Do you want to discuss boring politics? (9 Viewers)

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Heard an interesting thought the other day. The idea that we need to expose kids to the way tax works at a younger age.

Basically if you give them pocket money, you say if they give up part of it, in exchange they get stuff like their room cleaned. If they don't they have to do all that stuff themselves.

If I got my wife to wear a Rachel Reeves mask it'd give the poor kid nightmares for life.

 

---

[CCFCSteve]

If I got my wife to wear a Rachel Reeves mask it'd give the poor kid nightmares for life.

Wondered where that sentence was going to start with…

 

[CCFCSteve]

Panic over. I know there’s a global conflict on but our senior politicians will project a strong and serious presence

 

[skybluetony176]

Everyone can avoid paying some tax if they want to. I used to claim every penny including charity payments, clothing allowances and petrol claims. The biggest saving is obviously the use of payments into pension schemes. Although Reeves is trying to stop it (and will fail) if you have a private pension it’s essentially a tax avoidance scheme

Something being tax deductible from your tax bill when filing in the UK is not the same as moving money overseas to completely avoid scrutiny of the UK tax system and therefore avoid paying tax. It’s a stupid comparison, not sure why you would want to go full pleb and pretend it is.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

Panic over. I know there’s a global conflict on but our senior politicians will project a strong and serious presence

Also see, trump doing YMCA

 

[Grendel]

Something being tax deductible from your tax bill when filing in the UK is not the same as moving money overseas to completely avoid scrutiny of the UK tax system and therefore avoid paying tax. It’s a stupid comparison, not sure why you would want to go full pleb and pretend it is.

Is he under investigation for tax evasion?

 

[skybluetony176]

Is he under investigation for tax evasion?

No one said he broke the law. You’re now undermining your own argument. The point originally made was ordinary people can’t avoid paying tax. Your piss poor excuse was that they do. They don’t. I’ll make the point again, let’s see if you can get it this time.

Presenting your earnings with allowable deductions to the UK tax office for scrutiny is not the same as moving your earnings off shore to avoid scrutiny from the UK tax office. If you’re half as clever as you think you are you’ll understand the difference.

 

[Grendel]

No one said he broke the law. You’re now undermining your own argument. The point originally made was ordinary people can’t avoid paying tax. Your piss poor excuse was that they do. They don’t. I’ll make the point again, let’s see if you can get it this time.

Presenting your earnings with allowable deductions to the UK tax office for scrutiny is not the same as moving your earnings off shore to avoid scrutiny from the UK tax office. If you’re half as clever as you think you are you’ll understand the difference.

Well OK so he hasn't broke the law. You could just have said no and saved the time to type and me to read the rest of the wafle.

Is Raynor under investigation for breaking the law on her domestic tax affairs - just a yes or no this time will suffice Tonester.

 

[CCFCSteve]

Also see, trump doing YMCA

Davey is x100 a more decent human being than Trump could ever wish to be and his ‘wacky’ behaviour worked well to get some headlines/exposure during the election campaign. But this constant schtick is now falling flat and doing it when there’s a war going on, cost of living worries ramping back up and he needs to come across as a serious politician, is a mistake

 

[Sick Boy]

Heard an interesting thought the other day. The idea that we need to expose kids to the way tax works at a younger age.

Basically if you give them pocket money, you say if they give up part of it, in exchange they get stuff like their room cleaned. If they don't they have to do all that stuff themselves.

I had to clean my room, clean toilets and cars to even get pocket money!

 

[Grendel]

Davey is x100 a more decent human being than Trump could ever wish to be and his ‘wacky’ behaviour worked well to get some headlines/exposure during the election campaign. But this constant schtick is now falling flat and doing it when there’s a war going on, cost of living worries ramping back up and he needs to come across as a serious politician, is a mistake

It has to be a concern that given the state of the government and the opposition the votes are migrating to Reform and the Greens. They aren't even considered as a viable opposition.

 

[skybluetony176]

Well OK so he hasn't broke the law. You could just have said no and saved the time to type and me to read the rest of the wafle.

Is Raynor under investigation for breaking the law on her domestic tax affairs - just a yes or no this time will suffice Tonester.

Apparently not. Quick check, the police aren’t perusing charges and she came to a settlement with interest with HMRC. interestingly the latest reform recruit Zahawi had to pay 4.5 million to HMRC which included a 30% fine because he had broken the law. He claimed it was a witch hunt of course.

