Apologies for another non football topic bearing in mind it’s quiet re Pools,Lee Anderson has now joined Reform U.K, I suspect he thought he might not be re elected as a Conservative so jumped ship, he might have been better sticking with the Labour Party.

He’s popular in his constituency, local lad, ex miner….if the Labour Party bring in some gormless nodding dog with a degree in humanities and ticking the woke boxes they could be in for a shock….funny part of the country that, no nonsense mining community.

That's the kick start that reform needed, He's spoken out against the establishment regarding protests/pro/against and went against the status quo, Luckily there's lots of people who agree with what he says and not what you believe via polls or the news.

30p says he will not be re-elected whatever party he stands for. Any takers?

Richard Tice news conference today with Lee Anderson, the first Reform U.K. MP, the electorate didn’t vote for him in as a member of the Reform Party, surely he should stand down and a by-election be called ?
https://www.youtube.com/live/LKYLHYY_nP ... 13oyLH-hLL

Love how he was asked what Sunak said about joining Reform and he replied he hadn’t bothered telling him.

It was interesting how Tice stepped in during the questions when Anderson couldn’t or didn’t answer like when Beth Rigby questioned him, 3 word answer, next question please he said and Tice jumped in,I think Tice was concerned Anderson would put his foot in it or lose his temper.

96 MPs stepping down including Teresa May. I wonder what they running away from

If other MP's jump ship following Anderson to Reform they won't need an election the cons won't have a majority.

Jill Mortimer sat next to him at the Pop Con conference. Can we read anything into that?

Teresa May, weak as pish. If Sunak hadn't already claimed the title, she would be in with a shout for worst Prime Minister in living memory. I dont count Truss because she was only in the job for two minutes.

Fingers crossed, eh. Although if the Tories really did lose their majority there would have to be an general election.

Beth Rigby angry-screaming:

https://youtu.be/h-6ismAby6E?si=1tviLb4JpysOm8dV

If he is typical of a Reform U.K. candidate there won’t be many voting for them, he comes across as a bully, a bit like a night club bouncer.
To summarise Tice only accepted him because it got a Reform U.K. a MP in Parliament albeit by default. Anderson said recently if a sitting MP joined a new party there should be a by-election.

Might be the only way she can hold on to her seat in Hartlepool by jumping ship although that won’t happen as Tice is standing as the Reform U.K. candidate.

I sometimes look on in wonder at people who attach their heart and soul to one Party for life….l vote for the candidate whose policies give me and mine the best prospect for life…extreme ends of the political spectrum I avoid.
I can damn a candidate who fails to provide what they promise me, I have no life long loyalty to any party, they’re just political prostitutes offering a dubious level of service, so I generally tend to hold my nose and mark the ballot pare.
I can never envision any possible scenario where a Party would get my dogged support through thick and thin.
Thanks to my Labour and Tory parents chewing the fat over politics I learnt that neither is right or wrong, thanks mam and dad for giving me an independent thought process and not being a political sheep for life like you two….and most of the country.

I could never vote Tory after they destroyed the UKs industrial heritage, it’s the main reason there is a huge shortage of skilled labour from the grassroots Electricians, Fitters, etc right up to highly skilled engineers. It could never be revived as soon a place was closed it was demolished, trying to educate these skills doesn’t work in a classroom environment as Labour thought.
The only good thing to be announced today is that the Tories have come to their senses over Green Energy, it has been announced that gas power stations will have to built.
The UK risks blackouts unless it builds new, gas-fired power stations, Energy Security Secretary Claire Coutinho will warn today.
The new stations will replace existing plants, many of which are aging and will soon be retired.
But the government says the CO2 produced will not be captured - a measure which limits climate change.

Both Labour and Conservative are now middle of the road parties, no matter what one of them is in power the average adult won’t see a difference in their income and never has done,

I have never seen a difference in my pay packet whoever is in charge. The Tories look after the very rich, Labour the very poor. Reform are a fascist party so more right wing than the Tories.

Tony Blair told all our kids heavy industry and trades was old hat and the future was getting a degree and computers were the future…..we’re paying the price now with profiteering uni’s on every corner and because he made decent trade jobs look second class…… that was the biggest sea change in employment, funny you never noticed it happen.

you can add the snobbish attitude of many who decry many jobs because they class them as dead end ones. work is work and any of it and those doing it should be respected. some can become brain surgeons but most cannot and its not their faults, their parents or schools. my first mother in law hated my guts and even her daughter shut her up for calling me the common bus driver.

true, he is representing a constituancy in an area that woke forgot and will never be allowed to enter. he is a real horse for their course if anyone is.

