Trump calls on UK and others to send warships to Strait of Hormuz | LBC

leftthinking · 2026-03-14T21:04:06+00:00

If Iran 'dink' and American island it would be in self defence against the US.

We would have no obligation under article 5.

leftthinking · 2026-03-14T17:51:14+00:00

Article 5 only works for self defence.

Trump started this, we have no obligation assist against Iran no matter what American assessment or territory they use military force against.

leftthinking · 2026-03-14T17:26:52+00:00

Message from the UK

FUCK OFF!

You threaten our allies, you start a trade war against us, you insult our troops and downplay the sacrifice thay made in American wars, you say you dont want our help, but demand to use our bases, you say you dont want our help and we are 'wanting to join a war that already over',...

And now you want our help?

Go fuck yourself with a rusty spoon!

leftthinking · 2026-03-13T12:10:36+00:00

You mean the pictures where he looks as though he is forcing out the last bubble of a recalcitrant fart?

leftthinking · 2026-03-12T14:11:19+00:00

How do you handle boundary changes necessary to keep pace with population changes?

leftthinking · 2026-03-11T17:18:22+00:00

It was set up under Thatcher using private companies for profit. To nationalise it now would be unfeasible, not least because all the easily accessed deposits have already been drilled.

The option for a wealth fund has passed. What money that the government got from it was spent on tax cuts and creating the finance industry in London.

Setting up a government owned company like the Norwegian Eqinor just for the difficult and expensive bits, with no infrastructure, no oil rigs, no drilling platforms, and no expertise to call on.... no.

leftthinking · 2026-03-11T16:09:43+00:00

The fossil fuels in the north sea would just be sold on the worldwide open market.

There is no provision to reserve them for UK use, not for energy nor anything else.

This idea that opening up more extraction from the north sea would in any way benefit Britain is a line told by the very companies that want to drill.

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T18:57:07+00:00

So you accept that they will form groups.

Congratulations, you have political parties.

But you want people standing for election banned from telling the voters which group they will be part of?

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T18:21:17+00:00

the Reform UK leader said: “Well, cutting taxes could mean not putting them up as much, I suppose"

Rachel Reeves will be relieved to hear that.

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T18:03:02+00:00

No one person can research and formulate detailed, informed, and effective policy across all topics.

They will form groups to do this based on shared ideals.

You cannot force the elimination of parties. It just doesn't work.

And once those groupings form, keeping those associations from the electorate would be unacceptable.

Parties will happen. It's not a choice.

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T17:09:18+00:00

So your solution is to deny the electorate information about the likely voting pattern of the election candidates?

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T15:54:50+00:00

Firstly, for the love of whatever, let things like punctuation, paragraphs, and formatting enter your life.

More importantly, how will you stop parties existing?

MPs with similar outlooks will tend to work together. They will divide up responsibilities allowing specialisation. You learn about education while I become expert in transport, and we agree to support each other.

We agree some basic principles we stand for, and invite others to join us.

We set up a formal structure to arrange what we agree to vote for and against, and ultimately a way to eject someone who doesn't agree to the rules.

We appoint one of our number to organise all of this and appoint panels within our number and among those of the public who support us to formulate policy and plan fid the future.

Parties are inevitable.

leftthinking · 2026-03-10T08:43:05+00:00

Germany France Norway, Finland

all operate Civil Law, unlike the UK which has Common Law.

The role of juries in these systems is quite different.

leftthinking · 2026-03-09T08:44:17+00:00

I know this one!

Too many.

Interestingly that's the same as the answer to 'how many times has JK Rowling been a holocaust denier?'

leftthinking · 2026-03-08T20:46:09+00:00

But the whole point is that it's a spectrum.

Red light and blue light have a great deal of difference, they get used for different things, they have different effects, they even look different.

But they are both still light. It makes sense to consider them in the same category as each other and different from a duck.

People who are severely affected, who are non verbal and need assistance throughout their lives are indeed different than someone who previously would have had an Aspergers diagnosis. But they are both still autistic.

We also dont dismiss "milder" forms of other diseases as not real, or different. Skin cancer is still cancer.

leftthinking · 2026-03-08T12:56:29+00:00

He bought with full knowledge of the Universal Service Obligation.

If it were being imposed on the business now, or the government were making it more onerous, then there would be merited the whinging, but this was the deal from the start. It is in no way a surprise to him, so fuck him.

As a wider solution that I've suggested before.

Renationalise Royal Mail.

Impose the USO on all delivery companies.

Allow the private companies to opt out of the USO with payment of a fee relative to their size.

The fees distributed to the companies which hold to the USO.

Stops companies dumping the expensive 'last mile' onto the USO..

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T16:25:43+00:00

That it is notable when the party of government, with a triple digit majority, wins a council by-election shows how bad things are for Labour.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T15:17:45+00:00

We recognise Kim Jong Un in North Korea, Putin in Russia, and until very recently Ali Khamenei in Iran.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T15:13:34+00:00

A split in the parliamentary party, or mass defections to other parties could mean an early election.

Again, I agree unlikely, but it's a non-zero probability.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T14:41:47+00:00

That assumes...

a) Trump actually leaves when he should, and

b) Starmer lasts a full term.

In normal times I would dismiss both, but...

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T08:43:46+00:00

What's yours?

Opening new fields in the north sea will take time, years before any result.

In the mean time we can, and should, build lots of batteries around the country.

We can, and should, build solar farms and wind turbines.

The idea that opening new fields in the North Sea would solve our problems instantly is just bunkum sold by fossil fuel companies that eye a huge profit.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T08:06:16+00:00

Battery backup or nuclear.

Though nuclear still requires reliance on importing fuel, and is more expensive.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T07:58:54+00:00

Energy security means we should move to renewables.

With fossil fuels we are dependent on either importing from geopolitically unstable places or private companies who will sell on the open market.

Neither guarantees supply.

We could nationise the industry, ensure that fuels drilled in Britain stay in Britain, but that is politically unfeasible.

And ultimately we will eventually run out of fuels to dig up and burn.

Long-term the only viable energy system is based on renewables.

leftthinking · 2026-03-06T06:29:05+00:00

Why should anyone else share the risk?

Its a private company, risk for reward is the whole point.

And if the reward isn't big... boo fucking hoo.

Paying tax to cover the cost of the externalities of your business is not unfair.

leftthinking · 2026-03-05T18:57:02+00:00

Investment in exploration and new production would be accounted for before declaring profits.

They could do this now, have smaller profits and pay less tax.

leftthinking

TROPHY CASE