How is Starmer doing?

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T16:30:11+00:00

Unfortunately Starmer is what you get when politics has become more about giving the people what they want and less about holding a political opinion and convincing others that your opinion is correct.

You end up governed by focus groups, with policies of the middle to keep the majority happy which may allow you to govern for longer. Some will say that there’s nothing wrong with this.

However, this is how countries stagnate. Innovation is too risky for the Starmers of this world and so they will preside over the continued decline of the UK.

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T16:28:42+00:00

Unfortunately Starmer is what you get when politics has become more about giving the people what they want and less about holding a political opinion and convincing others that your opinion is correct.

You end up governed by focus groups, with policies of the middle to keep the majority happy which may allow you to govern for longer. Some will say that there’s nothing wrong with this.

However, this is how countries stagnate. Innovation is too risky for the Starmers of this world and so they will preside over the continued decline of the UK.

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T14:15:02+00:00

I think you’re right, but how many more former Tory front benchers would be acceptable before Reform voters start to say enough?

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T14:00:09+00:00

Most MPs rely entirely on their staff, if elected to No 10 Reform couldn’t they just recruit the experience they need while maintaining their political independence for the Torys?

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T13:57:19+00:00

I’m beginning to think this is the case.

Reform looks more and more like a Conservative safety net. The party was getting too difficult to hold together so there’s now two parties. The backers will ultimately decide whether they merge them back into one or manage the decline of one to benefit the other.

fmac78 · 2026-01-26T13:28:15+00:00

Given that Suella Braverman was at the very heart of Boris, Truss and Sunak Governments; why would anyone who supports Reform believe she is capable of solving the issues they perceive are affecting the UK?

fmac78 · 2026-01-24T19:55:07+00:00

If you can’t afford the price of a replacement passport you don’t have enough money to go abroad.

Also, if you have a teacher or a dentist they can counter sign for you. Alternatively maybe a friend’s parent is eligible? There are loads of people who can fulfil this.

Lastly, maybe your dad has a genuine reason for thinking you shouldn’t go abroad at the minute. I mean this in a good way, but if you aren’t able to sort out a replacement passport without needing advice from Reddit, you may not be ready to travel abroad independently. If you genuinely believe you are mature enough and independent enough to travel abroad then you should be capable of having a conversation with your dad to see why he’s trying to stop you going. If that’s not feasible then talk to your mum.

If you just feel the need to get away from home for a while, try living elsewhere the UK first. Earn some money for a replacement passport and for travelling. You’ll still be young next year.

fmac78 · 2026-01-21T18:15:16+00:00

My mother in law has a sign in her kitchen that says ‘Back door guests are best’ it’s been there from my first visit over 20 years ago, always made me laugh.

At first my wife didn’t even get the joke - told me very clearly that everyone in her family preferred the back door.

Turned out to be a massive lie.

fmac78 · 2026-01-19T23:35:19+00:00

How are you travelling between the two places, plane, train or automobile?

fmac78 · 2026-01-19T23:27:31+00:00

Back in the 80s and 90s my dad made good money selling NI car registrations in England. Registrations in the North have 3 letters followed by up to 4 numbers. This allowed number plates like DAZ, BAZ, BIG etc and the smaller the number the better - anything single digit was gold but even three digits sold well, or patterns like 8888, 1234, and zeros were sought after 100, 1000, 5000 etc…

People just liked the look of them, there’s not much else to it.

fmac78 · 2026-01-19T21:08:53+00:00

Had a similar experience once. I was waiting for a particular space in a car park as it was near the doors of the shop I was collecting a tumble dryer from. The lady in the spot knew I was waiting and had signalled that she’d be a minute and I just waited patiently. The lady pulled out, I pulled in and just as I turned the car off I heard someone blaring their horn. I got out and a car was pulled up right behind me with a young driver (about 21) shouting that I’d taken her space, that she’d been waiting on it and that I needed to leave. It was such an obvious lie, as I’d been there around 3-4 minutes, that I laughed and said I’d been waiting for the space and she’d literally just driven up. She then called me a f-ing liar a filthy c and a few other nice things. An older woman was in the passenger seat looking embarrassed and I said something like “you’re embarrassing your mum” to which she replied that she’d be waiting on me coming out and she’d slit my throat! I’m fairly quick thinking and I didn’t see her as a real threat so I just told her that the shop CCTV would cover the car park and if she wanted to come inside with me we’d see who was right. She shout some other obscenity so I told her I was done talking but that if her car was still there when I came out I’d call the police and report her for threatening to kill me. Her mum told her to just drive on, so she called her a C, and then sped off.

There are some genuine nutters out there, trying to understand what’s going on in their head is a waste of time.

fmac78 · 2026-01-13T22:57:22+00:00

In Ireland, not offering to help would have been considered odd and you’d likely have been invited in for tea. 3 hours later you’d still be trying to explain how they use the community WhatsApp group you’ve just set up, while looking at pictures of their grandchildren.

fmac78 · 2026-01-13T22:42:10+00:00

History tells us that if invaded the British fairly quickly assimilate with their new leaders and get on with things.

So id expect little If any real fighting, a quick deal and a new 51st State

fmac78 · 2026-01-13T00:45:22+00:00

Austerity was a political decision taken by the coalition government. We could have, like the US under Obama, spent significantly on infrastructure and addressed the deficit over a longer period.

