The UK Politics & Brexit Thread

[DrNick]

Someone mentioned bread and circuses…
View attachment 130593

No mention of clowns in the circus though, which is more of a modern twist?

 

[Swotty]

No mention of clowns in the circus though, which is more of a modern twist?

Yep, the clowns are eating and watching, either oblivious to or unconcerned about the real agenda.

 

[190]

A few post back I was trying to look at the actions against climate change in a positive light i.e. celebrating success so far instead of the usual doom merchants approach of the end is nigh.

How topical then that there is an article in the Spectator titled

How did climate doomsters get the Great Barrier Reef so wrong?​

Basically the eco doomsters predicted the total death of the Great Barrier Reef due to warming of the seas. What has actually happened according to a survey in May is the reef has bounced back with 2/3 rds of it in better shape than it has been in 36 years.

As an example of how negative the eco mob are, the Guardian ran with an article on this recovery but couldn't bring themselves to place it in a positive light, instead they wrote:

‘The world heritage site still has some capacity for recovery,’ it reports, ‘but the window is closing fast as the climate continues to warm’.

The observation made in the Spectator summed it up the eco doomsters negativity nicely for me when they wrote:

The Guardian’s coverage of the report is an object lesson in how environmental news is driven only by misery.

Ain't that the truth.

How did climate doomsters get the Great Barrier Reef so wrong? | The Spectator

 

[grober]

BORIS JOHNSON "prime minister in absentia"

 

[Benzowner]

BORIS JOHNSON "prime minister in absentia"

Was his brain ever there?

 

[flowrider]

Why is the cost of a barrel of oil the same as back in Feb 2022 but the cost of fuel is approx 35p higher!

 

[Tonye]

Aghhh, that be the shipping, and all the other profiteering, band wagon scum mee lad.

 

[m80]

Why is the cost of a barrel of oil the same as back in Feb 2022 but the cost of fuel is approx 35p higher!

I've heard a few excuses, but basically it's cos we'll pay it.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Why is the cost of a barrel of oil the same as back in Feb 2022 but the cost of fuel is approx 35p higher!

There’s a lag effect because the petrol coming out of your Tesco pump was bought as oil 6-8 weeks ago ….. but an oligopoly can get away with over-charging.

In other news, I’ve spent 10% less on petrol over the last five months since mid-March, than i did over the same period in 2021.

It’s amazing what driving less does to your fuel consumption.

“This too shall pass.”

(And is already passing)

.

 

[John N]

Why is the cost of a barrel of oil the same as back in Feb 2022 but the cost of fuel is approx 35p higher!

Highway Robbery springs to mind, "Stand and Deliver said RICHARD Turpin"

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

BORIS JOHNSON "prime minister in absentia"

We demanded a replacement, so that's what we're getting.

People resigned, so the people who were allegedly "on top of their jobs" are no longer in post.

And, in three weeks time we'll see a new PM and Cabinet full of people struggling to understand what on earth they're supposed to be doing.

Like firing all the people who work for you so that you can find better replacements, it's not as easy as "one might imagine."

At least the price of fuel is gradually coming down, now that the oil companies have worked out how to circumvent the sanctions.

And it could be worse: we could be in Italy, France, Germany or the States.

 

[st13phil]

We demanded a replacement, so that's what we're getting.

People resigned, so the people who were allegedly "on top of their jobs" are no longer in post.

And, in three weeks time we'll see a new PM and Cabinet full of people struggling to understand what on earth they're supposed to be doing.

^ This.

Our media, Civil Service, and Opposition campaigned relentlessly against Boris from the moment he became PM. Now they have their scalp they're complaining that our government (and in particular Boris as PM) are absent.

Cynical and disingenuous are two words that spring to mind.

And it could be worse: we could be in Italy, France, Germany or the States.

Indeed. Politics in much of the west is in a dire state. Perhaps some reflection on that, and how we - both collectively and individually - correct the malaise would be time well spent?

 

[flowrider]

^ This.

