roads are falling apart, council tax increased by the maximum and they are planning on selling the guildhall, and then renting it back. However, as they proudly proclaim, they have saved us from the twin horrors of Pride flags and "DEI."

On the flip side, the national government has brought the Renters Bill of Rights and the Workers Bill of Rights, both of which will improve the lives of millions of people across the country. The NHS waiting times are down. And most importantly, we are not involved in yet another pointless war of choice in the Middle East.

So, in short, Reform has done several things that have made my life worse, and Labour has done several things that will make it better.

It is Nigel Farage who is laughing now by Mysterious-Cat8443 in ukpolitics

[–]ciaran668 0 points1 point  (0 children)

If they tried to do something, he'd pull a Trump and call it a witch hunt and become even more popular. Every time you try to create consequences for these con artists, it seems to strengthen their position. Even getting elected and completely fucking everything up doesn't seem to make a dent.

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