Monday 18 November 2019

I just wish the Tory policies would make sense

It is so frustrating this election campaign:

- Labour have gone through the looking glass entirely, I thought 2017 was bad but 2019 is that on steroids. Now we have just pure crazy for a manifesto, nationalise everything, ban everything and not do Brexit either.

- The Lib Dems have discovered the modern proverb get woke. go broke. There are few votes for Swinson outside of Remainia, a small place to start with, as she lectures people on um, being men or other such transgressions.

- Which leaves the Tories way out in front with a simple promise (albeit soon to be broken) of doing Brexit and not being mad. However, they are not very Conservative. Over the weekend, Matt Hancock, the Health Secretary, weighed in to announce under the new immigration policy there would be a surcharge for the NHS. All well and good, but if people come here and have a job offer (a pre-requisite of the new immigration policy)  then they will already be paying tax, 20% of which pays for the NHS. Why should they pay twice? Conservatives amongst all parties should not be promoting such a terrible idea.

Overall the Tories are still coming out with poorly though out ideas, especially around brexit and immigration. Yes they are miles better than the Opposition but that is a very low bar, it is so disappointing to live in an age of such 'agile politics' where nothing is thought our properly.

20 comments:

Anonymous said...

I hate to be all mellow dramatic about stuff but it's like anyone vaguely right wing has been totally disenfranchised. I thought May's jolt to the left was in some way a method to 'plant their tanks on Labour's lawn' coupled with the fact that she felt some compunction to disavow herself of the 'nasty party' sobriquet (sp) but I don't think that's the case - they really are just bloody infantile social democrats who couldn't give a toss about fiscal conservatism - screw it, the next guy can take the shit. It's bloody pathetic.

I live in Barry Sheerman's constituency so it's probably a Brexit Party vote for me but for the 1st time ever, depending on the stats nearer the time, I either may not bother of do an artistic cock 'n' balls on my ballot. It's just so depressing.

DtP

CityUnslicker said...

They have put forward a new Tory candidate in my constiuency, complete remainer, I can't vote for her so have the same quandry. If it was a marginal I would likely hold my nose and vote Blue as they are still the worst, best choice. But it is not and there is no Brexit candidate. Perhaps some independent will get my vote.

andrew said...


I think anyone who has any affection for any of the mainstream parties
( con lab, lib )
currently feels rather let down.

Listening to Leadsom on R4 Today spend most of the time from 8.10 - 8.22 just not answering the question.
Their track record over the last 9 year has been miserable.
Saying
'the other side will be even worse than we have been for the last 9y'
does not win elections.

It gets us another hung parliament.

I sort of understand - this is a marketplace for votes:
When most people tell the truth, there (rightfully) is a cost to lying.

Something has gone wrong:
When everyone lies, there (wrongly) is a cost to telling the truth

CityUnslicker said...

Very astute Andrew. The issue is the truth itself has come in for much more criticism than times past, truth itself is under review. Challenging times.

dearieme said...

The idea of an NHS tax surcharge for immigrants is rather attractive. It means they will pay ordinary income tax towards the annual funding of the NHS, and a bit more in acknowledgement of the accumulated capital in the NHS that the rest of us have paid for over the years.

Similarly they could pay a contribution towards the school system once they have children.

It occurs to me that rich countries are lunatic not to routinely charge immigrants for the accumulated financial and social capital that they are being granted access to.

andrew said...

DM:

accumulated financial and infrastructure capital -

istr it is 250-300K per person in the UK.

Raedwald said...

Surely then it would also be fair for those who retire outside of the UK after paying a lifetime of investment into the financial and infrastructure capital pot to draw it out?

No. Thought not.

I don't buy into immigrant surcharges. The principle of targeting "immigrants" is too close to the various taxes imposed on Jews in Germany from 1937 onwards - which prompted Ludwig Von Mises to flee the country. Why not charge the morbidly obese a tax premium, or anyone who drinks more than three bottles of wine a week? Anyone over 30 who plays weekend football, or undertakes risky sport or exercise? Anyone who fails to do 10,000 steps a day? Anyone who, after gene scanning at birth, carries a genetic risk of future illness?

Because, as you will know, 'immigrant' or 'non-immigrant' is a poor predictive indicator of future public service costs. It is, to be frank, little different to a race tax.

Matt said...

@Raedwald

Your list sounds exactly like an election manifesto for the Raving Lunatic Socialist Party of Jockistan.

Raedwald said...

Matt - quite.

Either you base charges on individual predictive cost or you charge everyone the same. I prefer charging everyone the same.

Anonymous said...

Raedwald is determined to die in a gentlemanly fashion, and I agree with him on most issues. I would prefer to be ungentlemanly and alive. Demography is destiny.

Obviously among the top ten #1 priorities for an incoming Tory administration should be ID cards, needed for access from everything from jobs to GPs. I imagine it's not even on his radar.

