Actually my mind isn't made up. I am leaning towards Conservative but it would be nice if I thought that if they get back in they would show more humanity. Jeremy Corbyn is promising everything but Boris Johnson is a cold, hard merchant. As to the GE thread, I've looked at it and it's just a series of tit for tat, inane comments with very little considered thought at all. I posted my thread which is based on accepted facts available on the net, hoping for considered replies. Of course I can't predict the election result but the survey conducted on one of the threads shows the Conservatives well ahead. It's similar in the Polls. The purpose of my analysis was to suggest that it might not actually be a done deal and to maybe stimulate some intelligent response without reference to random links.
That's not what Johnson has been campaigning for though, regardless of whether that's what he's going to do at the end of 2020.
Just my thoughts, a conservative majority does the WA in January but no deal woukd still on the table dependant on the trade negotiations with the EU . As in if UK goverment does not fails to make a trade deal we then revert back to a no deal Brexit ? My understanding ...
Am I the only person left in the country who doesn't give a toss about Brexit and thinks that there are far more important issues that need to be addressed?
And no, I'm not going to list them as they should be evident to anyone with decent eyesight and a reasonably functioning brain.
Thanks for that information. Could you provide some clarification on yours `Cars' item as I don't know what it is specifically referring to? Cheers.Ships:
Queen Elizabeth:
her assembly took place in the Firth of Forth at Rosyth Dockyard from nine blocks built in six UK shipyards: BAE Systems Surface Ships in Glasgow, Babcock at Appledore, Babcock at Rosyth, A&P Tyne in Hebburn, BAE at Portsmouth and Cammell Laird (flight decks) at Birkenhead.
Cars:
The mini plant is still running, but it is a cross national project.
Locomotives:
Alstom in the UK and Ireland
Alstom has been part of the rail industry here for over a century. One third of all daily passenger rail journeys in the UK are on an Alstom train and half of the trains on the London Underground were made by Alstom.www.alstom.com
Hitachi Newton Aycliffe is a railway rolling stock assembly plant owned by Hitachi Rail Europe, situated in Newton Aycliffe, County Durham, in the North East of England. Construction started in 2013 at a cost of £82 million, also multinational.
But they are still building stuff in the UK.
I guess you are feeling foolish todayAm I the only person left in the country who doesn't give a toss about Brexit and thinks that there are far more important issues that need to be addressed?
As you quite rightly said "assembly" is in the UK - but many components come from "elsewhere" , and, without those, no assembly can thus be done!@IronGiant
"But they are still building stuff in the UK."
As you quite rightly said "assembly" is in the UK - but many components come from "elsewhere" , and, without those, no assembly can thus be done!
No, you're quite right. Thanks again for more info. My list was mainly of the top of my head. I should have done some research first.Cars aren't your strong point are they ?
MINI Production & Plants | MINI UK
Our plants are where MINIS are born, crafted, painted and personalised. Take some time to explore the magic of MINI craftsmanship online.www.mini.co.ukOxford MINI Plant Tour – BMW Group iFACTORY EXPERIENCE
www.visit-mini.com
Your point highlights the issue about independence particularly apropos Brexit. Is there really much of it?Surely that applies across the globe?. Airbus built in Germany wouldnt be getting off the ground without the wings and engines made in the UK, Ford Escorts built in Belgium wouldnt be going anywhere without the diesel engines built in the UK etc. etc.
Its a globalised supply chain.
I don't know myself if the BBC is biased but it does seem to me that the Brexit coverage has been gut reaction on all sides. I don't like the way interviewers ask a question and then talk over the interviewee's reply. Very little comes out of the interviews. I suppose the BBC can't give air time to every member of the public but why waste 10-15 minutes on their Brexit `blind dates'? -two chosen but unknown celebrities talking over the dinner table. There was a much better programme on Victoria Derbyshire -members of the public discussing Brexit in a café; also a focus group doing the same in studio. Have you tried contacting `Points of View' ?One of the outcomes of this election, will be the fact that the BBC will become less anti-Tory.
If Boris abolishes the licence fee, something at which he's hinted, they'll be some dramatic cuts in the number of well paid jobs at the BBC for the boys from the "right" universities and relatives of those already "in." Also hopefully a reduction in the "inclusivity mania" which has made the service disproportional to the actual population.
One of the outcomes of this election, will be the fact that the BBC will become less anti-Tory
I don't know myself if the BBC is biased but it does seem to me that the Brexit coverage has been gut reaction on all sides. I don't like the way interviewers ask a question and then talk over the interviewee's reply. Very little comes out of the interviews. I suppose the BBC can't give air time to every member of the public but why waste 10-15 minutes on their Brexit `blind dates'? -two chosen but unknown celebrities talking over the dinner table. There was a much better programme on Victoria Derbyshire -members of the public discussing Brexit in a café; also a focus group doing the same in studio. Have you tried contacting `Points of View' ?
Not forums, this sub-forum, Hi@IronGiant
"Welcome" ?? - been "here" for "years"
Your point highlights the issue about independence particularly apropos Brexit. Is there really much of it?