Our media, Civil Service, and Opposition campaigned relentlessly against Boris from the moment he became PM. Now they have their scalp they're complaining that our government (and in particular Boris as PM) are absent.

Cynical and disingenuous are two words that spring to mind.

Indeed. Politics in much of the west is in a dire state. Perhaps some reflection on that, and how we - both collectively and individually - correct the malaise would be time well spent?

I agree, the stupidity of some of our politicians is staggering.

Look at Brexit, remainer politicians and media did everything to undermine the negotiations and then complained at the result.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

Indeed. Politics in much of the west is in a dire state. Perhaps some reflection on that, and how we - both collectively and individually - correct the malaise would be time well spent?

To be fair, those in "the east," wherever that is, would surely say that their politics is in dire state.

China, India, the rest of the Far East, and maybe even Russia, all have their own issues.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The current press hysteria over the energy bill crisis is a good example of modern perfidious nonsense.

Six million households are in debt to an average of £200 to their energy companies.

Households owe £1.3bn to their energy suppliers ahead of winter bill rises | ITV News

Shock. Until I realised that I'm one of them because my energy company hasn't adjusted my direct debit as bills have risen, so I currently owe them more than £200. Because that's the way the system works - sometimes I owe them, sometimes they owe me. Now, for sure the cost of energy is going up, but the headline is deliberate perfidious nonsense.

And quietly the press reports that the war in the Ukraine, and therefore the West's self-inflicted "Energy crisis," won't be ended until Russia cedes Crimea which it grabbed nearly a decade ago.

And where is the intelligent voice asking why should the West accept that demand from the Comedian in charge of Ukraine?

Experts, the Opposition, HM Government, and Federal Europe should be discussing all of that, not just waiting for Germany to force the issue.

.

 

[190]

And quietly the press reports that the war in the Ukraine, and therefore the West's self-inflicted "Energy crisis," won't be ended until Russia cedes Crimea which it grabbed nearly a decade ago.

And where is the intelligent voice asking why should the West accept that demand from the Comedian in charge of Ukraine?

I'm not sure I agree that the energy crisis will only be resolved when the Crimea is given back and I don't think anyone is in a position to predict when it will be, with or without Crimea. Prices will stay high until supply matches demand regardless of the war.

Even when the war is over, what country in their right mind is going to go back to being dependent on a rogue state like Russia. The sanctions won't stop or in my mind shouldn't stop until Putin is defeated and Russia is no longer viewed as a rogue state. And it's not just Putin, for Russia to change, the Russian people need a paradigm shift on the same scale that the Germans had at the end of the 2nd world war and the West will have to bring Russia to it's knees for that paradigm shift to take place. Without out that there is a risk of another Putin coming to power and the imperialist expansionism starting all over again. Regardless of the cost, I think the West needs to learn to manage without Russian gas and oil for as long as it takes.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

I'm not sure I agree that the energy crisis will only be resolved when the Crimea is given back and I don't think anyone is in a position to predict when it will be, with or without Crimea. Prices will stay high until supply matches demand regardless of the war.

Even when the war is over, what country in their right mind is going to go back to being dependent on a rogue state like Russia. The sanctions won't stop or in my mind shouldn't stop until Putin is defeated and Russia is no longer viewed as a rogue state. And it's not just Putin, for Russia to change, the Russian people need a paradigm shift on the same scale that the Germans had at the end of the 2nd world war and the West will have to bring Russia to it's knees for that paradigm shift to take place. Without out that there is a risk of another Putin coming to power and the imperialist expansionism starting all over again. Regardless of the cost, I think the West needs to learn to manage without Russian gas and oil for as long as it takes.

Sir, I stand by your side in refusing to put that darn Russkie fuel in my fine German car ! (That's why I'm spending less on fuel than I did 12 months ago)

Sadly the rest of the world isn't as principled as you and I. As soon as the Russian oil and gas payment sanctions come off, oil and gas will flow.

