British Politics
Been on holiday for a few weeks, surprised to find no general discussion of British politics so though I'd kick one off.
Tory leadership contest is quickly turning into farce. Trump has backed Boris, which should be reason enough for anyone with half a brain to exclude him.
Of the other candidates Rory Stewart looks the best of the outsiders. Surprised to see Cleverly and Javid not further up the betting, but not sure the Tory membership are ready for a brown PM.
https://www.oddschecker.com/politics/bri...
Regarding the LD leadership contest, Jo Swinson is miles ahead of any other candidate (and indeed any of the Tory lot). Should be a shoe in.
Finally, it's Groundhog Day in Labour - the more serious the anti-Semitism claims get, the more Corbyn's cronies write their own obituary by blaming it on outlandish conspiracy theories - this week, it's apparently the Jewish Embassy's fault...
polls indicate they want to keep the pound even if independent; so they get independence keeping the pound, enter the EU with the pound, then after some decades maybe get the euro
The problem there is you have have heard of something called The Bank Of England (not The Bank Of The UK) which prints and issues sterling and manages interest rates, QE and tries (rather haplessly if my own experiences of that godawful place are anything to go by) to ensure financial stability etc.
There's no good option for Scottish independence that doesn't necessitate joining the Euro.
Possibly there's no good option at all.
That's why the SNP have had different policies on currency as they know there is no good option. Even their current policy is deliberately vague about the timing of creating a new currency.
an independent Scotland would be accepted in the EU at record speed though, that matters a lot
No it wouldn't. The complications would be considerable. For instance, not having its own currency, IndyScot would be ineligible for membership of the euro, which is a requirement for EU candidate nations. And certain EU member states, notably Spain, are profoundly hostile to secessionist movements, and each and every EU member has the power of veto. And that's before you get into the nightmare of a customs and immigration border between Scotland and England, and the UK's requirement for military bases in Scotland -- the UK is a NATO member with all that that implies (such as naval dockyards, the Trident base and the responsibility for QRA air patrols between Norway and Iceland) and IndyScot wouldn't be.
The SNP's (current) policy is to set up a completely new currency, which would be pretty disastrous. That is what SNP members have voted for and that is the policy of the party.
They propose to keep the pound, then transition at some unspecified date, and in some unspecified way, to a 'Scottish pound' while still recognising and accepting sterling, which means it won't really be an independent currency. Can't see that working out very well, especially as they will have to assume part of the UK's national debt and they won't have the resources of London, a major economic power all by itself with a population far greater than Scotland's, to pay it off.
the ahem socialist, working class country of ireland, which famously went to court for the right not to charge apple more than 0.005% corporation tax on its earnings, is the world's largest tax haven. the country exists to help the wealthiest in society pay zero tax. they had to change the definition of economic growth twice (GDP -> GNI -> Modified GNI) because of the distortions caused by unprecedented chicanery.
they have great PR.
Not that they haven't succeeded economically, the giveaway tax regime has attracted investment, but it's gangster economics. And they didn't have free secondary education till 1967 and the healthcare system's still a bit patchy. Both main political parties are profoundly conservative (except for strange outbreaks of wokery which just so happen to have reactionary intent and effect, like oppressing women and girls through 'genderism'), and Sinn Fein is getting more conservative all the time as it eyes the prize of power.
What you're both describing here is the disconnect between republican ideology and what politicians actually deliver. The IRA and PIRA campaigns were popular and successful because people wanted independence and marxism.
What is the common denominator of all these low tax companies in Ireland? They're all american and run by people of a certain persuasion. That's not what the people fought and died for.
its what the irish people voted for
A similar thing would be people in the midlands/north of england who were seduced by slogans like northern powerhouse and midlands engine by the tories. Just because they are gullible enough to vote right wing doesn't mean that they're no longer working class.
Yellowbentines we all apprectyour contributions even if we don't necessarily share your values; but can you please make a clear distinction between your preferences, and what happened and happens? You have a right to your preferences, but not to facts.
the ahem socialist, working class country of ireland, which famously went to court for the right not to charge apple more than 0.005% corporation tax on its earnings, is the world's largest tax haven. the country exists to help the wealthiest in society pay zero tax. they had to change the definition of economic growth twice (GDP -> GNI -> Modified GNI) because of the distortions caused by unprecedented chicanery.
they have great PR.
The country exists because Irish people exist tbh. But yes they, either by accident or by design, ended up being a sort of fiscal paradise for large international companies and benefit from it immensely (with significant distribution problems, for that benefit).
That doesn't mean the median Irish voter hates (say) mandated maternity leave, socialized healthcare, unions, and other significant forms of welfare or state intervention the economy (which is what usually determines if you are economically rightwing or leftwing)
What you're both describing here is the disconnect between republican ideology and what politicians actually deliver. The IRA and PIRA campaigns were popular and successful because people wanted independence and marxism.
What is the common denominator of all these low tax companies in Ireland? They're all american and run by people of a certain persuasion. That's not what the people fought and died for.
Those companies all were pro BLM, always are pro the widest possible LGBTQI2S+ recent fad and so on.
They all donate to the democratic party and so on
The issue here is that I have to fend off multiple right wingers at the same time and they have an answer for everything but a solution for nothing.
www.thenational.scot/news/24334355.censu...
TWO-THIRDS of people in Scotland identify only as Scottish, not British, according to new findings from the census.
The data, which was published on Tuesday and collected by a nationwide census in 2022, also found that the majority of the Scots population say they have no religion – for the first time ever.
The census was the first one run in Scotland since 2011, and the results have painted an interesting picture of national identity.
It found that, of the 5,436,600 people living in Scotland, some 65.5% of them identify only as Scottish. This has increased by 3.1 points since 2011, when 62.4% of people said they were Scottish, not British.
'The people', whatever you mean by that, didn't fight and die for anything. The IRA, quite a small faction, lost the 'War of Independence' (which didn't really amount to a war) and the Irish delegates in London in 1921 had to agree a treaty which was basically what had already been on offer since 1914, the terms having been achieved legitimately by the Irish Parliamentary Party up to that time through persuasion and not violence. The supposed success of the violent revolutionaries in 1916-21 is a myth. And in Michael Collins's case the whole thing was a catastrophic personal failure ending with a bullet in the head from one of the violent crazies that Collins himself had unfortunately nurtured and encouraged.
What you're both describing here is the disconnect between republican ideology and what politicians actually deliver. The IRA and PIRA campaigns were popular and successful because people wanted independence and marxism.
What is the common denominator of all these low tax companies in Ireland? They're all american and run by people of a certain persuasion. That's not what the people fought and died for.
The Irish people didn't want Marxism and neither did the PIRA actually. The Official IRA was Marxist and refused to engage with the British army as they wanted to achieve a Marxist revolution first, which led to a split between them and what became the Provisional IRA.
More rumours abound of a quick dash to the polls on the back of improved inflation news and heading off a revolt...