Of course I noticed it happen, polytechnics became universities, the only reason apprenticeship trades disappeared is because companies like ICI, British Steel, the pits shipbuilding etc disappeared. The kids had no alternatives, it wasn’t because trades were second class, there just wasn’t apprenticeships available on the scale they were before.
They were convinced get degree no matter what it was and there will be jobs galore unfortunately some of the degrees they created were worthless and saddling them with debts from student loans that they will be repay g for yeas.
Of course they created a new version of an apprentice, office junior can now be called an apprentice like a shelf stacker in the supermarket devaluing the word apprenticeship.

Perhaps we need a government who will return to the concept of full employment. This would need to have cross party support and targeted initially on the young before they are lost forever.
Will it happen..........no i am afraid.

I was an office junior and made it to Works manager and shelf stackers can make it into management. Both are necessary and important jobs. Don't forget the affect trade union power had on the manufacturing industry with Red Robbo, Arthur Scargill et al doing their bit to make the sector uncompetitive. For the last two years we have had multi organised and co ordinated strikes from numerous sources, which is the Unions contribution to getting rid of the government and pave the way for Starmer. If or when they achieve that there will be a pay back time in which we will all suffer as Starmer, or his successor ( more likely) will be held to ransom by the same unions. Rachel Reeves is already making excuses for Labour's likely inability to reverse or even make an impact on the economy. Labour left the tin empty in 2010, now they are likely to see and experience the effects of an empty tin, they are getting the jitters. As it is going to be the rest of us who will reap the consequences of their inability to organise a piss up in a brewery, it is us who should be getting the jitters. This scenario is also worth our attention and notice. The notion of jumping out of the frying pan into the fire is very very real.

it wasn,t just those large firms that stooped apprenticeships it was the small ones and the rest that also did the same. even the one man band once had a young lad working for them but that stopped also. these might not be official ones but they learned the job possibly quicker than some did at a big firm.

The real problem is business themselves…..maximum profit, minimal service at cheapest prices dressed up by PR companies as trail blazing.
Shortly before he died my old feller was showing me an article in one of his shipping magazines that stuck in my head.
He was comparing UK shipowners from the 1950’s to the then to the present day trend that was a parable for UK business….
British shipowners in the 1950’s registered their ships in UK ports and were British flagged and bound by strict UK safety rules.
Now they’re registered in obscure ports overseas, flags of convenience countries were regulation isn’t so heavy…along with offshore registered offices. I remember driving past this small house on the Isle of Man with a brass plate on it declaring it as the registered office of a major company…I‘ve seen bigger semi’s
They had British crews apart from some limited crew from British dependencies.
Now most crews are foreign from anywhere on the planet.
The ships were British built, but the new owners decided British wasn’t best and went for the cheap option, funny how the old timers didn’t and actively supported British shipbuilders.
Funny how most European countries have successful shipbuilding industries still and probably pay equally good rates of pay comparable to the UK… a sign that some UK businesses really don’t give a toss about UK workers.

Old hat Derwent the current round of strikes by Doctors, Health workers etc are in no way connected in the way the Red Robbo, Scargill ones were years ago where they were trying to bring the Tory government down. These people are looking for a fair days pay, their wages have fallen way behind the cost of living over the years. The unions are in no position to hold the Labour Party to ransom not like they did in the old days. Some are now reconsidering their support for the Labour Party, Derwent we are not living in the 70s now.

I might be wrong but most European countries subsidised their industries, the U.K. didn’t therefore couldn’t compete. Even now U.K. Passports are produced in Europe as is our currency.

Wondering why you think the Tory party is right wing? In my view there is very little difference between them and Labour. For example record levels of taxation and record levels of immigration. Sunak says he wants to stop the boats but does nothing. Labour keep quiet.
Labour and Tories both commited to the ruinous net zero agenda. Tories have allowed identitarian politics to run rampant throughout our major institutions following the doctrine of "equality diversity and inclusion" which has lead to the waste of vast amounts of tax payers money as unaqualified people are given jobs they cant do purely because of EDI. It is a siht show which will get worse under Labour. As for Reform being facist, pure lefty distortion because they are scared the working people are waking up to the globalist manipulation which is at the core of both Labour and Conservative policies.

They subsidised them illegally against EU rules and the EU did nowt about it, if you want to argue on British Shipping trends I ‘m up for it…..but that doesn’t affect my point on UK businesses having no regard for UK workers.
As for passports, they’re produced in Europe instead of where they were produced in Gateshead because our stupid politicians allowed it….. elect idiots you get idiot results…I see no improvement on the horizon.

If you think the Tories are right wing you must be stuck in a time warp several decades ago …..there isn’t a fag paper between the the two of them.
Hitler was a fascist, the use of it to describe anyone to the right of Karl Marx as a fascist is quite frankly appalling.
When did you leave the country, with Captain Cook…?

You missed the point Jamie. My reference to Robbo and Arthur was making the point that the likes of them contributed to our manufacturing demise. Read it again.
As for the current crop of unions, if you can't see that the present day striking is being co ordinated it is you who are out of step. We'll see what happens if Starmer wins. Will Starmer immediately give in to the doctors, and if he doesn't how long will the strikes continue. Same with the rail dispute. One of them has to back off, who will it be????
Everybody wants things to change for the better, the big question is who can be trusted to deliver that change.