As for Scotland it seems they want independence but they haven't been told the whole story by the SNP like who is going to pay for all the things the English tax payer covers they have been told the gas and oil will cover it but as the world is going to be using less fossil fuels in the future it seems to me it is only a short term fix so will be bankrupt in no time unless of course they plan to forget going green with the rest of us. It is time the people of Scotland where told the truth by the SNP. I am not Scottish but can see the SNP only have one agenda not good for a major party and should consuntrate on getting the economy going first instead of buying votes by overspending at the expense of the British tax payer.This is my personal view of how things stand in the run up to the 2019 General Election which is largely a battle between the Conservatives and The Rest.
1 Scotland
It seems unlikely in Scotland that many people are going to change their Brexit minds. But prior to the Brexit referendum, Scotland was almost wholly SNP whereas later in the 2017 general election the SNP lost seats to the main parties. Could it be that some Scots are fed up with calls for another independence referendum? While the Scots may be Remainers, it can not be taken that they are all SNP supporters so there may be room here for SNP losses but only gains to the Conservatives will make a difference.
2 Brexit Party
The appeal of the Brexit party will be to Leavers who are actively seeking a No Deal Brexit, something which opinion says is very little favoured. The Brexit party’s decision not to contest currently Conservative seats as a concession to them seems to indicate that they are not wholly behind themselves which is not a very good endorsement of themselves. I put this down to Nigel Farage who reminds me of Clint Eastwood’s `High Plains Drifter’ -he’s very sure of himself, `paints the town red’ and comes and goes to suit himself only.
Considering the Labour seats the Brexit party is contesting, some will be safe and some marginal. Taking the traditional, safe Labour areas of the North East and South Wales, while the Labour party is strongly pro-EU, I ask myself why then did these areas vote to Leave the EU? Could it be they made an ill-informed, ill-considered decision? If the answer is no then shouldn’t they now be voting Conservative (on Brexit issue at least)?
Remember that the First-Past-The- Post election system disproportionally disadvantages small parties and for the previous UKIP (now Brexit party) 10% total vote was worth only 1 seat -wasted votes. But votes for the Brexit party may affect the results in marginal Labour seats but while this could favour the Conservatives it could do the opposite and disadvantage them.
3 The Green Party
The Green party and issues are much to the fore recently, particularly with young voters. However regarding the urgent aspect of carbon dioxide emissions I would say that a vote for the Green party is a wasted vote. Looking online at some of the facts of carbon dioxide emissions for 2017, the emissions attributed to the UK constitute about only 1% of the total and they have been dropping to this level over recent decades. The top 5 emitters are China 27.2%, USA 14.6%, India 6.8%, Russia 4.7% and Japan 3.3%. If you look at emissions per capita, the UK is 69th on the list compared to USA 17th, Russia 24th, Japan 32nd, China 44th, India 139th. Whatever we in the UK do to reduce our emissions is going to make little difference on its own. We can ask them, but can we expect the people of China and India, developing countries, to reduce their emissions? And if you appeal to the USA among the worst offenders, their President denies global warming exists despite the signs, including wild fires in their own affluent California. No, governmentally there is little we can do but individually (and that is what it really boils down to) people in places like the USA can do exactly the same things to combat global warming as individuals in the UK.
4 Re-run of the 2016 Brexit Referendum
This general election is bound to have a strong element of re-running the Brexit referendum. The 2016 referendum was conducted in 381 Voting Areas of which 270 voted to Leave and 129 voted Remain. Estimates have been done on the results by Constituencies and geographically there is a good correlation between these and the Voting Areas. Inspection of voting maps shows the following:
A In Scotland and Greater London the vote was decidedly to Remain. Comments regarding Scotland in my point 1. In Greater London in 2017 the Conservatives lost seats to Labour and Liberal Democrats and so the Conservatives’ job this time round is not only to persuade Remainers to change to Conservative Leavers but to retain existing Conservative seats as well.
B In Northern Ireland there was an East/West Leave/Remain split corresponding generally to Unionist/Nationalist demography.
C Most of the populated areas of Wales voted to Leave apart from in the very South East. Comments regarding South Wales and North East England in my point 2.
D In England, there were several `island’ areas which voted to Remain. Most significantly though there is a large, roughly triangular area in the South of England bounded by Gloucester, Cambridge and Brighton where the results were Remain or borderline Leave and in my opinion it is here that the result of the election will be decided. If you look at this area on a Constituency map for 2017 it is largely Conservative and comprises, electorally speaking, what I call `thinking voters’ (no disrespect to voters elsewhere). Here, some Remainers and Leavers who change their minds to Remain might decide to vote other than Conservative. On the other hand some Labour/LibDem Leavers might vote Conservative. Which will have the bigger effect?
5 Other Election Issues
Looking at the Labour and Conservative manifestos I find a stark contrast. The Conservative manifesto is brief, simple and believable. The Labour manifesto is extended and difficult to take in and I am inclined to believe it is not workable, attractive as some of the policies seem. However, with the increased focus there has been on politics recently, there may be more interest from young, idealistic people in voting Labour or Liberal Democrat which will not help the Conservatives.