You lost the argument when you just labelled most of the 17.4 million people as racist and xenophobic. You say the UK has committed "an act of economic suicide" by voting for Brexit, then why has the IMF today revised their 2017 growth forecast upwards for the UK as the second highest forecast of all the G7 countries. That doesn't look like economic suicide to me.

I'm hugely optimistic about the UK economy after Brexit, thankfully we have a Conservative government looking to take advantage of these opportunities from leaving the EU and I'm looking forward to casting my vote for the Conservatives and Theresa May to make sure they see it through.

 

https://infacts.org/cut-keep-list-top-19-brexiteer-promises/

 

still in the EU for another 2 years.

 

May has said immigration will go UP after Brexit.

 

No more money for NHS - less.

 

Fallen pound means less money in everybody's pockets. All worse. You only have to lok at the numbers of homeless people walking the streets of every town to see how wondefully well things are going for some. The rich, of course, keep all their cash in offshore bank accounts and sell of assets to foreign tax dodgers making us all poorer.

 

Bailing of economy by Bank Of England after Brexit vote (ie massive debt even bigger) is creating a false impression the country is doing well. It's not. The debt is higher than ever before and it has to be paid back. Cuts in spending have made things worse. This is reality, not blind optimism. Otherwise you are just printing money and runaway inflation will be the result. That would be catastrophic.

 

Etc etc etc etc.

 

 

 

 

The Labour Party has never been centre-right.

 

Well Centre-Left - you know what I meant! They need to go more right-wing. I'm not saying it's right or wrong, but imo unless they shift their ideology pretty sharpish they run the risk of it taking 10 years to re-establish themselves as a major political force.

So far two Lib Dem ministers defeated in 2015, Vince Cable and Ed Davey, have said they will be trying to get their old seats back. Alan Johnson is the first high profile Labour MP to say he will not be standing.

Just as a note, the £ is up over 2% today so far against the $ (and many other currencies) due to the annoucement of the snap GE. So some good news there in regards to the general election being called early. Deutsche Bank - who has generally been very tough on the £ in its forecast has called the GE a game changer and will adjust its forecasts for the pound citing these 3 main reasons:

 

1. The deadline to deliver a 'clean' Brexit without a lengthy transitional arrangement by 2019 is far less pressing given that no general election will be due the year after.

2. Deutsche Bank argues that MPs pushing for a hard Brexit will have their influence diluted, thanks to a larger Conservative party majority.

3. Finally, Saravelos suggests that a fresh election strengthens "the PM's overall negotiating stance who in recent weeks has clearly fallen in line with the European negotiating approach."

 

Link

Up 2% today is absolutely nothing compared to the 30%+ it's down in the past 12 months. I mean you can cling to this all you want but you're just rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic.

So far two Lib Dem ministers defeated in 2015, Vince Cable and Ed Davey, have said they will be trying to get their old seats back. Alan Johnson is the first high profile Labour MP to say he will not be standing.

 

No surprise really, I think they will win back quite a few seats they lost in the 2015 general election. Probably a bit too early for them to make real in-roads though. Good for them too, they're targeting voters that Labour should be going for.

Up 2% today is absolutely nothing compared to the 30%+ it's down in the past 12 months. I mean you can cling to this all you want but you're just rearranging the deck chairs on the titanic.

 

It's still quite significant. If the GE helps strengthen the £ and improves its forecasts for the future, it could help keep inflation in check which can only be a good thing. I'm not clinging onto anything.

Does this mean Theresa May is going to get kicked off and you're going to stay with us in sweet EU? :wub:

You're a dick

 

:lol: Thanks, I've obviously touched a nerve.

2% is statistically insignificant. Standard fluctuation. The Currency markets won't change until there is certainty on what our future relationship with Europe looks like and it will continue to stay weak until the Scotland issue is resolved (If Scotland leaves I'd expect GBP to approach parity with USD given that Brent Crude keeps the pound as strong as it currently is, regardless of how much tax revenue is currently being taken from the sector).

 

Inflation is going to sky rocket and remain high for the entire year. Most major firms do what is called 'hedging' or 'currency swaps' to add certainty to their cash flows and try to get the best deal. These are arranged a considerable time in advance. This is why we're only now starting to feel the bite of the 30% free fall. Just as every major airline has already bought it's entire fuel supply for 2017 and probably 2018, major multinationals like Unilever and Tesco will have all their currency needs mapped out well beyond the current financial year. It's prudent accounting practice and literally every major company does this because it will have saved them billions since the crash of the pound.