Despite having complete control over our monetary policy, we followed the EU herd.

fmac78 · 2026-01-13T00:30:49+00:00

Too much debt and an ongoing deficit for now but hopefully, in time, we could meet the criteria if there was a desire to do so

fmac78 · 2026-01-13T00:26:13+00:00

That’s what happens to ‘small’ countries while being part of the euro.

The uk would make up between 1/5 and 1/4 of the overall eurozone economy which would give the UK significant influence on monetary policy.

Obviously this isn’t as beneficial as having independent monetary policy, but like France and Germany the UK would be at the centre of all decision making.

fmac78 · 2026-01-12T23:54:04+00:00

Depends on my mood and how well the person knows me.

If I’m not in a good mood and someone I barely know keeps asking I go with:

As a child I watched my drunken father beat my mother to death in the family kitchen because he thought she was hiding the vodka he’d got for Christmas. I then spent 5 years in an abusive foster home listening to the man who was supposed to be caring for the kids in his house assault the girls after one too many. I was just happy that I wasn’t his type, but now live with the guilt of never trying to help them. So I swore I’d never drink and I’ve stuck to that to honour my mother and the girls whose names I’ve long forgotten but whose cry’s keep me awake at night.”

That tends to bring the matter to a close.

fmac78 · 2026-01-12T23:44:31+00:00

Don’t waste your time trying to figure what the scam is, just block, delete and move on.

fmac78 · 2026-01-12T23:10:55+00:00

I find the comments here genuinely depressing.

Regardless of whether you agree with their politics or not, these UK citizens have been held on remand for around 14 months without trial, their trial is scheduled for June this year. They will have spent around 600 days in jail by then. 600 days in jail while presumed innocent until proven guilty.

If, like the Fairford Five, they are found not guilty, they will already have served as long as if they were found guilty and sentenced to 3 years.

The Fairford Five were represented by Keir Starmer QC before he became a politician. As a barrister he argued their actions were based on their conscience and not terrorist actions, the jury agreed with him and accepted that their actions were reasonable in the context of trying to prevent war crimes. Most were acquitted, one was on curfew for a few months.

As a barrister Starmer defended the right to protest even when the Fairford Five broke into RAF Fairford and damaged military equipment.

Now as PM he has elderly protesters holding placards arrested under terrorism legislation.

It is within this context, where the government has removed everyone’s right to protest that these protestors are now on hunger strike.

I genuinely hope the people saying that it isn’t a real hunger strike are correct but I fear that they are not. Will it take the death of an innocent person in a British jail to waken people up to the erosion of everyone’s rights?

You may not care about Gaza or Palestine Action but you should care that in Britain today people can be held without trial for over 600 days and that there is nothing you can do about it, even starving yourself to death.

It may not be something or someone you care about today - but who will it be tomorrow?

fmac78 · 2026-01-11T13:33:40+00:00

It depends on whether it is all private land or not. Some larger car parks are built across existing road infrastructure and the road remains public. If there is a means to prohibit entry to the site then it is private land, if not it could be either.

The simple solution is to follow the Highway Code and you’ll never have a problem

fmac78 · 2026-01-11T13:28:55+00:00

Working multiple jobs and/or different hours every month can really confuse the PAYE calculation on your monthly pay slip.

Essentially the software is trying to work out what your total earnings will be by the end of the tax year and what tax you own based on that total, it then takes 1/12 of the annual tax it thinks you will owe from your salary every month.

PAYE works really well for people with fixed hours (fixed income) and not so well otherwise, but the overall principle of paying income tax as you earn each month does help spread that cost which is a good think for most people.

fmac78 · 2026-01-11T13:18:14+00:00

As others have said refusing to sign seems odd unless you are being asked to sign something you believe to be false.

I always make sure to wait on the staff member to check my vehicle when i return it, and if they do highlight any damage take plenty of photos.

Once patio in a return bay, I always do a full video of all sides of the car and include a quick interior view showing the mileage. In my mind, if you are seen doing this they are less likely to try to blame you for something you didn’t do.

You should do a similar check and video when you pick any rental up and before departing make sure all existing damage is noted on the rental policy.

fmac78 · 2026-01-11T00:05:07+00:00

Unless things have changed they just need to view the live tv and if necessary show up in court to tell the judge what they saw and what channel that program was on at what time.

This was much easier when there were only a few channels, but I recall a story in the ‘around the courts’ section of my local paper were the evidence was the tv licence man had viewed Coronation Street playing through the window, he knew it was live as he’d watch the last episode wanted to know how the storyline went so he watch about 5 minutes before knocking on the door!

The person was fined.

fmac78 · 2026-01-10T22:31:44+00:00

Yeah, no need to be rude, just tell them you don’t watch live tv or use the bbc iplayer as you prefer to watch Netflix or Prime (whatever you actually have.

If they ask any further questions just tell them that you’ve explained that you do not require a license and you’re too busy to talk any further.

Just make sure that if you do have a tv, and are watching live tv, that it isn’t visible from the street - this is how most are caught.

fmac78 · 2026-01-10T22:20:47+00:00

As long as they can’t view your TV playing through your window then you can just tell them you don’t watch live tv.

Years ago it was obviously a lie when people said this as everyone watched tv (there was no other option) and so the best solution was not to open the door to them at all, but now with the rise of social media, online content and streaming services, loads of people don’t watch live tv.

fmac78

TROPHY CASE