POLITICS CORNER

[Stanley]

Ken, whether it's Scottish Oil, Lancashire Gas or C4 sale, everything this government does is for short term gain. Very difficult to see any ethics, principles or long term planning is involved. They have me thoroughly confused.....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on the government's energy plans which have drawn much criticism because they basically mean going for broke on nuclear which is so long term it can't help the crisis. The obvious aims of more insulation and on-shore wind don't even get a mention.
This is panic legislation and one has to wonder would it even get passed in Parliament?

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report that Sunak's wife3 has non-dom status. So that's all right then.....

[Stanley]

Sunak's position becomes quite interesting.
Kent is a lorry park just as the Easter rush starts. How will Shapps explain this?

[plaques]

Sunak's position becomes quite interesting.

The 2016 Finance Bill was intended to close 'loopholes' in the Non-Dom status. What it did was to close loopholes and open up a motorway. Sunak's wife will easily comply with ALL the taxation rules principally because there is no requirement for them to pay any tax on overseas earnings. There may be some problems with inheritance tax on UK property held by offshore companies but I'm sure she will have that covered. Remember this bill was brought in by the Conservatives to look after the Conservatives.
The big debate is why is it so generous and why we have it at all?

Kent lorry park.

Its the drivers fault for trying to get to dover. They should be going into the lorry parks that are hidden away so as not cluttering the road up trying to deliver their goods.
Out of site out of mind. In this case just a smokescreen without any mirrors.

[Tizer]

Europe seems to be moving towards the far right...
`French election: Far-right Le Pen closes in on Macron ahead of vote' LINK

[PanBiker]

Can't argue with any of this.

[Stanley]

I've just been listening to Priti Orrible te4lling News at One that it isn't a case of comparing us with other countries when it comes to how many Ukrainians we have let in.
I have news for her, it certainly is and I am shamed by our response.....

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report on Sunak spitting feathers and demanding to know who 'leaked' his wife's tax details. Also news that his family has moved out of Downing Street back to their West London home. There are rumours swirling round that he is considering resignation, obvious his leadership ambitions are shot and so he might go back to making money.
(I always said he was a spiv..... )

[Tizer]

Meanwhile the Rt Hon Elizabeth Truss MP is rubbing her hands with glee....

[Tripps]

Meanwhile the 'lad from Rochdale' shows that some politicians know when to do the right thing, and what it is . . . .

( Let us assume and hope this is all true. It may even be so - he did resign on a matter of principle - something about not being able to choose his own Special Advisor - didn't he? )

On Sunday another cabinet minister, Sajid Javid, was also drawn into the furore as he admitted having taken advantage of non-dom status before he became an MP. He released a statement saying he was a non-dom for six years while a banker, on the grounds that his father was born in Pakistan. Javid was born in the UK, and it is not clear where, if anywhere, he paid tax on worldwide earnings.

He said: “Prior to returning to the UK and entering public life, some of my financial investments were based in an offshore trust. While this was an entirely legitimate arrangement, on becoming a minister in 2012 I decided to voluntarily collapse that trust, repatriate all assets to the UK and pay 50% income tax on those assets.

“This approach deliberately incurred the heaviest possible tax burden, and offset any accrued benefits from the previous trust arrangement, but I believed it was the right thing to do.”

[Stanley]

I know it's ungenerous but I can't get this image of millionaires shuffling the deck chairs to suit themselves.....

[plaques]

The thing about non-dom status is that it is fundamentally wrong and it needs removing altogether and not standing out as an anachronism to be taken advantage of by the very wealthy. Like off shore tax havens if the rules says you can do it it becomes more of a moral issue than a legal one.

On the other side of the pond it looks like our Rishi Sunak is in a little trouble. He has applied for and got a 'green' card for possible US residency. The problem arises is that one of the green card requirements is that the applicant must no seek or have any foreign government positions. Oh dear.

Our Lad from Rochdale.
“This approach deliberately incurred the heaviest possible tax burden, and offset any accrued benefits from the previous trust arrangement, but I believed it was the right thing to do.”

The word offset could mean that ALL gains were returned or that over a period of time, unspecified, he would break even.

Our Buffoon is now playing the world stage hoping to boost his credentials to offset his inability to count the numbers at his gatherings. (Partygate). It has been said that he even combed his hair with the meeting with the German Chancellor Olaf Scholz.

Why do I get the impression that all our government including the Cabinet aren't interested in what happens to the country but are looking for opportunities for personal gain.

[Stanley]

"Why do I get the impression that all our government including the Cabinet aren't interested in what happens to the country but are looking for opportunities for personal gain."
Not surprising Ken because it looks as though that's what they are doing. No cabinet member speaking out for the cold, hungry and homeless.....

