Are the minimum wage increases enough?

Fridge2

ninky wrote: »

or the level of rents that housing benefit is having to cover to subsidise private landlords.

That's a self-perpetuating cycle.....If the amount of benefit is reduced, then the rent demanded will decrease. it's human nature to grab as much as you can.

Just as some people will claim excessively, others will expect more rent if they know the Govt will cover it.

In any case, this doesn't apply to me, as I won't take DHSS claimants in my properties.

smoker99

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Are you seriously calling the BNP a truly honest and accountable political party? You are either ignorant of the facts, completely deluded or certifiably insane.

Then please enlighten me o wise one. You are obviously so much better informed than I. You may not like what the BNP have to say but they do tell it like it is. If you want to put your fingers in your ears and hum 'la la la' then I suggest it is you who is not only ignorant but willingly so.

BitterAndTwisted wrote: »

Them's dirty, fascist racists and that's not opinion, that's a fact

Gosh, a quote directly from the Sun. If it was in the newspaper then it must be true.

mardatha

I wouldn't waste my time arguing over the BNP. They have their own agenda which is not, and never will be, mine.

smoker99

mardatha wrote: »

I wouldn't waste my time arguing over the BNP. They have their own agenda which is not, and never will be, mine.

Never say never

dopester

smoker99 wrote: »

Never say never

Just earlier this morning I saw this quote for the first time, watching Agassi and his wife being interviewed on BBC. It was on a the wall of school Andre Agassi set up.

“Never give in, never give in, never; never; never; never - in nothing, great or small, large or petty - never give in except to convictions of honour and good sense.”

Sir Winston Churchill

vivatifosi

smoker99 wrote: »

You may not like what the BNP have to say but they do tell it like it is. If you want to put your fingers in your ears and hum 'la la la' then I suggest it is you who is not only ignorant but willingly so.

Tell what like it is?

I just pulled the BNP leaflet I received out of the bin to state what it says in terms of their "Key Pledges":

1. Stop 80 million Turks swamping Britain
2. Get Britain out of the EU
3. BNP MPs to give 10% of salaries to an English Fair fund

So, proposals 1 and 2 are all to do with EU membership, proposal 3 is an irrelevance, whatever you think of the BNP, 10% of a few salaries would account for virtually nothing.

Now where are they addressing the big issues? Budget deficits, whether or not the economy should be stimulated, etc... Oh, they don't. Instead they spout some cr&p that because we won the Battle of Trafalgar British jobs should be for British workers. So now its about British workers, confusing, because just now they were talking about an English Fair fund, so what if someone from the BNP got voted into a Scottish seat?

smoker99

vivatifosi wrote: »

Tell what like it is?

I just pulled the BNP leaflet I received out of the bin to state what it says in terms of their "Key Pledges".

Ooooh... b*tchy! A bit biased and a bit sensitive about the BNP methinks. No chance of a logical debate with you then.

vivatifosi wrote: »

1. Stop 80 million Turks swamping Britain
2. Get Britain out of the EU
3. BNP MPs to give 10% of salaries to an English Fair fund

So, proposals 1 and 2 are all to do with EU membership, proposal 3 is an irrelevance, whatever you think of the BNP, 10% of a few salaries would account for virtually nothing.

Well if you hadn't noticed June 4th is the date of the European Elections so I would expect parties to concentrate on european issues but for some reason you obviously think differently. And no, proposal three is of massive relevance considering the swine-fest expenses scandal being plastered daily across the front pages of the newspapers. Or maybe you hadn't noticed ?

On a positive note you didn't scream 'racist' or 'nazi' or something so I'll award you some brownie points for that.

Have a nice day and vote as you please. It's called democracy, something that is in very great danger of being extinguished in this country.

vivatifosi

smoker99 wrote: »

Ooooh... b*tchy! A bit biased and a bit sensitive about the BNP methinks. No chance of a logical debate with you then.

Nope, just a statement of fact. All used paper in this house goes in the recycling bin. If I wanted to get the leaflets from Labour, Conservatives or Lib dems (the other ones that have canvassed here) that's where I'd go for them too.

smoker99 wrote: »

Well if you hadn't noticed June 4th is the date of the European Elections so I would expect parties to concentrate on european issues but for some reason you obviously think differently. And no, proposal three is of massive relevance considering the swine-fest expenses scandal being plastered daily across the front pages of the newspapers. Or maybe you hadn't noticed ?

On a positive note you didn't scream 'racist' or 'nazi' or something so I'll award you some brownie points for that.

Have a nice day and vote as you please. It's called democracy, something that is in very great danger of being extinguished in this country.

Granted there are Euro elections, but round here there are also local council elections and they've not addressed those issues at all. The local issues here are very much the ones that I've talked about already - what will happen to the economy and jobs. No tangible statements on that point at all. FWIW the Lib Dems also failed to address the point, focusing on local potholes

While we're on the subject, what exactly is a British job? Round here there are some very big overseas companies that employ local people on good salaries. Could we do with them expanding and taking on more of the people that have lost jobs locally, yes, but in the current economy that's not going to happen. However what would happen if the BNP took over and withdrew the UK from the EU? A lot of companies are US or Japanese/Far Eastern parented and settled here as their main European base to be in the EU. Would we not see massive job cuts then? If we aren't in the EU, what is their attraction to stay?

Whether or not I like your POV or you like mine, at least we'll get off our butts and go vote, so at least that's one positive when so many don't exercise their right.

smoker99

vivatifosi wrote: »

Whether or not I like your POV or you like mine, at least we'll get off our butts and go vote, so at least that's one positive when so many don't exercise their right.

Agreed. There's a famous quote which goes something like "When people choose to not get invloved with politics, they will be ruled by their inferiors."

Never a truer word spoken.

Btw, I really don't want to get embroiled in political debate. I'm not a spokesperson for the BNP, just a concerned citizen stating their point of view. Thanks for taking the time to reply.

A_fiend_for_life

smoker99 wrote: »

Think about it! The BNP don't receive large donations from big business or Labour affiliated trade unions which expect favours in return. Their funding comes exclusively from small donations from ordinary working people and pensioners who are disgusted with the way this country is going and are prepared to dig deep into their own pockets to try to turn things around.

Don't receive or don't accept, or is it more likely thay can't persuade companies to donate? There is a very big difference.