[News] Nigel Farage and Reform

[Thunder Bolt]

I'd never seen it before but at a very quick glance:
Deport foreign criminals - The current 1yr sentence level is ridiculous when you look at the state of our justice system and the paltry suspended sentences some get.
End Student dependency visas - Do many UK citizens take their whole family with them if they go and study abroad ?, it's just not needed.
Abolish IR35 rules - Took away so much from contractors. I know there will be many on here who disagree but this if you got caught in it you lost all the benefits of being a ltd company but received none of the employee benefits.
Sentencing review - Needs a major overhaul and to keep offenders off the streets.
Will need then to increase detention spaces by 10k - I'd suggest even that is too few

That's 5 and at first glance there look to be others that I'd agree with but would need to see more about them and then there are a lot of disagree with or are just unachievable.

None of which can be achieved by local councils or mayors.

 

[Bish Bosh]

If you keep probing you will probably find that the answer is 42.

Of course the actual question was what equals 6×9! Douglas Adams - what a loss.

 

[birthofanorange]

I'll caveat this response with I am not a supporter of any particular party.

The problem Labour have is that they've achieved none of the things they promised in the election last year - in fact they've reneged against some of the promises. They promised hope of a growing economy and creating jobs. To use my own personal situation, I was made redundant Feb 2024 due to the 'cost of living crisis' under the previous Tory government. Plenty of jobs available at the time but also hundreds of candidates per role. Labour come to power with the promise of no more taxes and one of the first things they did was increase employer NIC payments - the job market vacancies shrunk over night - literally loads of new roles were pulled. I was in the process of final negotiations around two jobs which were pulled from under my feet - reason being, and I quote directly from one of those employers "we're unable to hire because of the extra costs we now incur for our current employees". As a so called party of the worker Labour created an employment vacuum.

Parties like Reform of course don't have to worry, currently, about their promises. They are a populist party BUT it means people divert to them when the governing party - whatever it's colour - make things worse for people. Labour have most definitely done that. Labour knew things were screwed before the election - the leader of the opposition gets confidential briefing papers on everything from the economy to defence - they must to have had a good idea what the situation really was - yet they made promises they knew they could keep despite being one of only two parties that could form a government.

I haven't nor would I vote for Reform but I fully understand why voters would vote for a party that isn't lying Labour, racist far right Conservatives and as weak as dishwater Liberals. Don't even get me started on the Greens *** cough *** i360.

Good and well-reasoned post.
It's only the part in bold that troubles me, as despite the clear and obvious (no VAR needed) failings of the main Parties, how anyone could bring themselves to actually vote for Reform, knowing (probably ignoring) their far Right and thinly-veiled racist agendas, is astounding.
They have zero experience in governing, too. Popular they may well be, amongst certain voters, but give your heads a bit of a wobble.....if you can.

 

[nevergoagain]

None of which can be achieved by local councils or mayors.

That wasn't the question.

 

[A1X]

Sentencing review - Needs a major overhaul and to keep offenders off the streets.
Will need then to increase detention spaces by 10k - I'd suggest even that is too few

And how much more tax are you prepared to pay for this to be done? Extra 3% on income tax? NI boost by 5%? VAT up to 30%?

 

[Weststander]

I'd never seen it before but at a very quick glance:
Deport foreign criminals - The current 1yr sentence level is ridiculous when you look at the state of our justice system and the paltry suspended sentences some get.
End Student dependency visas - Do many UK citizens take their whole family with them if they go and study abroad ?, it's just not needed.
Abolish IR35 rules - Took away so much from contractors. I know there will be many on here who disagree but this if you got caught in it you lost all the benefits of being a ltd company but received none of the employee benefits.
Sentencing review - Needs a major overhaul and to keep offenders off the streets.
Will need then to increase detention spaces by 10k - I'd suggest even that is too few

That's 5 and at first glance there look to be others that I'd agree with but would need to see more about them and then there are a lot of disagree with or are just unachievable.

IR35 successfully prevents widespread tax avoidance that otherwise would deprive the public purse of much needed funds. Contracting can be a ruse that started from the 90’s onwards …. staff and bosses who were to all intents employees, in collusion with businesses, pretending to be businesses but without taking entrepreneurial risk, having any genuine prospect of making a loss, of being sued.

Without it there would be a wild west where millions of workers would get no rights and the public purse would be cheated of vast sums in national insurance.

 

[dsr-burnley]

Looking at the figures, it is the Tories who have lost the most seats, down by 524.

That's true. The Tories, from a high base because 2021 was peak Boris time, have lost 70% of the seats they were standing in,while Labour, who performed badly in 2021, have also lost 70% of their seats.

Fortunately for them, they could have lost every seat and every deposit and still lost fewer seats. A triumph!

 

[TomandJerry]

Reform have won Doncaster council from Labour.

