WTF is happening in the UK?

[Pontius Navigator]

Poseidon's load of rubbish. 564 mph and a range of 1,200 nautical miles.
And mixed units too. Maybe the Channel is as far as it can reach.

[Undried Plum]

I remember a day last year when they had a C-17 trogging up and down the Channel all day at 500', touting for business for the Border Farce watertaxi service.

The other surveillance assets could so easily be used to monitor the ffrench coast and find where the rubber boats are being stashed. Send in groups of Royal Marines with pickaxe handles to disrupt the mustering points and to slash the rubber boats and torch the engines and fuel cans and apprehend the people trafficking gangsters.

We have the technical means. We have the need to sort the problem out. What we don't have is the political will.

[G-CPTN]

Assuming that the RN are successful in identifying the migrant boats, what then?
Will they attempt to send them back?
The migrants will welcome the RN patrols as it will improve the likelihood of being 'rescued'.

[Boac]

It's all window dressing to appeal to the Toridiots to 'protect' the stupid one. Sadly, it will probably work.

[om15]

Don't think it will, this idiocy involving the military won't achieve anything at all, will cost a fortune and is just another scandal waiting to happen.

Ms Dorris bustling about trying to exterminate the BBC may well find favour with the electorate though.

[AtomKraft]

The bloody immigrants will all just jump in the water, if they think they are going back to France.

If anyone can find a way to send them back, it's the RN or the Marines- but it wont be easy.

[Undried Plum]

Assuming that the RN are successful in identifying the migrant boats, what then?
Will they attempt to send them back?
The migrants will welcome the RN patrols as it will improve the likelihood of being 'rescued'.

The RM bit of the RN should intercept the bastards on the ffrench beaches.

No more water taxis. Just an uncomfortable repatriation flight, in nappies, with their arms plasticuffed behind their backs, sitting on the floor of a C-17 or A-400M, on their way back to Bongobongoland.

Kindalike an inverse of Extraordinary Rendition, but without the Murricane-style torture at each end of the flight. Sorta like RyanAir, with attitude, but free at the point of delivery.

Does Amazon do that sort of thing yet? Give 'em a Buck and they will.

[barkingmad]

Instead of fisticuffs on the shores of France or the hard tactics of rapidly export of the existing crop of "illegals" being prevented by the usual crop of "Human Rights" lawyers howzabout some real hard diplomacy?

Tell the Micron that as of now, for every boatload of illegal economic migrants entering UK territorial waters then 10 of our graciously awarded fishing licences will be immediately revoked and cancelled in perpetuity, bearing in mind apparently Micron's lot have accepted millions in Euros or Sterling in order (not) to prevent French shore departures.

Money always talks, especially with militant Frog fishermen who've already expressed their annoyance with our brilliant "taking back (of) control" Brexit 'bonus' and their elections looming and threatening the Micron's position and salary.

Maybe even the "accidental leaking" of such a proposal might stir the pot?

[llondel]

URGENT: looking for reliable tenants for a beautiful building that has an office on the ground floor and a recently decorated flat above.

Having real issues with this property, last two tenants left before their fixed term ended, police always at the door, current tenants constantly hosting parties (most in lockdown). Had enough.

Can offer a fixed term tenancy of 4 years, anybody interested let me know, RENT IS NEGOTIABLE the address is:
10 DOWNING STREET, LONDON

[Boac]

Thankfully the 'opposition' bounced the Police bill back with heavy defeats for BoJo and his zoo.

[Boac]

There are predictions that the government may well impose a 'broadband tax' to replace the BBC Licence fee.

"The effect would be monthly broadband bills increasing by around £13 per month at current licence costs.

Ironically those most upset by a broadband tax replacing the BBC Licence Fee are likely to be those who've moved already to a online media consumption profile and actively do not consume any BBC content as they do not want to pay the BBC Licence Fee."

That should get some toys out of cots

[k3k3]

Many European countries have an equivalent to the TV Licence, in Germany it's around €18 per month per household, irrespective of whther you even have a radio or TV, and they still have adverts!
https://www.rundfunkbeitrag.de/welcome/ ... icence_fee

[Pontius Navigator]

The effect would be monthly broadband bills increasing by around £13 per month at current licence costs.