You obviously don’t understand politics Snowy. The Tories are right wing. Reform are right wing but more nationalist. Lots of countries in Europe going the same way. Keep up! Farage took us out of Europe . He is a nationalist !

Suspect it is you who doesnt understand politics. Tories in the past were right wing but not these days.

As regards the Hitler analogy. Obviously Farage is not a killer. But Hitler was a nationalist. Nationalist Socialism. Basically Nationalist Socialism is looking after your own country first. To a degree I agree with this direction Reform postulate as long as the wealth created by the UK is redistributed more fairly. So that the middle class share in the wealth. If I was in charge of Reform the tax system would be the first place I would tackle. ATM it benefits the business class. I would also slim down the royal family in that it would mirror Sweden’s style. Next get rid of the House of Lords. Of course the boat people needs tackling but that is more difficult . Sending them to Africa and paying them to go there is a nonstarter . Post Brexit the Tories have opened up business links with a lot of countries. I am a Brexiteer but have accepted leaving the Euro. The way forward is self determination which Reform advocate . I am not keen on Farage although he dies gave charisma. Let’s see. Reform can’t win the election on their own. I’m a socialist but don’t like Starmer. When they get in. The lower class will just benefit. My belief is that all classes should. One nation!

Derwent,
The Doctors and Nurses have never gone on strike before, their pay has not kept up with the cost of living yet CEs of Hospital Trusts are being paid salaries in excess of £250000 with gold plated pensions and severance packages, most have no experience of the healthcare system.
Don’t you think the Doctors and Nurses deserve a pay rise ? Nurses are just not nurses anymore they fulfil many duties, my daughter is a nurse and is always doing courses some she has to pay for herself. Young newly qualified Doctors will be paying back student loans in excess of £40000 some Nurses also.
I am not going to discuss the 70/80s strikes, we would be here all day.

If we use your understanding of Germany’s use of the word ‘National Socialism’, then Labour would qualify as a national socialist Party….. Hitler never used the word ‘National Socialism’…..and his famous speech in 1927 which was ..’We are socialists. The enemies of today’s capitalist system of exploitation and we are determined to destroy this system under all conditions’ indeed prove his socialist credentials as well as his hatred of church and all royals….
Reform are right of centre, but too far right or too far left profits no country.
I do not see them as threat.

As for Chief Execs salaries, in the great order of things they ‘re overpaid but a meaningless drop in the ocean…..the pen pushers need a cull, the non producers that proliferate…

All different types of workers have gone on strike while the CEOs of these work places are makeing themselves an absolute fortune.
I won't leak to much info but 90% of a hpool workplace went on strike in January for a month.
Did it work?
Dam rite it did. A 4% final offer went to almost 8% + 7 months back pay and the Union payed full wages while strikeing.

As for students and there loans. Pointless nowadays. Just get straight into NMW work. Loads of vacancys.
The gap between skilled n unskilled pay just keeps on getting narrower.

Young people making the money nowadays are those who went into trades job, plumbers, levies, etc…flipping burgers with a degree in Medieval Dance Theory ain’t gonna pay the bills.

8% is an acceptable pay offer these days, but the doctors 35% is pissing against the wind…..we’ll see what happens when Labour get in…. Will they pay it..I suspect not, but….?

Labours not done deal. There silence to solutions could make it a close call come the January GE.
The Cons could come up with a game changer at the Autumn Budget.
And don't rule out a late Reform rally.
Could go either 3 ways.

The Tories are left of centre and useless, the Labour Party are left of centre and useless. Reform I think are a bit more right wing than the Tories . I have had a look at their policies . Interesting but can they keep to them? No political party since I was eligible to vote have benefited me

Tories right of centre

Empty tin? Maybe you missed the worldwide recession in 2008. As for the union’s membership it has halved since the days of Red Robbo and Scargill. The choice in the election is simple, if after 14 years of conservatism if you’re happy vote for more of the same.

The Nazis were fascists not socialists . They were called national socialists because of the welfare programmes they delivered. They were not socialists as we understand. Their idealist was racial supremacy built on colour and self determination . They did not believe in democracy just absolute power

As regards voting in the general election. There all a shambles

in football terms the tories and labour are midfielders who play slightly to the side of the central midfielder but could all play comfortably in the other positions. you are right about no political party benefitted the average worker and its about voting for a party now you feel more happier with that did work and manifesto,s of the past.

they could get closer to what they wanted if there was a cull of the non medics carrying lap tops and folders around and those six figure diversity clowns. just why do they not call a hospital a hospital anymore instead of it having to be a trust or a teaching hospital. is it trying to make a lada into a merc.