The Poolie Bunker

Jamie, newsflash - Reform and Farage are not in government, they can make all the promises they like it doesn't matter a toss. But let's not forget all the promises, pledges, and manifesto that Labour conned the electorate with when in opposition.
What's this GE in 2027 that you claim Labour are favourites to win - there isn't a GE due in 2027?
All the economic problems in the UK are caused by Farage and his immigration stance?? Nothing to do with Rachel from accounts hitting us with the highest tax burden in history, Mad Ed ensuring our energy costs are the highest in the world, increases in employers NI, increases in NMW, increases in business rates, etc then?

Your the sort of person who can't see the wood for the trees, how can thousands of unwelcome hangers on who contribute virtually zero to the countries finances or welfare not have a negative effect on the strain to all parts of the infrastructure that holds it all together.

Jamie has basically said all Reform voters don’t look after their kids
What a moronic comment to make by anyone and expect to be taken seriously.
Reading books on Child Psychology now Jamie, do tell us what your expertise is in the subject…on second thoughts don’t bother.

Aye,and why are them reform supporters moaning because 1.3 million migrants are claiming benefits,and probably more knowing this government will play down the true figures. What exactly is their problem?

Dear me PTID you are really grasping at straws now pulling me up about a slip on keyboard re the G.E. date, of course Reeves is raising taxes, the U.K. is £2.9 trillion in debt, £40000 per person, 101% of GBP, you can’t blame Labour for that it’s historical debt, the interest has to be paid some how. How would you propose to pay for the interest on the debt ?

Farage promoted Brexit, blaming in general immigration for all the U.K. woes but he was wrong, here ar3 some facts,

Investment and Trade: Business investment is 12–18% lower, while trade with the EU has been significantly affected. Some studies indicate goods exports are down by 30%.
Tax Revenue Loss: The damage is estimated to have cost the Treasury roughly £65 billion to £90 billion annually in potential tax revenue as of 2024/25.

Household Impact: The hit to GDP has left the average person thousands of pounds worse off, with an estimated £2,700–£3,700 impact on GDP per capita.

Productivity and Employment: Productivity is 3–4% lower, and employment is 3–4% lower.
Inflation: Brexit is linked to higher food prices, with researchers finding a 6% increase in the price of food imported from the U.K.

I don’t disagree, of course the U.K. has a problem with hangers on and not all of them unwelcome hangers on, first and foremost more has to done about people who are claiming in work benefits, why, aren’t they being paid enough ?
Universal Credit (In-Work): Around 2.7 million people in employment were receiving Universal Credit in December 2025, which makes up about 32% of all UC recipients.

Overall Benefits: Statistics indicate that a large number of working-age people, roughly 9.3 million, claim at least one benefit, with 36% of them claiming more than one.

What I would like to see is all the fit and able asylum seekers put to work, I am sure some would prefer rather than lying about all day and if working contributing through taxes paying for 5heir upkeep.

Then the benefits system has to be sorted out, you can’t blame Labour for that, it’s the same civil servants running the benefits system before Labour come to power.

You need to keep up with the news Snowy, Reform UK has said it would reintroduce the two-child benefit cap in full if the party wins power, Jenrick says it’s a costly policy meaning they are not interested in childrens welfare, anyone who votes for Reform supports this action, are you one of them ?
The policy, introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children.

And there we go again, Brexit is to blame and of course Farage, you haven't thrown in your other favourite Truss?
There's been 2 Labour budgets which have driven us to the point of recession, growth was higher, unemployment lower, illegal immigration and asylum seekers arrivals were lower before Labour won.
Increased debt always happens under Labour governments it's in their DNA they just love to spend other people's money (remember the "there is no money note" left at the Treasury when they last lost power).
You don't tax your way to increased economic growth is on page 1 of The Idiots Guide To National Economics. Growth comes from supporting business not killing it. Focussing on increased benefits, NMW and employment rights should come when the economy is on a sound footing and thriving not when it's on its knees.

I don’t give a toss what Reform are doing…putting up one of your smoke screens to deflect what said which was offensive, but these things don’t seem to register.
Your political heroes who started to crumble within weeks of taking office, offending numerous groups, seem to be a match made in heaven between you and your political masters.
Have a nice day.

It's interesting that 18 months ago Starmer was the man and Labour were the party to change Britain for the better, they just needed time - according to Jamie after they won the GE and after their 1st budget.
Now he's not a fan of the present Labour party or Starmer, but still defends then by trying to deflect every criticism of them to a root cause of Brexit, Truss, Trump, Reform, Farage.
Missing the point that it's down to the incumbent government to improve the lot of the country and it's citizens, today and for the future according to the circumstances at the time. Can he honestly say that Labour and Starmer are making any success of the very basics without resorting to blaming someone else?

politicians screwed us with a half hearted brexit because most did not want it. now the race has started to join back through the back door which will probebly cost the average person in the street even more. the big question to ask is should we have remained in the first place when votors for it could not negociate leaving but politicians who did not want to leave had to.