 

[Grendel]

Apparently not. Quick check, the police aren’t perusing charges and she came to a settlement with interest with HMRC. interestingly the latest reform recruit Zahawi had to pay 4.5 million to HMRC which included a 30% fine because he had broken the law. He claimed it was a witch hunt of course.

Well she had good advice it seems

Labour paid for lawyer to advise on Angela Rayner’s tax affairs

Hiring the specialist barrister could have cost tens of thousands of pounds and has been described as a ‘shameful use of party resources’

www.thetimes.com

Was it resolved in the last couple of weeks then?

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2026/02/05/rayner-leadership-bid-stymied-by-tax-investigation/

 

[CCFCSteve]

It has to be a concern that given the state of the government and the opposition the votes are migrating to Reform and the Greens. They aren't even considered as a viable opposition.

Especially when they’re led by a couple of chancers. We’re living in strange times

 

[wingy]

Panic over. I know there’s a global conflict on but our senior politicians will project a strong and serious presence

Isn't it it a distraction from the hopelessness befalling us, Angela Rippon started stuff?

 

[Sky_Blue_Dreamer]

I had to clean my room, clean toilets and cars to even get pocket money!

I had to do stuff like the washing and drying up, cleaning my room or just general vacuuming and dusting around the house, and when a little bit older the washing etc. I didn't get pocket money for it - it was just expected. Didn't get anything for getting good grades at school or any other achievements either.

 

[Grendel]

I had to do stuff like the washing and drying up, cleaning my room or just general vacuuming and dusting around the house, and when a little bit older the washing etc. I didn't get pocket money for it - it was just expected. Didn't get anything for getting good grades at school or any other achievements either.

Explains a lot to be fair

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Davey is x100 a more decent human being than Trump could ever wish to be and his ‘wacky’ behaviour worked well to get some headlines/exposure during the election campaign. But this constant schtick is now falling flat and doing it when there’s a war going on, cost of living worries ramping back up and he needs to come across as a serious politician, is a mistake

My wife called his election campaign the longest stag do of all time and that's stuck with me ever since. It's a pity since as you say he comes across more authentic than the others in one v one interviews and they have enough MPs in this Parliament to make a serious push if they wanted.

 

[fernandopartridge]

Everyone can avoid paying some tax if they want to. I used to claim every penny including charity payments, clothing allowances and petrol claims. The biggest saving is obviously the use of payments into pension schemes. Although Reeves is trying to stop it (and will fail) if you have a private pension it’s essentially a tax avoidance scheme

It's a tax deferral scheme really although I suppose for a higher rate tax payer it really means paying a lower rate at a later date. What's Reeves trying to do about it?

 

[Grendel]

It's a tax deferral scheme really although I suppose for a higher rate tax payer it really means paying a lower rate at a later date. What's Reeves trying to do about it?

I’m talking about stopping discretionary trust on pension schemes. If the recipient is already a 40% tax payer the pension value is effectively taxed at 90%

 

[stupot07]

Newly unearthed Nigel Farage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogans

Exclusive: Analysis of more than 4,000 of Reform UK leader’s paid-for Cameo videos also shows they contain misogynistic remarks and antisemitic conspiracies

www.theguardian.com

 

[rob9872]

Newly unearthed Nigel Farage videos reveal support for rioter, neo-Nazi event and far-right slogans

Exclusive: Analysis of more than 4,000 of Reform UK leader’s paid-for Cameo videos also shows they contain misogynistic remarks and antisemitic conspiracies

www.theguardian.com

I doubt he does research. The article says he's done 4,000+ - at £100 a time. It's not too shabby. If anyone is surprised at a grifter grifting, then you've got to wonder where they've been. Something that won't bother his supporters one bit, but will have his detractors getting emotional over what is basically a non-story. Until publications realise they are are the ones providing the oxygen, then nothing will change.

 

[Ccfcisparks]

I doubt he does research. The article says he's done 4,000+ - at £100 a time. It's not too shabby. If anyone is surprised at a grifter grifting, then you've got to wonder where they've been. Something that won't bother his supporters one bit, but will have his detractors getting emotional over what is basically a non-story. Until publications realise they are are the ones providing the oxygen, then nothing will change.

Regardless, its still not somebody you want leading the country.

 

[wingy]

I doubt he does research. The article says he's done 4,000+ - at £100 a time. It's not too shabby. If anyone is surprised at a grifter grifting, then you've got to wonder where they've been. Something that won't bother his supporters one bit, but will have his detractors getting emotional over what is basically a non-story. Until publications realise they are are the ones providing the oxygen, then nothing will change.

