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"We are where we are" isn't really a compelling argument against change, is it?

Nope, it's because of this... "Private schools do not have to charge value added tax (VAT) on their fees because of a legal exemption for organisations providing education. About half of England's private schools are also charities, so receive an 80% reduction on business rates (taxes on...

Crazy idea, I know, but maybe if the sixth(?) wealthiest country in the world distributed its wealth slightly more equitably, there wouldn't be quite the same need for private health and dentistry.

Regardless of the specific pros and cons of the argument, £16k for seven years, not allowing for inflation, would need a loan of £112,000. Even as a further advance on your mortgage over a longer period, that's still going to be a pretty significant dent in your monthly income. A shorter...

Nope. Not one bit of it. I'm supporting it because it's the right thing to do, imho. If they all end up voting Tory, so be it. I've come to terms with the fact that not everyone believes what I believe. I'd rather try to make my case than suppress their voting rights though.

I haven't thought much about those questions, because it's a diversion. We're talking about the right to vote here, you're scrambling around the edges to justify an opinion driven solely by a concern that they won't vote the "right" way. Anyway, apologies, but I've got to crack on so I'll...

Indeed, or it might mitigate the worst excesses of either Tory or Labour, if you're a committed centrist. I'm not a committed centrist, obviously, but I absolutely believe that every vote should count. At the moment we've got both main parties, and more than a few people here, saying that a...

The "spike" in borrowing costs caused by Truss's brainless right-wing wet dream of unfunded tax cuts is still very much ongoing. In fact, as more people fall off fixed rate deals, the impact on people's lives is actually still growing...

On your revised argument, now that we've shot down your rationality and frontline service point of contention, are you now proposing that people who are unmarried or who don't drive shouldn't be able to vote? You keep scratching around to find different reasons of why we shouldn't allow 16-18...

It doesn't quite 'sit right' with you? Is that entirely rational, it's just it sounds a lot like an emotional hot-take based on an incomplete understanding. Are you 16-18 by any chance? 😁 https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/cyeed67895zo

Grow up mate, seriously, that's a really weak insult - do you think I've not heard it before? You're not very good at the cheap shots, so I'd give it a rest, it's just a bit... awkward. And at least I tried for a bit of fun and self-deprecation with my username, yours seems to reflect a...

Bit early for Panto season, but what the hell... 😁

You sign at 16, you're in until you're 22, and "frontline" at first or not, you're committing to risk your life for your country at a point in the near future. Seems like we're happy to trust them to do that. As for the 13 year old thing, no one is asking for them to get the vote, the amount of...

Just on the higher taxation thing, this is the usual Laffer curve argument, oft-used to justify gross inequality of income and wealth and argue against redistributive taxation. Like most gross over-simplifications, it's basically false to claim that higher taxes will inevitably either lead to...

Ah, so you're not big on democracy then. I'd say if you're old enough to die for your country, or work and pay tax to it, you're old enough to vote. As for FPTP, I'd like to live in a country where every vote counts. Just because your opinion is rigid, doesn't mean it's correct, of course...

If you're old enough to leave school, work, and pay tax, or join the armed forces and serve the country, then surely you're entitled to a vote. The fact that it doesn't serve the Tories well is just a bonus, regardless of that, it seems only fair to me.

Just don't pull his ears...

From the Guardian... "While far-right gains triggered a political earthquake in France and made major gains elsewhere, their progress was not universal and mainstream parties looked set to keep a majority in the 27-member bloc’s parliament." So I'm not sure we've got a far right EU to worry...

I was there too. I've got a memory of their keeper coming out and having a massive flap at a cross, missing it by miles, and a defender stood right behind him, clearing it off the line. I remember thinking that the only reason the defender was there, was because he knew how dodgy his goalie...

Doesn't look like Vegas to me, looks like the desert near Vegas. Probably retrieving one of Doug's barrels of cash, like on Breaking Bad. 😁