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Yep, UK passports are now printed by a French-Dutch company in Poland. Brexiteers take note!
they simply don't care - as long as it's blue!
I'm on about where the optional burgundy covers are manufactured, but the point is probably lost now.
^^^ I agree, I am sure this piece was scripted for him but personally I think it's fair...
"If that puts me in conflict with some others, then we have got to work it all out. It doesn't mean I'm not immensely sympathetic to people who want to change gender, to transition and it's vital we give people the maximum love and support in making those decisions.
"These are complex issues and they can't be solved with one swift, easy piece of legislation. It takes a lot of thought to get this right."
probably one of the few things he says that I agree with
I saw that earlier and thought, much as I despise Boris and everything about him, everything that he represents, i do actually agree with him on this occasion. And now I feel slightly conflicted.
Although given his usual spoutings and immediate U-turns, I can't see this actually meaning much.
It is a slam dunk for him, though. Most of the Oi Oi support will just read the headline and say "**** Yeah".
What's he doing to address dirty Russian money in British politics, Partygate etc?
In opining on this he is seeking to divert attention. Again. It really isn't PM-level stuff to be commenting on this.
It's hardly a high risk position to take with a likely backlash from either within the Tory Party or the wider public.
Johnson taking a popular stance is precisely what I would expect.
Oh yeah, it's another distraction technique undoubtedly.
Find the popular stance, run to the front of it and "lead" on it.
Again. It really isn’t PM-level stuff to be commenting on this.
I would be interested to hear what level Boris is qualified to comment on (beyond the usual knee-jerk, tabloid friendly, barely thought out stuff he normally sprouts). Beyond the decisions he has made which will make his mates millions he has got by his term in office by holding out on actual decisions until his ‘options' have disappeared so no decision has to be made.
It's just a another populist dead cat - I'd agree with the sentiment if it wasn't coming from him but suspect it's just another way to get people nodding.
It's just a distraction and a cheap psychological trick to get people to agree with you even if they're your sworn adversary.
It really isn’t PM-level stuff to be commenting on this.
Was he not responding to a question asked by a journalist? I'm sure he'd have been pilloried on here if he'd have um, ahh'd and answered a different question, (as per)
Now off to wash myself in powerful bleach.
Oh yeah, it’s another distraction technique undoubtedly.
Find the popular stance, run to the front of it and “lead” on it.
I think you might be reading too much into it. He wasn't "leading" on it. He was asked the question whilst visiting a major new hospital along with the Secretary of State for Health and the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
They were there to "discuss what measures the government was implementing to tackle the Covid backlogs and reform the adult social care system - the Health and Social Care Levy."
Was he not responding to a question asked by a journalist?
Could have just been a random question, more likely a "seeded" question from a friendly journalist.
Given that 1. a major conference on LGBT+ issues has had to be cancelled as many of the charities supporting it have withdrawn their support, and 2. subsequently Johnson's advisor on the matter has felt he needed to resign. This issue is pertinent.
I think Ernie is right, it's a legitimate question to ask given the background and where he was.
He was asked the question whilst visiting a major new hospital
Although its not actually new. Its called the "new QEII hospital" to distinguish it from the "QEII hospital". Its seven years old now.
I wonder if they chose to visit it since the name could confuse people into thinking it was one of the magic 40.
It's certainly a topical issue (see Sara Symington's letter to the UCI). Johnson will also have seen the knots that Labour is predictably tying itself into and not wasted an open goal.
It gets more complicated. The Prime Minister, Secretary of State for Health and Social Care, and the Chancellor of the Exchequer, visit a hospital with a deliberately misleading name, ostensibly to discuss Covid backlogs and social care, so that a friendly journalist can ask a seeded question.
Surely there must be an easier way to express the opinion that transgender women shouldn't compete in women's sport?
holding out on actual decisions until his ‘options’ have disappeared so no decision has to be made
Yeah, but they (abroad) need us more than we need them, so this is fine. Yes?
Surely there must be an easier way to express the opinion that transgender women shouldn’t compete in women’s sport?
It seems fairly easy tbh, ask someone to plant a question which will get them good copy, whilst you’re on a pre-planned visit / photo op ; an easy win for both sides I’d have thought.