This does not consider that many with broadband do not pay a licence fee. Also what is 'broadband' in this context? Is it the traditional fixed line copper or fibre as many who do not pay a licence fee don't have fixed line BB either?

Bit like the monarchy, would we be happy with the alternative?

[Boac]

would we be happy with the alternative?

Actually, is everyone happy with Nadine's call for chunks of red meat to be thrown to the Toridiots' which is what this is all about?

It would, probably, be levied at national level as yet another 'tax' (partly to replace the line rental) and added to all broadband sources.

[OFSO]

In Spain part of your monthly electricity bill is the TV subsidy. Hard luck if you haven't got a TV.

[om15]

Making us pay by a different method is not addressing the problem.

Gary Lineker’s salary is only £3,726 per day.
For that, you get to see him for an hour a week, if you like football, I don't and prefer his crisps adverts.

It is thought by many that the BBC should pay for its own prejudices, if it wants to be a leftie woke bias broadcaster of low standards that's fine, fiddling about with how we pay for that will only enrage the electorate even more.

If the BBC wish to be paid for by us it has to meet the standards that we require, it obviously doesn't think it needs to and therein lies the problem.

[barkingmad]

Allegedly this fine document, especially para 6, describes what we're supposed to be paying for, but recalling topics such as Brexit and currently the Covid1984 Scamdemic would we have a case against them under Trades Descriptions Act, goods not fit for purpose etc?

http://downloads.bbc.co.uk/bbctrust/ass ... harter.pdf

Once one reflects on the PC and 'woke' agenda they have so rapidly and enthusiastically pursued then poor old Lord Reith must be centrifuging in his grave?

[barkingmad]

As TVs Mrs Brown would say, "That's naice" whilst hitching up her 'bosom' imitating Les Dawson.

I received this missive from Hector the UK taxman this morning and pass it on to those here who may be sweating at the prospect of shelling out by 31/01/2022:


"Dear customer,
Thank you for filing your Self Assessment tax return. The deadline to pay any tax you owe is 31 ‌‌January.
If you’ve not paid yet, you’ll need to go into your Self Assessment online account to check what you owe and pay the full amount.
Because of coronavirus (COVID-19) we are waiving late payment penalties for one month – giving you extra time, if you need it, to pay any tax due.
Interest will be charged from 1 ‌‌February on any outstanding liabilities. You will not be charged a 5% late payment penalty if you pay your tax or make a Time to Pay arrangement by 1 ‌‌April.
Thank you if you’ve already paid, set up a Direct Debit or chosen to pay through your tax code. You don’t need to do anything else.
If you have someone who helps you with your tax affairs (for example, an agent), please show them this email so they can help you get your Self Assessment right."

I'm just suspicious as to why that particular tyrannical outfit is being sooh considerate, but can't think of an ulterior motive, nor does the 'plague' excuse convince me.

[om15]

Thoughtful article by Charles Moore today,

One may feel slightly cynical about Nadine Dorries’s timing of her announcement about the future of the BBC licence fee. The freeze for two years was already known. Her talk of a new funding model by 2028 is vaguer than her rhetoric implies. She is choosing this moment because of the BBC’s coverage of the revelations about Downing Street parties during Covid. This is more politics than policy.

The problem is that the BBC has made it easy for her. I actually do believe that Tim Davie, the director-general, is serious about impartiality, but the corporation’s implementation of his Action Plan is slow in that special way that only great bureaucracies can manage.

The story about Boris and parties is a classic case where the national broadcaster needs to show super-impartiality; but the coverage has showed no recognition whatever of what Mr Davie seeks.

On the contrary, from the news that starts the day to Newsnight, with presenters like Lewis Goodall, which ends it, the BBC has tried to prove that this is the worst scandal in living memory and will be fatal to Boris Johnson’s premiership. It has dragged out the sort of disgruntled Tory backbenchers it normally despises and given them endless airtime to attack the Prime Minister. It is not far off being a Fox News of the Left, taking a line and incessantly promoting it.