It has to be said, Boris's friends are determined to demoralise his supporters. Here's Fraser Nelson or one of his acolytes calling for an amnesty for the 5-10 (? Teso reckon we have 80 million people) million illegals. You may remember Reagan did that and the USA never had any trouble ever again?

https://www.spectator.co.uk/2019/11/the-case-for-amnesty-why-its-time-to-offer-citizenship-to-illegal-immigrants/

Sod it, Boris. Let it all burn. Why should I bother? And it was such a great country in 1960.

In other news, the US military have tweeted that the highly illegal seizure of the Syrian oil fields is an operation of Combined Joint Task Force for Operation Inherent Resolve i.e. the anti-ISIS coalition which includes the UK. Look at the evasive answers of Baroness Goldie and Lord Ahmad.

https://www.mintpressnews.com/peter-ford-former-british-ambassador-syria-uk-complicit-trumps-syria-oil-grab/262693/

Bill Quango MP said...

I can't believe the Tories.
As the piece says, all they needed to do is promise a Brexit resolution, true or not, and be vaguely sensible and normal on everyday policy and avoid being the Nasty party on other issues.

Instead it appears team Johnson is determined to have another hung parliament.
Each time they pull a little ahead, they panic and get May's '2017 blueprint for defeat' out.

If they go up a % point it's straight to the Maybot's file of election losing pledges to pick the next one on the list.

"Amnesty for all Illegal immigrants. That should shed a million votes."

"Not enough. We need to lose more."

"Hmm..Green energy taxes to ensure green jobs for green workers for green taxes? Something with tax and green in it, anyway."

"That only loses a few hundred thousand. Its meaningless drivel. We need actual, destructive, anti-Tory idea policies, if we are going to throw this election."

"Cancel all the already promised tax cuts? That should do it. It shows us to be anti business. Anti individuals, high taxing, high spending economic incompetents."

"And liars too!"

"Brilliant! Announce it at the CBI. Really rub it in!"

James Higham said...

TBP has done badly in placing candidates, leaving so many Remain seats uncontested.

APL said...

Q: " All well and good, but if people come here and have a job offer
Why should they pay twice?"

A1: One of the privileges of becoming British.

A2: Unless this imaginary 'migrant' has that dream job, he won't have
paid enough tax to cover the cost of one minor operation unless
he/she has paid tax for about five or ten years.

A3: He shouldn't, but his insurance company should.


CityUnslicker: " I can't vote for her so have the same quandry. "

English Democrats.

Anonymous said...

Peter Oborne (amplified by twitter) declares that Boris is an unprincipled liar.

Well so was the most electorally successful PM since Thatcher!

And so are a majority of the House of Commons, who said they would abide by the referendum result.

Mr Oborne's principles involve losing in a gentlemanly manner. Boris wants to win (and probably to sell us out on immigration).

We're all out of principled politicians. The fact that Trump and Johnson are in power isn't a reflection of poor electoral taste, it's a reflection of poor electoral choice. We're not in Attlee's Britain or Eisenhower's US any more.


PS - does anyone apart from Carrie Symonds really care who Boris bonks and whether he fesses up? I don't recall Lloyd George fessing up either.

Anonymous said...

We need a clean Brexit - and it is highly unlikely we will get it. When we were stood down by Nigel, that was it. Too many Remainers given a free ride which will come back to haunt us.

Do you think a Tory Remainer will be that concerned about voting for Boris's agreement once the GE is over? Or losing the whip when a FTP gives them another 5 years? He's left a rump parliament in place by removing a BXP challenge.

Seems it is all planned and I can't vote for my Tory Remainer. I'll spoil my vote by voting for the MRLP - at least they are honest.

Suff said...

Any. Yep they parked their tanks on Labours lawn and turned the guns back on their own infantry.
Any hope for a change to the cesspit that is the HOC, was lost when Nigel decided not to contest blue labour seats. In aligning himself with the lying scum, his dream of taking the northern heartlands has died. No died in the wool Labour voter is going to support the conservatives bitch.
Our FPTP system ensures we are a one party system, with only a home and away kit to show who’s playing
If TBP were to be the alternative ( which would have hit a gold seam of disenfranchised voters). He should have said they would stand in any Remainer held constituency ( regardless of party) where the people voted to leave. That would have given him the true Trumpian campaign regardless of the pols. He would never have one enough seats to win the election but enough to keep Brexit on the agenda.
Instead prepare for another five years of the same lies and bickering, while Brexit doesn’t get done.

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Anonymous said...

Julia, thanks for the interesting comment.

Just as off topic, does anyone think poor Prince Andrew just can't pick his women? Marries an unfaithful s*****r, then allegedly has a fling with someone who turns out to be the sex slave of a Mossad blackmailer?

Maybe Charles wasn't so daft after all going for Camilla.

E-K said...

Camilla is an attractive woman. Don't knock her !