Yep, as @kilo says, it's a standard tactic. Have a couple of friendly journos drop in topical questions supposedly ad-hoc.
It's an easy win for the Tories having seen the utter mess that Labour are making as they try and fail to tiptoe around the issue while keeping everyone on side.
Got to say; i didn't think I'd ever see "Living at No11" as a tax dodge. Pretty bold
I'll bet a penny to a pound that Mrs sunak earns her wage outside the UK.
a penny to a pound
rate of tax she pays?
Only if the accountant has slipped up.
I'm increasingly convinced that we're in a simulation which aims to test how implausible events have to be before we try to wake up.
'Chancellor's announces tax hikes while his wife turns non-dom to avoid millions in tax' seems a bit OTT even for that scenario, though.
Makes you long for the good old days of Cherie Blair hanging out with fraudsters.
I’ll bet a penny to a pound that Mrs sunak earns her wage outside the UK.
I think the main money is infosys dividends rather than wages.
Mrs sunak earns her wage outside the UK.
Her income from infosys isn't earned.
The fact that she is 'earning' anything from trading with the Russian regime should be enough of an issue, and mean that Sunak, who is instrumental in deciding which entities to sanction, has a massive conflict of interests.
Honestly, it's beyond parody now. He doesn't even seem concerned about it.
And as for the state of political journalism in this country, as he introduces a massive tax hike to pay for NHS backlogs, why isn't he constantly being asked by every interviewer where the much-vaunted 18bn Brexit dividend for the NHS has ****ed off to?
Easy to knock folk who take advantage, but it has taken years of rubbish legislation from all governments to create these loopholes they can exploit.
Don't be distracted from the cause by an easy to froth about symptom
Something's going on just now with the crocodiles circling Rishi Sunak, i'm not a huge fan of how they're bringing his wife into this whole thing, none of this was hidden, or ever has been hidden, and as it stands all areas of taxation are being complied with.
It just looks like a bit of a hatchet job by someone in the government, who will probably have much more hidden in their cupboard.
Honestly, it’s beyond parody now. He doesn’t even seem concerned about it.
That's because he's politically naive. All this stuff will be coming from no 10. Labour are so irrelevant they can't land a punch on him, but Johnson is an expert at dishing dirt and manipulating the media.
Don’t be distracted from the cause by an easy to froth about symptom
Firstly they can chose not to take advantage.
Second do you really think when there was talk about getting rid of nondom those who take advantage wouldnt have been busy advocating to retain it possibly with some well placed donations?
These arent loopholes but specifically written exemptions for those with large amounts of money (there are theoretically quite a few people who could claim nondom but it wouldnt be profitable for them).
and as it stands all areas of taxation are being complied with.
You never miss an opportunity to defend the non tax-paying rich do you? Why is that?
i’m not a huge fan of how they’re bringing his wife into this whole thing
It is a matter of public interest that his wife's income results from deals that her father does with Russia that the Govt that Sunaks' is part of is applying sanctions to. There's a very obvious conflict of interest, and the Ministerial Code makes that very clear.
If you don't want your wife's financial arrangements being made public, try not to become the Chancellor of the Exchequer.
The fact that she is ‘earning’ anything from trading with the Russian regime should be enough of an issue, and mean that Sunak, who is instrumental in deciding which entities to sanction, has a massive conflict of interests.
You do know that although there are 'sanctions' at present, these aren't covering most of the actual market, i believe InfoSys are doing the same as many, trying to remove themselves from the Russian market, but that takes time, otherwise they end up with massive losses (which mean Russia gains!), lots of companies are still doing business, pension funds, private funds, etc are all intertwined in this still, Russia are also hitting back and sanctioning the rest of the world as punishment, it's way more complicated than just stopping trading at a set moment.
The non-dom thing is slightly complicated by international agreements and rules around double taxation - not sure if they apply to India specifically or not.
BBC article also suggested that India don't allow dual citizenship, which may complicate her own position.
To be honest, if she's paying tax on her UK earnings/businesses, she's doing better than many.
dazh
Full Member
and as it stands all areas of taxation are being complied with.You never miss an opportunity to defend the non tax-paying rich do you? Why is that?