Newspapers, too, have made a great meal of the scandal, and a good read it has often been. But this is exactly the sort of occasion where a compulsorily funded broadcaster should not try to ape Fleet Street. If you had relied solely on BBC coverage last week, you would have concluded that Boris was about to be kicked out. There was almost no presentation of the contrary view – which precedent suggests is likelier to be right – that he probably wasn’t.

As a result, the BBC under-served its audiences, who crave news that is calm, balanced and correctly prioritised. The biggest story in the world last week (and this) is the possibility of Russia invading Ukraine. The BBC virtually forgot this.

The news that a Chinese agent had donated nearly half a million pounds to the office of the Labour MP Barry Gardiner was also strong – a much more significant example of apparent political corruption than the standard “Tory sleaze” tales which the BBC relishes, yet it was downplayed.

Some BBC presenters, including Dan Walker, tweeted against Ms Dorries’s plans. Every time they behave like this, they help her, and hinder Mr Davie.

[FD2]

David Davis Interview. https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/20 ... ad-become/

Has the 'greased piglet' escaped yet again? Why are the Tories so scared of booting him out?

Boris Johnson wanted to emulate Winston Churchill – instead, he’s become doomed Neville Chamberlain

David Davis’s demand for the PM to resign ‘in the name of God’ is loaded with history – and the ultimate insult to him


David Davis was walking to the House of Commons on Wednesday morning when he finally decided that enough was enough.

With one of the most famous quotes in parliamentary history ringing in his ears, he took his seat on the backbenches unsure whether he would be called upon by the Speaker to ask Boris Johnson a question.

But after catching Sir Lindsay Hoyle's eye, the former Brexit secretary seized the moment and went for the jugular.

He started out by explaining how he had spent "weeks and months defending the Prime Minister" and reminding constituents of his successes in delivering Brexit and the vaccine rollout.

But then came the killer blow from the former territorial SAS soldier.

"But I expect my leaders to shoulder the responsibility for the actions they take. So I'll remind him of a quotation altogether too familiar to him – of Leo Amery to Neville Chamberlain – 'You have sat there too long, for all you have done. In the name of God, go!'"
Placeholder image for youtube video: 587S2o4cGUM

Coming after nearly a dozen of Mr Johnson's own "Red Wall" MPs submitted letters of no confidence as part of a "pork pie plot" to oust him and Christian Wakeford, the Tory MP for Bury South, defected to Labour, it was arguably the last thing the Prime Minister needed.

But as we speak in Mr Davis's Commons office less than an hour after his dramatic intervention, the Tory "grey hair", 73, who was first elected in 1987, appears unapologetic.

"I've just made myself the most unpopular person in the Tory party," concedes the MP for Haltemprice and Howden. "Well, the second most unpopular. But I've gone from thinking maybe we can rescue it to maybe we just have to accelerate it and get it done."

It soon becomes apparent that masked Mr Johnson's excruciating 14-minute TV interview on Tuesday, in which he insisted "nobody told me" that a gathering in the Downing Street garden during the May 2020 lockdown was against the rules, was the straw that broke the camel's back.

"I don't know why he did that interview. It wasn't really a mea culpa – it was somebody else's culpa. If he really meant 'let's wait for the outcome of the Sue Gray inquiry', why was he out giving interviews?

"What he essentially said was 'it's not my fault', undermining his apology from last week. Nobody told me what my rules were? It sounds pompous. but there's a moral requirement of leadership. If you make a mistake, you've got to accept the blame, not try to blame somebody else.

"He's delivered Brexit, he's got some good outcomes on vaccines and other things. But he's not met the the leadership criteria I care about, which is that he takes responsibility for what he does – and until he does that, I don't think he can fix it. Maybe he will. Maybe for the next two weeks we'll see a completely different approach."

But does Mr Davis think his fellow Brexiteer can redeem himself? "No," he sighs. "I see no sign of him fixing it."