vladi

If you are referring to his comments about Angela Rayner's dishonest declarations resulting in evasion of tax on her purchase of the flat in hove, then there is no hypocrisy on Farage's part. He funded the purchase of a property in his partner's name. This is 100% legitimate and makes good sense in terms of reducing IHT liability in the future - given their respective ages and individual wealth. Rayner's action was "evasion" which is illegal. Farage's action was "avoidance" which is 100% legitimate.

Dishing the dirt is generally fine when it comes to politicians and in Farage's case he often deserves it but nothing illegal has been done. It is not illegal for him to give his partner a sizeable amount of money with which to buy a house and have it registered in her name. He is 64 years old and his partner is 16 years younger and so he most likely is making plans to minimise IHT. There is a sliding scale for IHT but basically a gift is free of IHT if the gift is made 7 years before the donor dies. Farage is 64 years old and his partner is 16 years younger. In 7 years time, if he lives that long, he will be 71 years old. Given that he smokes like a chimney and drinks like a fish, his odds on getting beyond 71 years may be pretty slim. A similar process is followed by the "bank of mum and dad" where parents give money to their kids to fund purchase of a property. Many who are not cash rich will mortgage their home and so release equity to fund their kids property. We did it as have many of our friends.

I'd put short odds on that but who would be his likely successor?

Can't agree with that because he is a superb communicator - a really smart and smooth talker. He studied PPE at Oxford and was communications director for Labour for many years. Setting aside the "minor" indiscretions during his time in government he has all the smoothness and ability to flatter Trump without appearing obsequious. Plus he can manage and exploit Trump’s ego. He is highly polished socially, comfortable in elite circles, skilled at making personal connections. He can flatter and disarm, which is a useful tactic with Trump, who responds well to personal respect and praise. As a former EU Trade Commissioner and Cabinet minister, Mandelson understands international relations, trade, and diplomacy. He knows how to frame issues in terms of “wins” that Trump could claim credit for. I honestly hope that he survives.

Last December I made a post which said "Peter Mandelson has all the skills and abilities to make an exceedingly good diplomat" and up until yesterday he had undoubtedly demonstrated his abilities. I fear now that the story about relations with Epstein will run and run and the outcome may not be beneficial for either Peter or even Trump.

That assumption is not always valid

The chancellor is exploring new opportunities ( and rightly so) for raising tax revenue in an endeavour to tackle the debt burden facing the nation. One think tank has floated the possibility of taxing remittances sent overseas by UK residents using a mix of formal channels such as banks Western Union, MoneyGram, Wise and WorldRemit. The proliferation of Western Union agencies has become notable in recent years. It is estimated that around £28.5 billion was remitted to such countries as India, Pakistan, Nigeria and countries in the Caribbean. Imposing such a tax could reduce capital outflows and result in greater investment here in the UK. The USA is introducing a tax at the rate of 1% effective 1/1/2026. Canada, Oman and Saudi Arabia are expected to follow suit.

It's just flying a kite and a gutless statement that will result in no remedy to the situation. Surely the only way to get these countries to sit up and think about it is to bring in the measures immediately. Anything less just suggests that the UK is a soft touch - just a toothless , senile old tiger.

.......................... suspend visas from countries that do not "play ball" on returning over-stayers and illegal migrants. why "could" . Why not do it now? Getting it done now would undermine Reform's position and give Labour a "win" - even though the Tories had signalled they were going to do this before they got turfed out.

I really like the proper wood pigeons that visit our garden every day - plump and healthy with attractive foliage. But i dislike the flocks of feral pigeons that hang around St Francis Park on DKH. They are fed bread scraps by some well-intended lady but the result is hundreds of them perch on the benches and crap there so that no one can ever sit on them. This lady really should desist and think more about the amenity for the local residents.

Enock Powell certainly was demonised after making a speech in 1968. In many ways it was out of character. His was a most interesting character and arguably one of the most highly intelligent person to enter parliament. Powell spoke German, French, Italian, Modern Greek, Hindi and Urdu: plus had a reading knowledge of Spanish, Portuguese, Russian, and Welsh. Among classical languages, he knew Ancient Greek, Latin, Hebrew and Aramaic. If, for a moment, one could set aside any preconceived opinions then one would find his biography absolutely fascinating. Enoch Powell - Wikipedia

One of my mates mischievously suggested letting her see Dinner for One - Wikipedia

There's no comparison. Linehan's tweet is, at worst, a "non-violent hate crime". What you have speculated about is clearly a physical assault or GBH.

The recent incident at Heathrow, when 5 armed police arrested Graham Linehan for his tweet on X, makes many of us wonder about the priorities of the police In 2024, just under 130,000 cars were reported stolen and many of these were shipped over seas or stripped for parts. At Felixstowe, Britain's busiest post, there is only a singe police officer who monitors out-going containers. Going out of the post also was some of the 116,000 mobile phones stolen last year. Then there's shop lifting.........