Because i have to give the counter argument to your repetitive capitalism is bad responses.
i’m not a huge fan of how they’re bringing his wife into this whole thing
He benefits financially from her fortune, and her Indian citizenship could create massive conflicts of interest in his dealings with a major superpower were he to become PM. Imagine the UK being asked to play a role in mediating a regional conflict between India and ****stan?
This isn't some character assassination of Norma Major - his policies on both capital gains tax and non-dom assets directly apply to her significant business interests, and his family situation, and her non-UK citizenship could certainly be seen to influence foreign policy decisions, whether this were the case or not.
It could be argued that his declarations on the ministerial register of interests have not exactly been transparent with regard to his wife's business activities, so it is probably better that the whole issue is aired now rather than after his installation as PM.
BBC article also suggested that India don’t allow dual citizenship, which may complicate her own position.
It is a separate issue from being a nondom and one that seems to have been thrown out to try and confuse things
Because i have to give the counter argument to your repetitive capitalism is bad responses.
I've never said capitalism is bad. Kleptocracy and oligarchy is bad, corruption is bad, and rich people not paying the same taxes as working people is bad. I've never really commented on capitalism.
It is a separate issue from being a nondom and one that seems to have been thrown out to try and confuse things
Yeah, that's bullshit.
https://twitter.com/RichardJMurphy/status/1511964402370629642
To be honest, if she’s paying tax on her UK earnings/businesses, she’s doing better than many.
But her husband's job is literally setting tax policy and he's very deliberately placed the burden on the poor rather than rich people. Like his wife, for instance
I’ve never said capitalism is bad. Kleptocracy and oligarchy is bad, corruption is bad, and rich people not paying the same taxes as working people is bad. I’ve never really commented on capitalism.
I’m guessing even as a non dom she’s paying more tax than working people, even the 30k annual non dom fee is 3x my annual tax
You never miss an opportunity to defend the non tax-paying rich do you? Why is that?
or defending those that haven't actual broke any laws.
rich people not paying the same taxes as working people is bad
Rich people work as well, you know.
The tax system should be simpler, fairer and have no loopholes, but it's the way it is because various chancellors over the years have felt the need to protect party donors, rather than the current one protecting his wife.
I’m guessing even as a non dom she’s paying more tax than working people
To be more specific, I'm talkiing about paying the same rate as working people compared to their overall wealth.
Rich people work as well, you know.
And are massively disproportionately compensated for it. Want an example? Here you go..
I’m guessing even as a non dom she’s paying more tax than working people
Really? we have to have this discussion every time?...In absolute terms? Yes without a doubt, in relative terms? Not a chance.
I'd love to know how much this government's propaganda operations are costing us all. Every one of the leadership contenders seems to travel everywhere with a gaggle of taxpayer-funded photographers in tow, and then theres this...
Slick production values for what is essentially a pile of horseshit as far as content is concerned...
https://twitter.com/BorisJohnson/status/1511972808313683969?s=20&t=aTHQ6oqfjjMz-RjVZZMMiw
Build a new reactor every year? WTF? Is there anyone who believes for a second thats going to happen? The present limited nuclear programme (f you could even call it that, with a straight face) is an absolute shambles.
All while they're still refusing to back onshore wind, as dictated by the foaming right wing backbenchers and the Daily Mail
All while they’re still refusing to back onshore wind, as dictated by the foaming right wing backbenchers and the Daily Mail
I've no problem with this as long as those in the SE who object get to pay more for the pleasure of keeping the urbanised countryside free of windmills. (I'm not in favour of swathes of Scottish, Welsh and English uplands/wilderness being dotted in the things. All the greenbelt should be festooned in them though).
We've got loads of wind turbines near us. I love 'em. But then the whole landscape here is post-industrial anyway, littered with old quarries and stuff, so it's a bit late in the day to start getting precious about it.
Any rational government would tell all the nimby's to STFU and put turbines up all over the place and start ploughing resources into tidal etc. Obviously this lot won't as the house prices of affluent racist pensioners in the south east trumps poor people not being able to heat their homes by some margin
Making them pay more for their turbine-free energy sounds like a great idea
Build a new reactor every year? WTF? Is there anyone who believes for a second thats going to happen? The present limited nuclear programme (f you could even call it that, with a straight face) is an absolute shambles.