[Whyperion]

The thing about non-dom status is that it is fundamentally wrong and it needs removing altogether and not standing out as an anachronism to be taken advantage of by the very wealthy. Like off shore tax havens if the rules says you can do it it becomes more of a moral issue than a legal one.

On the other side of the pond it looks like our Rishi Sunak is in a little trouble. He has applied for and got a 'green' card for possible US residency. The problem arises is that one of the green card requirements is that the applicant must no seek or have any foreign government positions. Oh dear

51st State ?

[Stanley]

See THIS and ask yourself what the hell is the matter with these people. Arguing about a disciplinary finding against an MP when the world is falling to bits around them and they are on holiday! Turn the heating off in the Commons, reduce wages to benefit levels and move them injto the real world....!!!

[plaques]

See THIS and ask yourself what the hell is the matter with these people. Arguing about a disciplinary finding against an MP when the world is falling to bits around them and they are on holiday! Turn the heating off in the Commons, reduce wages to benefit levels and move them injto the real world....!!!

The whole point is to discredit the present system of independent judiciary along with those watch dogs maintaining parliamentary standards. The idea is to have the judges in their pockets giving the correct decisions on anything that may involve themselves. In fact Johnson's No10 would like nothing better than decide the outcome themselves becoming both judge and jury on ministerial standards, Partygate. flat refurbishment and Conservative part donations.

[Tizer]

The `i' newspaper has a front page report this morning that Putin is sending thousands of Ukrainians to remote regions of Russia, up to 5500 miles from their homes. He's passed an emergency decree that orders transportation of 100,000 people to Siberia, Sakhalin, the Arctic, Chechnya etc. It's not a temporary move, he calls it resettlement. And Putin calls the Ukrainians Nazis!

[Stanley]

Peter, go back and read Stanislav's story in Stanley's view and then compare what Russia did to Poland in 1939 with what they are doing in the Ukraine now. It's exactly the same story.
I've bumped Stan's story. See War Story (complete)

[Tizer]

`Boris Johnson and Rishi Sunak to be fined over lockdown parties' BBC

[Stanley]

See THIS BBC report that Johnson and Sunak are refusing to resign even though they have been fined. They say that what they are doing is too important to be interrupted by the minor matter of being branded as law-breakers.
If they get away with this it is the final piece of evidence that they regard themselves as above the law or any need to adhere to principles and ethics. A sad day for us....

[Stanley]

I'm listening to the egregious Grant Shapps refusing to admit that there were parties in No. 10. This is the standard we must get used to and it's abysmal!
For God's sake, let's get rid of these crooks....

[plaques]

Strange that the police have issued their fixed penalty orders just when parliament is on their Easter break. Cressida Dick has just resigned from the MET so its nothing to do with her. They could always recall parliament but since the majority of the government are on holiday including Sunak it wouldn't be fare to upset their plans.

Now isn't the time to be changing horses midstream when we have a war to contend with. Unfortunately we haven't declared a war with anyone. There's a spot of trouble between Russia and Ukraine but nothing that important that we need to waiver the visa requirements. As a reminder we changes Prime Ministers during WW2 when Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain,

Inflation has reached 7.2% and forecast to rise over 9% meanwhile our government is sat on their hands with a promise that in 50 years time the energy supply will have been sorted. Meanwhile poor people will just have to make do and hope that the food banks will fill their bellies.

The M20 motorway in Kent continues to be the longest carpark in the UK. Something that Chris Grayling the ex-Transport Minister said would never happen. Another promise bites the dust. Transport delays are reaching such a pitch that small firms are thinking of stopping trading with the EU. The answer appears to be that they will have to look for other Brexit possibilities ????? Jacob Rees-Mogg has a long list of these somewhere.

Rumour has it a Unicorn has been spotted on Weets Hill. Expect a flood of tourists any time now.

[Stanley]

I think you've covered most of the bases Ken. The main fear this morning was nothing to do with access to the ferries but the fact that drivers are crapping in the long grass because they have no other choice. The brave world of Brexit and Tory management of the economy! Roll on an election!

[Tizer]

Now isn't the time to be changing horses midstream when we have a war to contend with. Unfortunately we haven't declared a war with anyone. There's a spot of trouble between Russia and Ukraine but nothing that important that we need to waiver the visa requirements. As a reminder we changed Prime Ministers during WW2 when Churchill replaced Neville Chamberlain.

Another reason to boot out Johnson and Sunak is that their desire to end Putin's `special operation' in Ukraine may be compromised by their desire to retain their jobs and salaries. The sooner the `war' ends the sooner they will get the boot.
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I've posted this map because it's a useful reminder of the geographical relationships between the countries of Eastern Europe. We might soon see Finland and Sweden added to the list of Nato countries...