Why don't her cabinet colleagues not come out and defend her? Is she being cast out to the wolves?

UK government bond yields surged to multi-decade highs today, and sterling slid sharply, as political uncertainty and fiscal concerns unsettled markets. Markets fear chancellor Rachel Reeves was being "managed out," recalling that yields spiked when her position was last seen as under threat in July. The 30-year gilt yield jumped to 5.71%, its highest level in 27 years. Brokers said that investors were uneasy about the rising costs of servicing.

Many thanks for the tips. There is no necessity for the venues or events to be free. Our son earns a really good salary so he is is well able to fund a good selection of events, performances and venues.

Our son, who has worked in Europe for several years wants to bring his German girlfriend (aged 25) to stay with us over Christmas. We have met her once and she is lovely but we are of more modest means than her family. She speaks excellent English and has a Phd. We are eager to ensure that her stay is enjoyable and informative as regards English culture. Apart from going to pantomime, seeing Dulwich Hamlet, Horniman Museum and Dulwich Picture Gallery can any one contribute suggestions for a "London experience" that might be interesting?

@malumbu as your questions would take us off topic on so many tangents, I will defer my response to a more appropriate thread.

Covid certainly was a big factor in creating the debt burden however the Govt continues to expand the hole by giving crazy subsidies to suppliers of so-called "low carbon" electricity eg wind turbine farms, solar panels and worst of all - Drax power station. According to the Renewable Energy Foundation, the UK currently spends around £25.8 billion per year on renewable electricity subsidies, covering both direct and indirect schemes. Drax gets just shy of £1 billion a year to use import & burn wood pellets which are produced in a highly energy consumptive process. Wood pellets used by Drax are produced through a multi-stage process that converts wood material into dense, energy-rich fuel. The raw material typically comes from, offcuts, and sawmill by-products rather than high-value timber. Logs are first collected from forests across the U.S. South and West Coast, ‘ At pellet plants, the wood is debarked and chipped into small pieces before being dried to reduce moisture content. The drying process often uses waste wood as a heat source to improve efficiency and lower emissions. Once dried, the wood chips are milled into a fine powder, then compressed at high pressure through a die to form small cylindrical pellets, each around 6–8 mm in diameter. The natural lignin in the wood binds the pellets together, eliminating the need for chemical additives. After production, pellets are cooled, screened to remove dust and fines, and stored in large silos. They are then loaded into trucks or railcars and transported across the United States from west to east to dedicated export terminals.. At these terminals, pellets are conveyed into covered storage domes or silos to protect them from moisture, since wet pellets can disintegrate and pose safety risks. From there, bulk carriers transport the pellets across the Atlantic to the United Kingdom. Drax even had to develop specialized port and rail infrastructure to handle pellet imports , including large storage domes at Immingham and direct rail links to its power station. It's no wonder wed have the highest energy costs in all of Europe!

And that depression will get deeper if the cost of debt servicing increases. Lack of clear fiscal strategy means uncertainty in the financial market. This results in markets demanding greater interest rates for new gilt sales. This in turn leads to increasing costs of debt servicing. Unless drastic austerity measures are taken , it becomes a doom loop. Recovery cant be done with more taxes. Major spending cuts have to be made now. That means cuts of around £100 bn per year. Painful? Yes, most certainly, but absolutely necessary.

First, the US Dollar is a reserve currency. Secondly, the 1930's depression was a 100 years ago and was caused by several factors including excess borrowing to fund stock market speculation. When Harold Wilson had to go begging to the IMF to bail out the economy, the IMF lent the money but imposed various austerity measures. If the UK has to go cap in hand to the IMF again, then rest assured the IMF will stipulate changes which equate to austerity. this is the IMF's standard terms. Just look at Argentina. Take the pain to get the gain!

Floating a few ideas to gauge consensus indicates that there is no strategic plan. It's just political dithering. It represents a fundamental inability to recognise the fundamental structural issues concerning the nations economy. In keeping with France, Germany and many other European countries, the UK's economic health is in decline. In the last two decades, much of government spending has been funded by debt. The cost of servicing that debt is currently running at around £95 billion and that is increasing steadily. It means we are living beyond our means. We are in a debt spiral. the government is funding a welfare state that has gone out of control. We cannot continue to have a situation where millions here prefer to live off Universal Credit plus other benefits. Some of them also earn additional untaxed income from the grey economy. We have to reduce govt spending. It is the elephant in the room. There has to be cutbacks - no tinkering but real cutbacks and austerity. Committing to austerity and major cutbacks will reestablish credibility in the financial markets. This alone will reduce the cost of servicing the national debt. It's a virtual circle but it does need political courage not indecisiveness. Stop rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic.!

Another solution to exclude them is to use barbed wire. A single strand of wire strategically placed can be very effective. I have a spare roll listed here

No accusation was made.