We should never have joined the club as full members in the first place, the single market and customs union yes but not the political union.
Now we're out we should be focussing on what we can do without the shackles of the EU and looking to re-establish the UK as a manufacturing nation, far better to subsidise job creation than to simply hand over money to people who've no wish or prospect of getting a job, paying taxes and contributing to society.
Bringing all the utilities into public ownership and pushing on with meaningful projects like sewage and flood defences would create more jobs and give better benefits than fanciful and unnecessary projects like HS2.
The EU is an exclusive talking shop focussed on minutae rather than a real collective getting after the really important stuff. Look at their dishevelled reaction to Ukraine and especially since Trump took the stance that they should contribute more.

Can you point out where I said Labour and Starmer Labour were going to put things right, I have mentioned numerous times on here I was never a fan of Starmer. Brexit, Truss,Reform, Trump, Farage you mention, I also never mentioned Trump but all the others are to blame for the woes of the U.K. economy. The biggest problem with Brexit is none of the negotiators wanted a hard Brexit as they didn't agree with it, the biggest culprit being Cameron who resigned after the vote didn’t go his way, now Lord Cameron so he could be Foreign Secretary, jobs for the boys, it stinks !

Without trawling back Jamie after the GE you defended Starmer and Labour saying that 14 years of Tory rule couldn't be undone quickly and he / they needed time. Well given the arse of things they're currently making the least time they have in power the better.
Blair, Brown, Starmer will go down in history as the destroyers of the worker's party while individually feathering their nests.

I don’t give a toss what Reform are doing…putting up one of your smoke screens to deflect what you said which was offensive, but these things don’t seem to register with you.
Your political heroes, who started to crumble within weeks of taking office, offending numerous groups, seem to be a match made in heaven between you and your political masters.
Have a nice day.

Anyone heard any updates from today's c tax meeting?
Is the extortion against Hartlepudlians set to continue!

They’ll be getting ready to launch the lifeboat for after the elections, no time for anything else.
Haven’t seen our local Councillors for years.

What a moronic comment to make by anyone and expect to be taken seriously.
Reading books on Child Psychology now Jamie, do tell us what your expertise is in the subject…on second thoughts don’t bother.[/quote]

You need to keep up with the news Snowy, Reform UK has said it would reintroduce the two-child benefit cap in full if the party wins power, Jenrick says it’s a costly policy meaning they are not interested in childrens welfare, anyone who votes for Reform supports this action, are you one of them ?
The policy, introduced under the Conservatives in 2017, means parents can only claim universal credit or tax credits for their first two children.[/quote][/quote][/quote][/quote]

I don’t give a toss what Reform are doing…putting up one of your smoke screens to deflect what you said which was offensive, but these things don’t seem to register with you.
Your political heroes, who started to crumble within weeks of taking office, offending numerous groups, seem to be a match made in heaven between you and your political masters.
Have a nice day.[/quote]


Can you name my current political heroes of past and present Snowy, I can’t think of any, who are yours ?

I always said I didn’t like Starmer, he is a weak leader and certainly not a politician, unfortunately there is no one in the Labour Party to replace him and he made sure Burnham wasn’t going to be allowed to stand as an M.P. Starmer has a habit of removing the whip from M.P.s who don’t ‘obey’ him.
The electorate allowed the Tories 14 years and look where that has got us, whilst not in support of the current Labour Party the U.K. is in no worse economic position as it was under the Tries, maybe marginally but not by much.

You deny …then thinly veil your loyalty still remains for Labour.
Read what you write and see the blatantl contradictions for what they are.

Of course we're economicslly worse off now as a nation, borrowing is up, GDP is down, growth is down, unemployment is up, taxes are up. Your precious stock markets might be doing ok but that's because almost everything is now foreign owned or controlled, the average working man or woman on the street is worse off. My state pension is now over the personal allowance and therefore I'm now paying tax on it and they've taken my WFA away FFS.

Your WFA should have been paid.

It's been paid to all pensioners but it is going to be clawed back from a few million because they are deemed not to need it. The minimum wage for a 35 hour week is going up to £427.35 and the state pension is going up to £241.30 per week.
You can add another £61.05 onto the minimum wage for a 40 hour week. That makes it £488.40 per week or £25,396.80 per annum, as against £12,547.60 for the state pension.
If pensioners were to be paid somewhere near to the living wage there would be no need for any add ons. Then there is the small matter of handing the pension over with one hand and taxing it with the other and that is only going to get worse. That situation is criminal.