I've already treated that claim with the same response I gave to the previous claims:
£350m / week for the NHS
40 new hospitals
HS2 and NPR in full
etc
It simply won't happen - however it'll be a useful distraction for a bit while they start fracking and open up new North Sea gas fields and various other things that drive us all a bit closer to environmental doomsday.
Build a new reactor every year? WTF? Is there anyone who believes for a second thats going to happen? The present limited nuclear programme (f you could even call it that, with a straight face) is an absolute shambles.
Build the reactors and the hospitals on the same sites, obviously.
Patients can be discharged looking positively glowing.
There were a couple of interesting statistics I read in the Guardian earlier this week. On one report about the war in Ukraine they said the damage already done would cost roughly 250 billion to put right. In another report about the UKs nuclear program, it stated that we are STILL facing costs of 125 billion to decommission existing reactors and to dispose of the radiative waste. This is without building any new ones. It put the costs into perspective a bit I thought.
This is without building any new ones.
I wouldn't worry about it
I'd put my house on as many of those nuclear reactors getting built as the supposed 40 new hospitals, a tunnel to Ireland or the HS2 section, north of Birmingham
All of them will only ever exist in Boris's head
Does Boris Johnson actually do anything other than swan around for photo opportunities? It's like his life is entirely satisfied simply by putting on some high-viz and a hard hat.
That’s because he’s politically naive.
No he's not.
He knows full well all he has to do is appear in front of a few more union jacks and up his usage of 'Briddish' per sentence by a couple, then say Starmer is unpatriotic and the chumps will vote Tory again.
He doesn't give a shit because he doesn't have to.
defending those that haven’t actual broke any laws.
The legislature makes laws. Non dom status could be abolished (and should have been by the last lab govt fwiw). I'm guessing it won't be by the current shower.
"EDF is leading the UK's nuclear renaissance with the construction of a new nuclear power station at Hinkley Point C, and plans for new power stations at Sizewell C in Suffolk and Bradwell B in Essex.
Nuclear power is the most reliable, low-carbon energy source currently available to the UK."
What they fail to mention is that it's also the most expensive. As far as I am aware there has never been a nuclear industry anywhere in the world that hasn't relied on government subsidies, such are the astronomical costs involved.
So whilst EDF might well make healthy profits for the benefit of French taxpayers from UK consumers it will be UK taxpayers who will cover the cost of the losses.
I think it's fair to point out that the Labour Party leader appears to be as relaxed with that arrangement as the current Tory leader.
It’s like his life is entirely satisfied simply by putting on some high-viz and a hard hat.
Don't forget the Union Jacks though.
It is the electorate that let him get away with his inane dribblings, so this reflects very badly on them/us.
What they fail to mention is that it’s also the most expensive. As far as I am aware there has never been a nuclear industry anywhere in the world that hasn’t relied on government subsidies, such are the astronomical costs involved.
So whilst EDF might well make healthy profits for the benefit of French taxpayers from UK consumers it will be UK taxpayers who will cover the cost of the losses.
I think it’s fair to point out that the Labour Party leader appears to be as relaxed with that arrangement as the current Tory leader.
The pricing was against comparable coal or gas power stations and so on back in 2019 or whenever, prices per KWH are a bit higher now across the board.
We also have to go to EDF now for the technology and support, i believe we had a chance to increase the infrastructure and support British ownership of designing and building our own, but it was knocked back in the early 2000s, then broken up and sold off in 2010.
We also have to go to EDF now for the technology and support, i believe we had a chance to increase the infrastructure and support British ownership of designing and building our own, but it was knocked back in the early 2000s, then broken up and sold off in 2010.
My dad worked as a design engineer for BNFL for years. When they broke it up and sold it off as he retired, his comment was:
“It’s absolute bloody lunacy! In ten years time when all the coal fired stations are closed down and the price of gas goes through the roof, they’ll have no option but to build new nuclear power stations. But we’ll no longer have the skill set to do it ourselves, because we sold it all off, so we’ll have to get the French to do it for us, who will charge us a bloody fortune for the privilege!”
My dad is not Mystic Meg, he was just stating the bleeding obvious
It's not the only industry that's had this, we just stopped designing and building in the 90s, we built one PWR station, and stopped, since that last build i think the UK have just backed themselves into a corner, they stuck with coal, then gas powered, wind power is good and growing, but for the needs of the UK, and being able to future proof supply, nuclear is by and far the best solution to be hand in hand with renewables.