We can be certain of this because Germany has already spent six months kicking the can down the road in delaying reductions in gas and oil dependency on Russia. (They've only started taking less gas now because Russia has turned down the tap - it's not because of Germany reducing its demand)

My comment was that the general view is that sanctions won't come off "until the Ukraine war is over," and according to the Comedian's announcement, that won't happen until Crimea is returned.

The suspicion has to be that Germany will break and "The EU" will concede sanctions this autumn. The question is when - regardless of Ukraine. Because Germany, and the rest of the West, won't "learn to manage without Russian gas and oil for as long as it takes." The cost is too great. (Wholesale Gas prices are TEN times what they averaged this last decade. That's too painful for German industry, let alone for the the typical British homeowner's gas central heating bill and electricity bill - British electricity is typically created from Gas)



.

 

[st13phil]

Wholesale Gas prices are TEN times what they averaged this last decade. That's too painful for German industry, let alone for the the typical British homeowner's gas central heating bill and electricity bill - British electricity is typically created from Gas

The green lobby have much to answer for in all this, as do our scientifically illiterate politicians.

Germany's government, at the behest of the environmental lobby promulgating scare stories, has been winding down its nuclear generation capacity for years and - extraordinarily - is still intending to close its remaining nuclear facilities in the immediate future. Successive UK governments have failed not only to expand our nuclear generation capacity, but have allowed it to get to end-of-life without a viable replacement build program in place - mainly at the behest of the anti-nuclear environmentalists. Renewables - touted by the environmental lobby as "the future" - are unreliable and require alternative generation sources that can be rapidly brought on-stream to meet shortfalls or stood down when renewables actually do provide sufficient energy to meet demand, so there is a high reliance upon gas to power gas-turbine generating sets. All well and good until the gas supply becomes unreliable.

Germany is scrabbling around to bring back into service mothballed power stations that are fuelled by one of the dirtiest fuels imaginable (lignite). The UK can't do that because our politicians insisted that our coal-fired power stations were razed to the ground rather than being mothballed. They also chose to decommission the vast majority of our gas storage capability.

Why anyone let the green lobby dictate our energy supply regime to the extent that it became so unreliable and dependent upon a single fuel source is baffling. Why anyone thought it was a Good Idea to allow an historically hostile state to become the main supplier of that primary energy source is equally baffling.

 

[MikeInWimbledon]

The green lobby have much to answer for in all this, as do our scientifically illiterate politicians.

Germany's government, at the behest of the environmental lobby promulgating scare stories, has been winding down its nuclear generation capacity for years and - extraordinarily - is still intending to close its remaining nuclear facilities in the immediate future. Successive UK governments have failed not only to expand our nuclear generation capacity, but have allowed it to get to end-of-life without a viable replacement build program in place - mainly at the behest of the anti-nuclear environmentalists. Renewables - touted by the environmental lobby as "the future" - are unreliable and require alternative generation sources that can be rapidly brought on-stream to meet shortfalls or stood down when renewables actually do provide sufficient energy to meet demand, so there is a high reliance upon gas to power gas-turbine generating sets. All well and good until the gas supply becomes unreliable.

Germany is scrabbling around to bring back into service mothballed power stations that are fuelled by one of the dirtiest fuels imaginable (lignite). The UK can't do that because our politicians insisted that our coal-fired power stations were razed to the ground rather than being mothballed. They also chose to decommission the vast majority of our gas storage capability.

Why anyone let the green lobby dictate our energy supply regime to the extent that it became so unreliable and dependent upon a single fuel source is baffling. Why anyone thought it was a Good Idea to allow an historically hostile state to become the main supplier of that primary energy source is equally baffling.

Aye, but the reaction to Fukushima was broader than "just" the Greens. A much wider group panicked and pushed Merkel's CDU into running away from Nuclear, and tried to "cancel" UK Nuclear projects. This whole CND and China Syndrome push back goes back decades.

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[st13phil]

Aye, but the reaction to Fukushima was broader than "just" the Greens.

Oh, I completely agree. But the Greens adopted the old investment adage “never let a crisis go to waste” and fomented as much opposition to nuclear energy amongst otherwise unconcerned citizens as they could.

Same thing has happen with fracking.