 

If there is a sustained recovery of the pound, doubtful, it'll be lower than it would have been had we remained in Europe due to the increased costs in accessing our major market and will take 6-12 months to actually start to ripple through to the economy. In the mean time, wages are going to stagnate so the money in your pocket will stretch less and less every day meaning you'll be able to buy less and less food and many people will fall in to poverty and real financial hardship. What a f***ing glorious silver lining.

Does this mean Theresa May is going to get kicked off and you're going to stay with us in sweet EU? :wub:

No it means she's going to consolidate her power like a mad dictator and drive the UK off the hard brexit cliff edge probably joining that wonderful example of human rights Belarus in being a non-signatory to the ECHR.

David Dimbleby has been discussing the potential TV debates on Radio 4. He seems to suggest they might be going ahead with something regardless of whether May takes part or not.

 

Looks like the Manchester Gorton by-election will be cancelled, but it's not confirmed. Hopefully common sense will prevail on this!

Yes up here in Manchester authorities are apparently consulting with the Gov and Electoral Commission on cancellation. They don't see the point in it, it's got a story in the MEN at the moment.

 

It makes no real difference as Manchester is electing a Mayor on that day anyway but would make sense to cancel given they'll never actually take up the post.

Annoyingly I am due to be in London on 8th June- Theresa should know that I booked this in ADVANCE.

 

There does in the wider public seem to be some support for a snap general election (which I agree with, I think the proposed direction of the country post-EU should be laid out by all of the political parties and voted on to give a strong mandate for whoever leads these negotiations), though I suspect the call was also made on the basis of:

 

a) The 18-20 point lead in the polls and Labour's weakness

b) Forthcoming potential criminal charges against approx 12 Conservative MPs concerning irregular declaration of Conservative party election spending in 2015 resulting in multiple by-elections.

 

At the moment I would concur that a 120-140 Conservative majority looks a lock-on, and I console myself with the fact that it'll only be until 2022 (as opposed to 2025) that we'll be stuck with the Conservatives in government.

Annoyingly I am due to be in London on 8th June- Theresa should know that I booked this in ADVANCE.

 

There does in the wider public seem to be some support for a snap general election (which I agree with, I think the proposed direction of the country post-EU should be laid out by all of the political parties and voted on to give a strong mandate for whoever leads these negotiations), though I suspect the call was also made on the basis of:

 

a) The 18-20 point lead in the polls and Labour's weakness

b) Forthcoming potential criminal charges against approx 12 Conservative MPs concerning irregular declaration of Conservative party election spending in 2015 resulting in multiple by-elections.

 

At the moment I would concur that a 120-140 Conservative majority looks a lock-on, and I console myself with the fact that it'll only be until 2022 (as opposed to 2025) that we'll be stuck with the Conservatives in government.

The Tories will try to make the election all about the EU negotiations but will also pack their manifesto with very right-wing policies. They will then claim a mandate for those policies. General elections fought on a single issue are not a good idea, particularly in a multi-party democracy under first past the post.

Annoyingly I am due to be in London on 8th June- Theresa should know that I booked this in ADVANCE.

 

I'm also annoyingly due to be away from home the day of the election as well, in Windsor, one of the strongest Tory-held seats in the country, interestingly enough. Will have to get a postal ballot sorted out pronto - will have to do so tomorrow when I'm re-registering to vote due to changing address.

Or maybe just say one thing in their general election manifesto and do the opposite like the chancellor tried to do during the budget!

 

One thing I don't get is that Mrs May doesn't tell anyone her negotiations with the EU so what are we actually voting for brexit wise??

Or maybe just say one thing in their general election manifesto and do the opposite like the chancellor tried to do during the budget!

 

One thing I don't get is that Mrs May doesn't tell anyone her negotiations with the EU so what are we actually voting for brexit wise??

Don't expect her to tell us anything useful. She will be as vague as she can get away with (made easier by refusing to take part in debates) and claim a mandate anyway.

It's still quite significant. If the GE helps strengthen the £ and improves its forecasts for the future, it could help keep inflation in check which can only be a good thing. I'm not clinging onto anything.

 

what Silas said.

 

Saying things are rosy cos the pound isn't at it's absolute worst against the dollar in decades (the euro is different as the UK also has the power to cause havoc there) and is slightly marginally up is like the man falling off a building saying "so far so good" on his way down when an updraft slows the fall a bit......

Yes up here in Manchester authorities are apparently consulting with the Gov and Electoral Commission on cancellation. They don't see the point in it, it's got a story in the MEN at the moment.

 

It makes no real difference as Manchester is electing a Mayor on that day anyway but would make sense to cancel given they'll never actually take up the post.

If she tries to scrap the devolution deals, shit will majorly kick off.

 

(it also brings my idea of declaring Andy Burnham the king in the north at step closer, but there you go)

Oh god yeah if she tries to cancel the devo deal there will be chaos up here and rightfully so.