It'll be interesting to see how Europe react as well, remember all those cancellations of nuclear power plants after Fukushima, now with the push away from dependency on oil and gas i wonder how many countries are going to start ramping up on nuclear, we had a window there where EDF were desperate for us to sign up for the newer plants, i doubt we'll get a similar offer now.
It's just about possible that with Ukraine etc, that Hinkley's power would become pretty reasonably priced. Except that of course it's not going to be finished on time, or on the original changed delayed timescale, or on the one after that, or the one after that. And it keeps hilariously announcing another half billion overbudget but only based on the last overbudget figure, not the actual budget. All because we had to have The Most Expensive Building In The World because we're Britain.
We absolutely should be doing more nuclear- but smaller, simpler, more massproducable. But we've ditched all of our actual capacity to do it, and Hinkley's made it worse by poisoning the financials. And when it finally comes online- in 2026, or 2030 or whenever- it's pretty much exactly going to replace the 3 plants that are closing before then, rather than adding any capacity.
Meanwhile EDF continue their march towards inevitable bankruptcy when the decommissioning bills start coming in.
Nuclear is important but we're in the middle of one big long nuclear disaster, just that it's an economic and political meltdown rather than a nuclear one.
This whole ‘Energy Policy’ announcement today has the usual ‘back of a fag packet’ whiff that comes off everything this shambles of a government does.
No commitment to onshore wind is just insane! But those Tory voting nimby’s must be placated. The 8 new nuclear plants is just nonsense.
We all know they’ll just green light more oil and gas drilling in the North Sea and resurrect fracking
Someone’s going to have to bite the bullet at some point and start seriously addressing the issue but today this pack of jokers proved (unsurprisingly) they’re not going too
It amounts to little more than another tragic, cosplay hi-viz photo op for fatty. He looked like a tennis ball
He knows full well all he has to do is appear in front of a few more union jacks and up his usage of ‘Briddish’ per sentence by a couple, then say Starmer is unpatriotic and the chumps will vote Tory again.
Hence the announcement of the wonderful new body that will oversee all this, Great British Nuclear.
We're already getting Network Rail rebadged / reimagined as Great British Railways. There must be a few other things knocking around that we can tag that onto. Maybe the British Museum can be next in line to become the Great British Museum - the one that doesn't have anything British in it, it's just a reminder of where the British went and nicked all the artefacts.
Hence the announcement of the wonderful new body that will oversee all this, Great British Nuclear.
I’m out for lunch with my dad tomorrow, who spent 30 years working for British Nuclear Fuels. Can’t wait to hear what he’s got to say about all this. I suspect there may be some swearing. Probably quite a lot of swearing 😂
Do you tell your dad how shit nationalised industries were? Why don't you laminate a picture of a Morris Marina and take it with you? Get it out every 5 seconds? 😂
Events like cold snaps and heat waves drive up energy demand according to how much air conditioning or heating we need. But UK electricity consumption averages out at around 50GW. Even if we used the biggest turbines available, that’d work out at over 7000 to keep the country going. With 50 turbines per wind farm, we would need room for 140 massive sites. And we’d have to hope for plenty of windy weather.
(from BBC Science Focus magazine) I know its not windy all the time but can we not just do this? Plus a bit of tidal? Seems like such an opportunity.
Someone’s going to have to bite the bullet at some point and start seriously addressing the issue but today this pack of jokers proved (unsurprisingly) they’re not going too
If anyone thinks the human race isn't going to dig up and burn every fossil hydrocarbon before we're done you are deluded.
In the insular way our world is set up, no government will dare say "pay more" to its population consistently.
If we were serious about the environment we would be looking seriously at 1 or 2 child only policies. With all the shit that entails of course. But we all know what the population curve of bacteria in a petri dish is - that is us on a planetary level.
Anyhow, this is getting a bit off topic. What has the threadbare ****sock that is our PM been up to in the last few hours?
If we built our own solar panels and gave every house one would it be cheaper than a nuclear power station and would all those panels produce the same energy as a power station?
Nuclear power station is just a target for future enemies. What happens when china ramps up the price of uranium?
