Jesus lads, 'tis looking like BREXIT!

[TheOutdoorThreadmill]

Sir Keir Starmer declares gifts and freebies totalling more than £100,000 - the highest of any MP

Sky News' Westminster Accounts project reveals the prime minister has declared more gifts and freebies than any other MP, with his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topping £100,000 since December 2019.

news.sky.com

 

[How bad boy]

Sir Keir Starmer declares gifts and freebies totalling more than £100,000 - the highest of any MP

Sky News' Westminster Accounts project reveals the prime minister has declared more gifts and freebies than any other MP, with his total in gifts, benefits, and hospitality topping £100,000 since December 2019.

news.sky.com

There are four really, really important aspects to this story which a lot of media reporting on this are glossing over:

1. 40% of it is in football tickets. He's an Arsenal season ticket holder, but sensibly, they don't let him sit in the stands, so they give him a hospitality seat instead. He declares it regardless, rightly, but it's only needed because he's a massive political figure with potential risk of attack. The same dynamic is true of events in general, as leader of the opposition, he should be attending events, he's not absolutely loaded unlike a number of recent former PMs
2. If he had been a minister in the government, he wouldn't have had to declare the vast majority of what he's declared as it would have been allowable as part of doing state business. It only needs to be declared because he's in opposition.
3. He's declared everything and nothing has actually been highlighted as a problem, he has been investigated (in 2022) and cleared previously.
4. Holy shitballs the Tories were an absolute disgrace on this front. As an example of one, the prime minister gets £30k to refurbish his accommodation in Downing St. This was not enough for Boris Johnson, he spent £112,549 in 2020 alone, he got Tory donors to pay for it. But didn't declare it because he apparently lost his phone and could no longer remember the specific details when investigated.
Same excuse he and Rishi Sunak made to the Covid enquiry...


I think there's a few bits that are probably a little questionable, the glasses donation isn't great, but the vast, vast majority of it is horseshit.
There's a reason why the shadow culture is number 2 on the list.


This is a pure hatchet job by the press.

 

[Dinger]

There are four really, really important aspects to this story which a lot of media reporting on this are glossing over:

1. 40% of it is in football tickets. He's an Arsenal season ticket holder, but sensibly, they don't let him sit in the stands, so they give him a hospitality seat instead. He declares it regardless, rightly, but it's only needed because he's a massive political figure with potential risk of attack. The same dynamic is true of events in general, as leader of the opposition, he should be attending events, he's not absolutely loaded unlike a number of recent former PMs
2. If he had been a minister in the government, he wouldn't have had to declare the vast majority of what he's declared as it would have been allowable as part of doing state business. It only needs to be declared because he's in opposition.
3. He's declared everything and nothing has actually been highlighted as a problem, he has been investigated (in 2022) and cleared previously.
4. Holy shitballs the Tories were an absolute disgrace on this front. As an example of one, the prime minister gets £30k to refurbish his accommodation in Downing St. This was not enough for Boris Johnson, he spent £112,549 in 2020 alone, he got Tory donors to pay for it. But didn't declare it because he apparently lost his phone and could no longer remember the specific details when investigated.
Same excuse he and Rishi Sunak made to the Covid enquiry...


I think there's a few bits that are probably a little questionable, the glasses donation isn't great, but the vast, vast majority of it is horseshit.
There's a reason why the shadow culture is number 2 on the list.


This is a pure hatchet job by the press.

Exactly.

Nothing suits right wing nutjobs and fascists better than getting people to believe that all politicians are the same.

UK press is predominantly right leaning. The aim here is to create a false equivalence with the absolutely appalling behaviour, corruption and conduct of recent Tory governments.

Of course this tactic is very effective with the gullible and incurious.

 

[How bad boy]

Exactly.

Nothing suits right wing nutjobs and fascists better than getting people to believe that all politicians are the same.

UK press is predominantly right leaning. The aim here is to create a false equivalence with the absolutely appalling behaviour, corruption and conduct of recent Tory governments.

Of course this tactic is very effective with the gullible and incurious.

Here's the difference:
Last year Starmer made £404k, £128k in salary and £275k from selling a field.
He paid a total of £99k in tax on that income.


Rishi Sunak declared £2.2 million in income last year and paid £508k in tax.
Neither Truss nor Johnson published their tax returns.
Johnson declared £4.8M in earnings in the 6 months after he left office.
Rishi Sunak is worth £700M. No income was declared from that.


Starmer is well paid, but he isn't rich.

 

[Meridian]

Brexit just keeps giving ?:

UK consumer confidence tumbles as households fear ‘painful’ budget; UK debt hits 100% of GDP – as it happened

Consumers are nervously awaiting the budget, reports data provider GfK, while national debt hits highest level since 1960s

www.theguardian.com

 

[TheOutdoorThreadmill]

Exactly.

Nothing suits right wing nutjobs and fascists better than getting people to believe that all politicians are the same.

UK press is predominantly right leaning. The aim here is to create a false equivalence with the absolutely appalling behaviour, corruption and conduct of recent Tory governments.

Of course this tactic is very effective with the gullible and incurious.

All ran with same story, now why would Labour supporting outlets be trying to create a false equivalence? Take your time

 

[Meridian]

They are a pity at this stage ;

 

[How bad boy]

All ran with same story, now why would Labour supporting outlet be trying to create a false equivalence? Take your time

You missed a few.

 

[Meridian]

Marini, who has been sending good since the 1980s, added: “The UK is putting me into huge difficulties. I know other companies that have lost drivers, too, and so they have abandoned the UK due to this mess.”

Another affected Italian supplier, which preferred not be named, said it had now paused deliveries to the UK over concerns that similar holdups would take place, leaving a number of UK customers waiting for deliveries.

EU plant exporters turning backs on UK over post-Brexit border checks, says trade group

Trading relationships at ‘breaking point’ because of delays and costs, garden centres and nurseries warn

www.theguardian.com

Seems any lads over there who wants to get their Jack & Jole next Valentines night, had better start planting fairly soon.

 

[Meridian]

Micheal Gove promised that after Brexit British environmental standards would be more stringent than the E.U.'s

Bad enough that all their rivers, beaches and streams are full of sewage.

Slowly turning into a 3rd world country at this stage