r/europe • u/AlfredsChild England • 2d ago

News Reform takes shock 15-point lead over Labour as Farage dreams of winning power

https://inews.co.uk/news/politics/reform-shock-15-point-lead-labour-farage-power-3887857
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u/berzini 2d ago

You say "Labour promised to end austerity". Does UK have the funds for that?

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

No, I didn't say that. Labour said that.

As mentioned, the Conservatives essentially did a scorched Earth policy on their way out, there isn't money for shit. However I'd argue the Online Safety Act is the biggest killer of Labour right now.

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u/Casual-Speedrunner-7 2d ago

That's a good thing Labour have done. Protecting the children shouldn't be a political issue (and, indeed, the legislation was passed with bipartisan support).

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u/pastorpaulatreides 2d ago

“Protecting children” is just a guise to censor the internet with things like Wikipedia being banned as well. It may have bipartisan support from politicians, but it also has bipartisan hatred from the common people.

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u/Casual-Speedrunner-7 2d ago

https://youtu.be/QFgcqB8-AxE?si=WIXuRCcpp9j5ExJu

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

Are you really trying to use that as an argument?

At first I thought you just had a different opinion, now I think you're chronically stupid.

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u/Casual-Speedrunner-7 2d ago

I can't deny the charge, I'm pretty stupid. You need to educate yourself that the average IQ is ~100 and about half the people are dumber than that. I can't be arsed to get tested professionally, but various questionable (again, I'm pretty dumb) online tests give me a score ~115. The truth? I can't handle the truth. 115 is the 84th percentile, 100 is the 50th percentile. Half or more of the people are dumber.

We need to trust Starmer (he has very high IQ).

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

Your statement about I.Q and averages is a quote by George Carlin.

Here's another by Stephen Hawking. People who boast about their I.Q are losers.

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u/textposts_only 2d ago

Show me your real id. Before I engage in a discussion with you I want to know if you are over the age of 18. I want to protect children. You can also dm it to me, don't worry.

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u/Chickentrap 2d ago

Children aren't stupid. The OSA is stupid 

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

Except it has unintended consequences of effecting websites like Wikipedia, asking for information that could be used to steal your identity, is easy to bypass, and a complete mess of a law.

As for it being bipartisan, yes, the Conservatives are bloody awful too.

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u/Welshpoolfan 2d ago

How has it affected wikipedia?

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

It hasn't quite yet as they are contesting it

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u/Welshpoolfan 2d ago

So it hasn't affected them?

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u/UniquePariah United Kingdom 2d ago

Yes it has, they are contesting it through the courts.

This is like trying to argue you haven't been fined for speeding as you have decided to take the speeding ticket to court. In this case, Wikipedia is currently losing too.

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u/Welshpoolfan 2d ago

Yes it has

Ok, so how have they been affected?

On fact, I'll save time and explain since you are stuck in a loop of not understanding.

Wikipedia haven't been affected in any way. They are worried that they will be affected, but the courts literally stated they couldn't make a judgment because the relevant decision regarding Wikipedia hadn't been made so it isn't clear yet whether Wikipedia would ever be affected.

So no, Wikipedia haven't been affected yet.

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u/Muad_Dib_PAT 2d ago

The UK basically became the world centre for rich people trying to evade taxes through their former overseas colonies that became independent and have very favourable tax laws. However, such a system means that barely any money actually stays in the UK besides the taxes on the fiscal services that are offered. There is no growth outside of London and the city itself has become unaffordable for most of the UK population.

In order to end austerity, the tax schemes and the tax cuts have to be repealed so the government can afford social programs again. Labour seems unwilling to take that step though, trying to just do more with less basically, which explains why gilts have been rising recently.

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u/SkepticalEmpiricist 2d ago

Yes it does. The UK has very many wealthy people, and it controls its own interest rates and currency

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u/Katatoniczka Poland 2d ago

That depends on the readiness to reform the tax system…

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u/Chinohito Estonia 2d ago

How come the UK had funds to quite literally make the NHS after WW2, but now after decades of austerity, the thing that idiots claim will give us funds, the UK doesn't?

I'll tell you why, austerity and trickle down economics do the exact opposite. The UK has no funds because the wealth gap between the ultra rich and everyone else is worse than literally ever.