GB politics discussion thread

The Lobby
#21

The performance of the NHS in response to the covid crisis is on everyone’s mind in the UK. A second but crucial issue is how well the NHS will manage the impacts of missed treatments, surgery, screening and diagnoses during the covid crisis.

All these things will be resolved - we hope - but on a wider perspective how good is the NHS?

Its performance against key parameters can be compared with national health services in other developed countries - let’s say Australia, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Norway, Spain, Sweden and the USA. Where does the UK NHS rank against the national health services of these other countries?

Life expectancy - 9th best out of 11
Infant mortality - 9th
Preventable deaths per 100,000 people (in 2007) - 10th
Physicians per 1000 people - 9th
Nurses per 1000 people - 6th
Per capita expenditure on health - 9th
Healthcare costs as a percent of GDP - 10th
% of government revenue spent on health - 7th
% of health costs paid by government - 3rd

This is a series of snapshots but it doesn’t look like we’re getting a world-beating service.

#22

George Galloway and a few words with the Tax funded British Bolshevic Corpoartion - I may detest his political viewpoint - but as a competent campaigner this old white Gammon is plain unbeatable !
.

#23

Batley & Spen held by Labour - but with majority almost eliminated.
How typical is this constituency? What does this result matter? Is this all Tracy Brabin’s fault? Is this all Matt Hancock’s fault?
Is Boris Johnson bovvered?

#24

WOuld the result have been different if “Reform” had stood ? or if ANY of the candidates had the courage to address the issues of the teacher in hiding for fear of his life - and Bringing England back to English Values ?

#25

It seems the Conservative candidate failed to back the teacher. But it could be said the teacher, when he showed a Charlie Hebdo cartoon of the prophet Mohammed to his class, was behaving with disregard for the religious faith of some of his pupils and of some of their parents. As an RE teacher he would have been aware of the sensitive issue of any representations of Mohammed to Moslems, let alone any which might be critical or humourous. His act was idiotic and I guess he thought so too later, when he apologised for what he had done.

So I wouldn’t be critical of any prospective MP who decided not to support this idiot.

#26

Labour leader calls for compulsory mask-wearing in enclosed spaces and on public transport.

He points out we don’t have the data on new cases etc. for the next 2 weeks. Obviously.

Is that it? Is this the best he can do?

#27

Do you think Keir will lead Labour in the next general election in 2024, or will he be replaced by then?

For all Corbyn’s faults (and he had many), he did muster up a weird cult like following and generated a lot of attention.

Everyone seems so indifferent towards Keir, I suspect Labour will continue to lose voters to the Tories…and the Lib Dems.

#28

I think Starmer is competent and clever enough to keep his post as leader but no matter what he does he will never appeal to the mass of the electorate. I should think most of the Labour movement will want to avoid another electorally dismal Corbyn or Corbynite leadership, so Starmer looks like the least worst option.

Seems to me that’s how Johnson got elected…

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#29

And very likely that the only reason that Boris will not be re-elected is because he gets fed up with it and sees how much money his predecessors are making.

Two-Mile Borris - Wikipedia

The link is a wee joke - lots of Borris town names in Ireland.

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#30

Until the covid pandemic I was saying Johnson would resign in January 2020. He wanted to win the competition for the top job but he didn’t really want to do the job - he had no reason to.

#31

Why are UK politicians and commentators suddenly referring to British fishermen as “fishers”?

#32

What a piece of work.

#33

It’s sometimes depressing that politicians create more and more division in society with their language - sometimes foul as above and sometimes harking back into history 100’s years ago.

Is it just me or is the GB political scene becoming more polarized in recent years?

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#34
  • February 2020 - Keir Starmer will not nationalise UK energy companies.
  • 11 February 2020 - Keir Starmer will nationalise UK energy companies.
  • September 2021 - Keir Starmer will not nationalise UK energy companies.
  • 26 September 2021 - Labour conference delegates vote that a Labour government will nationalise UK energy companies.
  • October 2021 - Keir Starmer will nationalise UK energy companies.

At least he’s been consistent. For several weeks now.

#35

Consistently inconsistent - they all do it … second thoughts there are some politicians who don’t crave power but are in the job for the good of their constituents.

They are few, the late David Amess is one of them, a good politician who cared for people and their needs and who wouldn’t swerve with the latest vote catching trend. Some day perhaps there will be more like him.

#36

And now to the latest GB political discussion as mentioned up above in the video reference Napoleon and the battle of Waterloo.- the current spat between GB and France on fish.

A GB fishing boat is currently impounded in Le Havre with the skipper having been arrested and bailed by the French authorities for fishing in French waters without a licence.

Seems the boat had such licence but some sort of clerical error and it wasn’t renewed - allegedly I hasten to add.

Funny enough the boat in question is not English owned but from pro-EU Scotland and said skipper is neither English or Scottish but an EU national - from Ireland.

Not dissimilar to the rows we used to have in the school yard :slight_smile: .

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#37

You couldn’t make it up …

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#38

Lol - the very words in my head as I was typing - I see they are now down to he said, she said this evening - where have all the adults gone?

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#39

Nicola Sturgeon and Greta Thunberg are of course well known but I didn’t recognise Vanessa Nakate.

She is a Ugandan climate activist, or more correctly a Ugandan anti-capitalist. She sits on the Council of Progressive International, which is just about as Marxist as it sounds. Also on the Council are Noah Chomsky, Jeremy Corbyn, John McDonnell and Zarah Sultana. These are the sorts of people who would like to gain power on the coat-tails of the climate change crisis. Perhaps that’s even a good enough reason on its own why climate change has to be treated seriously.

#40

A quick and cheap way yo improve road safety - get drivers involved

Our police forces do a poor job at ensuring drivers comply with road traffic laws. No doubt the absence of traffic enforcement is down to lack of resources.

Yet we are all subject to poor and downright dangerous driving by other motorists.

All of Britain’s police forces accept dashcam evidence of traffic offences. They have not been keen to publicise this. Perhaps they are afraid of having too much work sent their way.

Its not entirely the police’s fault. Obviously they will - and should - try to protect their scarce resources from being drawn away to deal with minor issues. Yet the Home Office and Transport Department could anticipate this.

Why doesn’t the government incentivise dashcam reporting? Witnesses might receive a cash reward for a valid report. Offenders with dashcam evidence might be fast-tracked onto driver training courses, and obliged to fund the cash reward. Driving schools, the AA etc. might be sufficiently incentivised to actually go out and find offenders at traffic “blackspots” and film them. The whole thing could be self-funding and involve minimal police time and resources.

Or is this a case of police managers having split objectives - trying to protect their own turf? Perhaps they want to keep control of what they currently do while at the same time they don’t want to have to do too much of it - that might make their life complicated…