Anyhow, this is getting a bit off topic. What has the threadbare ****sock that is our PM been up to in the last few hours?
Well tonight's Question Time outing has gone well
Greg Hands was laughed out the building
https://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1512187116033388548?t=Ah02JpsZv5HPe_IhTNob8Q&s=19
Do you tell your dad how shit nationalised industries were?
Eh?
Since the Tories privatised British Nuclear Fuels in 2010 we've lost much of the expertise to develop and build big nucl
We're now dependent on the state backed nuclear industries of China & France
And they say Tories are patriots 😂😂😂
(Binners is always going on about how shit the nationalised industries were so I was surprised his dad worked in one)
ctk - what's your problem?
You're either trolling (unlikely) or are pushing an agenda.
Either way your posts aren't worth reading.
If we built our own solar panels and gave every house one would it be cheaper than a nuclear power station and would all those panels produce the same energy as a power station?
Nuclear power station is just a target for future enemies. What happens when china ramps up the price of uranium?
Would be a good idea but the UK doesn't have much of a resource in rare earths of rare metals, so manufacturing those PV panels and supporting equipment, and keeping up to date isn't really viable for the UK.
It's the same with a lot of the renewables, wind turbines and so on all require large amounts of rare earth and rare metals to be manufactured, so ramping up to the numbers required might be hard with the volatility just now.
As for China ramping up prices for U235 and so on, they're pretty low down the list of suppliers, Kazakhstan is the big one, Canada and Australia as well, and the US supply a fair bit, so not as much of an issue for the required supply for the west.
I think one of the big things in renewables just now is looking for replacements for those materials that are going to be hard to source with issues in Russia, China, etc, so replacing neodymium in turbines and so on, not even where they are with that, but the more we tend to rely on renewable energy sources and batteries to power our equipment the more concern there is about supply for the future.
Since the Tories privatised British Nuclear Fuels in 2010 we’ve lost much of the expertise to develop and build big nucl
We’re now dependent on the state backed nuclear industries of China & FranceAnd they say Tories are patriots 😂😂😂
The Tories went into a coalition government in May 2010 after 13 years of Labour governments. Keen as they might be on privatisation even the Tories can't privatise that quick.
Labour’s £10bn nuclear sell-off
https://amp.theguardian.com/environment/2005/sep/30/energy.nuclearindustry
"The transfer of key operations o of state hands at a time when Britain is facing an energy shortfall will generate surprise, particularly with North Sea oil and gas running down and the government edging towards a decision to proceed with a new generation of nuclear reactors"
ctk – what’s your problem?
I think the "problem", if you can call it that, is that binners knee-jerk reaction to anyone suggesting public ownership is to get into a rant about British Leyland and post pictures of cars which he erroneously believes were designed during the short period that BL was part-nationalised. HTH
And they say Tories are patriots 😂😂😂
Whatever a patriot is, I always wonder how they can bang on about patriotism whilst selling the country off.
All those ‘iconic’ Brands which are pretty much owned by ‘forriners’.
I suppose your actually lucky to live in the U.K. without having to pay a licence fee for being a Great Britanner.
I’m not crying over Rishi’s missus getting some stick,he rocked up one day to play politics and is inserted into a nice safe seat, I can’t believe having easy access to a billionaire would have swayed their decision to let him play 🙂
Looks like the knives are well and truly out for Rishi. The arrogance of not thinking that people would be outraged by his wife claiming non-dom status while clearly enjoying being a full time UK resident. She lives at the taxpayers expense in Downing Street FFS!
I’m sure his next door neighbour is pleased he leaked that.
Judging by the reaction from the QT audience last night though, a bigger problem for him is the entire audience mockingly laughing at Greg Hands trying to pass off Rishi’s loan for energy bills as some kind of gift from the chancellor
https://twitter.com/bbcquestiontime/status/1512187116033388548?s=21
No he’s not.
A chancellor of the exchequer with a billionaire tax evading wife who raises taxes. Looks pretty bloody naive to me. Now we know why Johnson has never felt threatened, because he’s had this grenade in his back pocket ready to detonate at the most opportune moment. I bet all the briefing that Johnson wanted to drop the NI rise but Sunak blocked him was all designed for this. Sunak is finished, he hasn’t got a cats chance in hell of being PM after this.