 

[Chicken Run]

IR35 successfully prevents widespread tax avoidance that otherwise would deprive the public purse of much needed funds. Contracting can be a ruse that started from the 90’s onwards …. staff and bosses who were to all intents employees, in collusion with businesses, pretending to be businesses but without taking entrepreneurial risk, having any genuine prospect of making a loss, of being sued.

Without it there would be a wild west where millions of workers would get no rights and the public purse would be cheated of vast sums in national insurance.

Ahh it’s all making sense , so that’s why my wife always opts for contract offers outside IR35, she hasn’t had any gaps in 12 years fwiw ?

 

[Berty23]

IR35 provides billions in revenue. What is being scrapped to fund that then?

 

[A1X]

IR35 provides billions in revenue. What is being scrapped to fund that then?

The NHS

 

[Berty23]

I'd never seen it before but at a very quick glance:
Deport foreign criminals - The current 1yr sentence level is ridiculous when you look at the state of our justice system and the paltry suspended sentences some get.
End Student dependency visas - Do many UK citizens take their whole family with them if they go and study abroad ?, it's just not needed.
Abolish IR35 rules - Took away so much from contractors. I know there will be many on here who disagree but this if you got caught in it you lost all the benefits of being a ltd company but received none of the employee benefits.
Sentencing review - Needs a major overhaul and to keep offenders off the streets.
Will need then to increase detention spaces by 10k - I'd suggest even that is too few

That's 5 and at first glance there look to be others that I'd agree with but would need to see more about them and then there are a lot of disagree with or are just unachievable.

Where would you cut to find the IR35 loss of billions?

The student dependency visas have already been changed haven’t they? Only PhD and government funded research now isn’t it? So only a few thousand a quarter now isn’t it? To attract top people we really need. These are not young undergraduates bringing family. It is brilliant brains.

Which sentences do you think should lead to deportation that currently don’t?

Keeping offenders off the street for longer. The research shows to reduce crime you need to increase the likelihood of being caught rather than lengthen sentences.

What is being cut to fund all the new places and longer sentences?

 

[Goldstone1976]

Plus Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect left the safe haven of Earth as undocumented migrants on a ship

…from which they were unceremoniously jettisoned, only to be picked up by one named Heart of Gold.

 

[drew]

Plus Arthur Dent and Ford Prefect left the safe haven of Earth as undocumented migrants on a ship

Are we saying there's a danger we might have to listen to poetry from Farage?

 

[darkwolf666]

Where would you cut to find the IR35 loss of billions?

The student dependency visas have already been changed haven’t they? Only PhD and government funded research now isn’t it? So only a few thousand a quarter now isn’t it? To attract top people we really need. These are not young undergraduates bringing family. It is brilliant brains.

Which sentences do you think should lead to deportation that currently don’t?

Keeping offenders off the street for longer. The research shows to reduce crime you need to increase the likelihood of being caught rather than lengthen sentences.

What is being cut to fund all the new places and longer sentences?

You're not supposed to ask questions or query the maths. You're just supposed to go "Make Britain Great Again" - or some other populist shit, all the while hoping nobody sees the flaws in the Baldrick style plans...

 

[Bodian]

These will be defunded and will be going then.

Accessible Walks

There are many accessible walks across the county, all of which are pushchair and wheelchair friendly.

www.thisisdurham.com

Durham

www.accessiblecountryside.org.uk

Health and Wellbeing with Explore Kent - Explore Kent

explorekent.org

 

[Harry Wilson's tackle]

…from which they were unceremoniously jettisoned, only to be picked up by one named Heart of Gold.

What ball have I started rolling here

 

[drew]

The public aren't buying the hollow Labour rhetoric soundbites of inherited, legacy, neglect, 14 years and black hole so I doubt it.

The tik tok generation might not be but anyone with a brain (functioning one of course) can see what they inherited. The Tory mob kept banging on about the 'there's no money left' note for many years and several elections!!!

 

[drew]

I'd never seen it before but at a very quick glance:
Deport foreign criminals - The current 1yr sentence level is ridiculous when you look at the state of our justice system and the paltry suspended sentences some get.
End Student dependency visas - Do many UK citizens take their whole family with them if they go and study abroad ?, it's just not needed.
Abolish IR35 rules - Took away so much from contractors. I know there will be many on here who disagree but this if you got caught in it you lost all the benefits of being a ltd company but received none of the employee benefits.
Sentencing review - Needs a major overhaul and to keep offenders off the streets.
Will need then to increase detention spaces by 10k - I'd suggest even that is too few

That's 5 and at first glance there look to be others that I'd agree with but would need to see more about them and then there are a lot of disagree with or are just unachievable.

Why should contractors not pay the same rates of tax as other workers? It's not the government that pay holiday pay etc

 

[Weststander]

Why should contractors not pay the same rates of tax as other workers? It's not the government that pay holiday pay etc

And their ultimate employer (faux ‘client’) swerve employers national insurance?