They took it away and gave you half back eventually…you’re hardly gonna prostrate yourself on the floor in gratitude at getting less.
Our position in Europes pension table is 11th with Ireland above us…the average European pension is £1345 per month…. £350 more than we get….shocking.

My loyalty was to the Labour Party of old Snowy not the centralised current one, can you elaborate on my blatant contradictions Snowy ?

How many companies in the FTSE 100 and 250 are foreign owned PTID, thank the Tories for your pension being taxed, they introduced the frozen tax threshold first from 2022 to 2026 then extended it to 2028 although Labour has extended it to 2030.
You must have a decent income as you only lose the WFA if your income is more than £35000.
The FTSE 100 broadly consists of the largest 100 qualifying UK companies by full market value and I believe the same is true for the FTSE 250
You forgot to mention an uptick in tax receipts, which far outstripped spending, created a £30.4bn surplus in January. The Office for National Statistics (ONS) said it was the highest surplus in any month since records began in 1993, without adjusting for inflation, and nearly double last January's £15.4bn figure

The Tories aren't in charge any more. What has happened since July 2024 is completely at Labour's door. If the tax receipts were a result of an expanding economy the there would be room for joy but the surplus is simply down to excesssive tax increases which are now crippling the economy. There is hardly a day goes by without some firm or another going down the pan. Jobs are being lost in their thousands so how much of that so called surplus will be swallowed by unemployment benefits, redundancies and the like.

TBH Derwent it does appear to be unbelievably high surplus, maybe some one got the noughts mixed up on their calculator.

No outcome from c tax meeting.
Apparently wanting help from the government.

Probably just delayed to the maximus.

That wouldn't surprise me.

Jamie ….instead of your four posts in a clump, why not fit them all into one as most of its jibber jabber for disruption purposes. .
Thanking you in anticipation.

Your mask dropped a very long time ago aswell. Never ever thought you'd turn into a Farage and Trump apologist.

My level of computing literacy doesn’t know how do to do that.

Fair enough, whatever’s easiest.

And who would you like to see in government PTID and what part of their manifesto would attract you to vote for them, don’t answer by saying any party other than Labour.

I never wore one.
Don’t put me on a pedestal, I fell off at the Jumors
I never talk politics, you always offend someone.
People are always offended but never realise their views may be offensive to others..
I just thought politics a grubby, divisive topic.
I criticise politicians who balls up.
I have no political preferences, you do.
I couldn’t be a member of any party….I couldn’t keep a straight face or not blush.
Politics locally should be all independents who live in their ward.
National politicians are shite at all levels.
Politicians are divisive, not politics.

One of your comments made smile Snowy
‘I never talk politics, you always offend someone.’
Yes you do on here and are quick to criticise anyone more so a lefty like me.

Aye, on here Jamie…..but if I’m in company it’s a no no… unless someone brings it up, but I try to avoid it even then.
To be honest, if I don’t like someone or thing I just ignore it completely.

Council tax outcome has to be sorted by 6th March.

Found that leaflet that got posted last July.

Vote Labour for a c tax Freeze.
Will it be anutha u turn from this Scum Rishi warned us about that everyone will be worse off for voting Labour.


Hindsight eh

Middlesbrough c tax gone up 2%

Will Labour put them up before the By-elections…? ……gonna have to do it quick though.

lucky middlesbrough. most places have gone up the maximum of 4.99%. Since moving here its gone up the maximum every year plus double that because they feered bancrupcy. labour run and we bloody know it.

So council never went up under the Tories ?

Of course it went up under the Tories…but the Tories aren’t in power, Labour are, so what’s your point…?

Your bias is showing, orders from above…?

My point is he is blaming the Labour Council for the increase, the government are to blame because they have cut the grants to the Council, the Council has gone back to the government asking for more funding more so for Childcare.
Hartlepool Borough Council said the main reasons for the projected overspend this financial year "continue to be the increase in the numbers and costs of children requiring external residential placements".
A total of 352 youngsters were in its care at the end of September, up from 345 in June, there is shortfall of £5.5 million in funding, its a no win situation you can’t cut funding for Childcare.

Over the last decade the Conservatives had cut funding for Hartlepool by some £230million, forcing the burden onto Council Tax payers. There is a thing called inflation, the only way Council Tax can be frozen is if the government give more funding or by cutting services, what services would like to see cut if more funding isn’t available from the government ?

Wrong reply.
My beef is the promise is more than likely to be broken.
And I don’t go to work to provide for other peoples kids.
Don't have sex then expect other people do pay for somebody else's kids is how it should be.

Ya can tell you avoid ya taxes living in Smelly land.

We pay more than enough tax already.

I don't suppose the leaders makeing the decisions will struggle financially.

He never stops talking politics...especially against the 'left' which I find bizarre after knowing him since 1989!!