Commentators in general are, everyone's an expert.

 

[Grendel]

Regardless, it’s hes still not somebody you want leading the country.

The majority of the country don’t - just that more of the minorities do than anyone else at the moment

 

[Grendel]

This poll was just discussed on Five Live. It’s another shocker for Starmer and shows he’s just a desperate man clinging to power regardless of any impact other than protecting his own sorry skin

Poll shows Andy Burnham would have won Gorton by-election

Andy Burnham could have secured nearly half the vote in Gorton & Denton, easily seeing off the challenge from both the Greens and Reform.

www.dailymail.co.uk

 

[Captain Dart]

With all this talk about putting native wildlife on banknotes instead of historical figures, now no doubt deemed unacceptable by the usual suspects, here is a wonderful design to commemorate the parting sum given to Mandy for lying and giving away many confidential UK policy decisions to Epstein.
View attachment 49855

I found some less controversial designs that amused me.

 

[PVA]

I doubt he does research. The article says he's done 4,000+ - at £100 a time. It's not too shabby. If anyone is surprised at a grifter grifting, then you've got to wonder where they've been. Something that won't bother his supporters one bit, but will have his detractors getting emotional over what is basically a non-story. Until publications realise they are are the ones providing the oxygen, then nothing will change.

Don't disagree that grifters gonna grift.

But can you imagine the furore if Starmer or Polanski was found to have done videos including a tribute to a paedophile, Up the RA, wishing neo nazis well etc

It would be (rightly) front page news, round the clock coverage until they resigned.

With Farage it's just like 'oh what's he like, classic Nige' and he gets away with it. It's absolutely mental.

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Don't disagree that grifters gonna grift.

But can you imagine the furore if Starmer or Polanski was found to have done videos including a tribute to a paedophile, Up the RA, wishing neo nazis well etc

It would be (rightly) front page news, round the clock coverage until they resigned.

With Farage it's just like 'oh what's he like, classic Nige' and he gets away with it. It's absolutely mental.

Same as trump
If you don’t claim to be something you can’t be held to those standards

 

[Mcbean]

I found some less controversial designs that amused me.
View attachment 49977
View attachment 49978

Surely that’s Obama and Princess Ann according to Trump

 

[Sky Blue Pete]

Dirty business is a pole in the eye for privatisation isn’t it

Absolute travesty

 

[CCFCSteve]

This is worth 15 mins of anyone’s time who’s interested in gas, oil and the environment



Finally people are coming round to the logic of what’s the point in importing supplementary LNG to replace what’s (possibly) available in the North Sea when it’s actually dirtier/worse for environment and more expensive .

This isn’t an anti environmental post by the way, if we could operate purely on renewables*, happy days, but we can’t for the foreseeable future. More logic, less ideology might help


* at a personal level im pretty sure I pay more for octopus to supply me with 100% renewable energy

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

This is worth 15 mins of anyone’s time who’s interested in gas, oil and the environment



Finally people are coming round to the logic of what’s the point in importing supplementary LNG to replace what’s (possibly) available in the North Sea when it’s actually dirtier/worse for environment and more expensive .

This isn’t an anti environmental post by the way, if we could operate purely on renewables*, happy days, but we can’t for the foreseeable future. More logic, less ideology might help


* at a personal level im pretty sure I pay more for octopus to supply me with 100% renewable energy

For me the preference goes:

Renewables > Nuclear > Home grown fossil fuels > Imported fossil fuels

Buying in fossil fuels is the worst option environmentally and economically and with respect to energy security.

 

[CCFCSteve]

For me the preference goes:

Renewables > Nuclear > Home grown fossil fuels > Imported fossil fuels

Buying in fossil fuels is the worst option environmentally and economically and with respect to energy security.

Spot on. What I’m still hoping for is an acceleration of the SMR roll out which will reduce reliance on both types of fossil fuels. Not sure how feasible this is from building or grid perspective though

 

[Brighton Sky Blue]

Spot on. What I’m still hoping for is an acceleration of the SMR roll out which will reduce reliance on both types of fossil fuels. Not sure how feasible this is from building or grid perspective though

Nuclear as a medium term strategy until renewables are ready to take over would be my preferred route but now the timing is such where it’s less clear cut as to whether or not it’s worth building new reactors to then decommission them not long after.