Rayvin

Financial crash caused by the wealthy elite -> Overthrow of left wing government and introduction of right wing government -> Austerity justified as politically necessary but is in fact ideologically driven -> vast swathes of the country left behind -> urban elites (and I include myself in this) don't see the damage this is causing in local communities -> opportunity for the masses to lash out at establishment comes along and is taken. All unnecessary, but all representing an entirely logical outcome after the fact. In truth, I've blamed austerity in the past, and I think that was the largest single contributing factor - but it does go back further than that. The Tories were given the opportunity to fuck the country up and took it. It's not like we didn't know what they were like. The failure was in controlling the narrative after the first action. We could have avoided all of this then if Murdoch had been imprisoned then, IMO.

He'd get in under those circumstances though!

Great piece. In particular the sections relating to the heavily watered down influence of the Treasury. That says it all. The thing is though, it's not like May is going to be able to turn around when we're struggling even more than ever to pay for luxuries and even basics and say 'well you voted for this'. She'll be held responsible for the outcome of people's living standards decreasing. Surely she would know this? If not, and if this comes to pass, then I think Corbyn has a shout...

Fuck me, even China wasn't that bad... Why not have multiple platforms and concurrent trains? Clearly that one platform isn't fit for purpose. Scary stuff.

Why would we though? I understand your economic argument about the EU protecting jobs, but politically they'd have to be prepared to watch the whole project crumble around them if they gave us immigration controls alongside single market access wouldn't they? The whole project crumbling would do far more harm to their economies than Britain not trading with them. That said, you may be right about May. It is possible that this is all bluster to set out a firm stance ahead of the EU negotiations. I'm not sure they're going to buy it, but it is where you would look to start in a negotiation.

I don't really follow boxing, but is he as good as he thinks he is?

What are we doing...

Why does it have to be London based in this day and age? Why would you have to give it up just because you moved?

Aye, nice that

I'll be pleased when they arrive as well tbf. Not that big a fan of driving that I wouldn't prefer to just watch a movie while the car takes me to where I need to go.

I'd forgotten about Gove. Really pleased he isn't in the cabinet actually, he's an appalling human being.

Aye, was back on the 27th March, 1970 if I recall.

I enjoyed the quizzes But then I also think CT is tolerable in the Politics section, so I clearly don't speak for popular opinion.

I thought you plagiarized it actually...

He's a total fuckhead but is entertaining...

I do - they weren't so bad tbf, but there was a lot of criticism too I guess

For a board of our size, that may well be true - although we're active enough I reckon. Something of a niche community, but it's the right size IMO.

Believe it or not, I do think CT adds to the discussion in here. As infuriating as it is to argue with him (as he moves around, changes his mind depending on which way the wind is blowing and refuses to concede any point, ever) he does add a different viewpoint which I think is important in avoiding echo chambers. I would prefer a less infuriating version of CT, but still

Well, we'll have to see I guess. Fingers crossed he does a good job of it.

And while we're at it, McDonnell saying what you guys want an 'effective' opposition to say: This morning, Philip Hammond may have performed a U-turn on investment spending, admitting that the failed ‘long-term economic plan’ never really existed, and he still intends to go ahead with cuts to in-work benefits and local authority funding. Labour is now the only national party with a fiscal framework that supports patient, long-term investment in our economy, and it’s clear that Phillip Hammond is now borrowing from Labour to invest in his own speech. As well as abandoning their own fiscal charter, this was full of the same empty promises George Osborne made, only with worse gags. The chancellor should apologise today for the failed Tory approach that has meant he has had to abandon the failed economic agenda of the last six years, an approach which has seen them dragging their heels on tax avoidance, an increase in child poverty and housebuilding falling to its lowest peacetime rate since the 1920s. The dangerous divide in society the chancellor mentioned has come about as a direct result of the policies he has voted for since 2010.

Senior Tory Robert Halfon: When Jeremy Corbyn got re-elected there were too manyConservatives celebrating on Twitter and implying that it’s a walk in the park, that we can all go to the Bahamas for the next five years, that the 2020 election is already won. Now, the reason why that is wrong is actually we’re not looking at the much deeper meanings of how he won ... Not every one of the 600,000 members who have joined the Labour party is a hard-left Trotskyite ... There are also many hundreds of thousands of people, I suspect, who have joined the Labour party, who support the Labour party, because they believe they have a noble mission which is helping working people and helping people on lower incomes. When we think “oh whoop dee doo, Jeremy Corbyn’s got re-elected” we should actually be thinking why are so many young people joining the Labour party? Why do they still have a powerful message on the doorstep despite the fact that many Conservatives believe they get it wrong? So the first task of the Conservative party is we have to be a party with an ethical, moral mission too. We must not be complacent about the Labour party for one minute.

Surely the damage to the car would be a secondary concern for the manufacturer, given that damage = more spending on parts and replacement vehicles?