Making the news today....

[trigger_andy]

14 minutes ago, Big J said:

 

The EU didn't start their vaccine rollout as well as they could have, I'll certainly agree, but most of the barriers have been put in place by the UK. Not signing up to the EU vaccine passport being one.

Not signing up to the EU vaccine passport is the very reason people as young as 16 are getting their first if not second dose here in the UK and places like Norway have about 50% of their adult population with only one dose. 
 

But my point was the scaremongering of the AZ vaccine by the EU was purely political, and potentially greed orientated. Norway is giving away all their AZ  vaccines due to this unfounded smear campaign and the populations reluctance to take what has proven to be a no less safe vaccine than the others that cause blood clots. 
 

The EU where quick to call the variant that did not originate in the U.K. the Kent variant and made every effort to use this name and implement restrictions to the Channel Tunnel well before the Vaccine Passport was in place or indeed vaccines where being issued, again in what to many was seen as nothing more than a political play/punishment for leaving the EU. 
 

If nothing else Covid has exposed the EU leaders for what many have long believed. You have your lists for why you believe Brexit is failing but for me personally I’m more glad than ever we left the EU, even though doing so makes my life that wee bit more difficult it’s a small price to pay to be shot of such bile filled spitemongers. 
 

 

Edited August 4, 2021 by trigger_andy

[Big J]

6 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Not signing up to the EU vaccine passport is the very reason people as young as 16 are getting their first if not second dose here in the UK and places like Norway have about 50% of their adult population with only one dose. 
 

But my point was the scaremongering of the AZ vaccine by the EU was purely political, and potentially greed orientated. Norway is giving away all their AZ  vaccines due to this unfounded smear campaign and the populations reluctance to take what has proven to be a no less safe vaccine than the others that cause blood clots. 
 

The EU where quick to call the variant that did not originate in the U.K. the Kent variant and made every effort to use this name and implement restrictions to the Channel Tunnel well before the Vaccine Passport was in place or indeed vaccines where being issued, again in what to many was seen as nothing more than a political play/punishment for leaving the EU. 
 

If nothing else Covid has exposed the EU leaders for what many have long believed. You have your lists for why you believe Brexit is failing but for me personally I’m more glad than ever we left the EU, even though doing so makes my life that wee bit more difficult it’s a small price to pay to be shot of such bile filled spitemongers. 
 

 

I always regarded the EU as a moderating influence on our own bile filled spitemongers. For that matter, has a term ever better encapsulated the very essence of Pritti Patel?. 

 

We're now truly seeing the consequences of how our politicians will act when they feel that they aren't accountable to anyone.

 

 

[trigger_andy]

Just now, Big J said:

I always regarded the EU as a moderating influence on our own bile filled spitemongers. For that matter, has a term ever better encapsulated the very essence of Pritti Patel?. 

 

We're now truly seeing the consequences of how our politicians will act when they feel that they aren't accountable to anyone.

 

 

I  wish Pritti Patel would carry out what she repeatedly threatens to. Where she to have done that many would have regarded her as a strong woman of an immigrant background upholding British values and an advocate for legal but limited immigration. But it’s all talk and bluster. It’s quite a shame. 
 

You really do suffer more than most with the Rose Tinted Glasses when it comes to the EU. To the point I question if you’re not just playing the long con/troll. No one can be that blinkered surely? 

[Big J]

1 minute ago, trigger_andy said:

You really do suffer more than most with the Rose Tinted Glasses when it comes to the EU. To the point I question if you’re not just playing the long con/troll. No one can be that blinkered surely? 

 

I don't pretend that there aren't problems. But I look at the broader picture and view the benefits alongside the drawbacks and look at their quality of life. On that metric, we fall a long way behind (especially now we've left the EU, if nothing else from the freedom of movement point of view).

 

We aren't going to agree on this Andy. We haven't in the past and nor will we in the future. You are in the fortunate position to be financially insulated from many of the issues that Brexit is going to create, and work abroad.

 

The irony is that working in Norway, you're working in a country that illustrates how bad the UK is at managing it's own affairs. Norway is supremely wealthy and the UK isn't. They both had the exact same resource

[trigger_andy]

Just now, Big J said:

The irony is that working in Norway, you're working in a country that illustrates how bad the UK is at managing it's own affairs. Norway is supremely wealthy and the UK isn't. They both had the exact same resource

Hmmmm, we’re not talking apples for apples here. It’s my opinion that Scotland was robbed of its chance to have progressed into a country like Norway. You can’t compare a country with 5 million people verses a country with over 60,000 and wonder where all the money has gone. 
 

Had Scotland has the chance to keep its oil like Norway has perhaps we’d see a vastly different country. Perhaps not. 
 

Norway, as you say is very good at managing their own affairs. Perhaps it’s why they repeatedly refuse to join the EU? And although my findings are purely empirical where the Norwegian people to be given a vote to fully withdraw from the EU they would take it. As would Sweden. 
 

I really don’t agree that the U.K. is bad at managing its own affairs. Time will tell how we do outside of the EU but im

quite confident we’ll come out stronger than ever. 
 

Count yourself lucky you’re moving to the remote parts of Sweden. The horror stories I get from my Swedish and Finnish coworkers is a real eye opener. Very few are happy being trapped in the EU. Perhaps when the U.K. shows that it can prosper out with the EU other net contributors will follow suit. I genuinely hope to see the destruction of the EU within my lifetime.  

[skyhuck]

On 03/08/2021 at 17:15, Big J said:

Interesting point to note:

 

2008 (just before the crash): UK average house price 6.8 times average salary

 

2021: UK average house price 8 times average salary

That was not a housing crash, low interest rates meant people kept their homes, unlike the crash in the 90's when interest rates were high and people were handing their keys back to the banks and still walking away with debt.

 

 The thing that makes house buying so desirable is the alternative, renting.  With renting you pay a fortune and end up with nothing. So even if we shift to a system of part buy, part rent, due to the cost of houses. It's still better to own a very small portion of your home, than rent someone else's. 

 

 Also, I'm not sure why you keep referring to the government when talking about interest rates, the government no longer sets the base rate.

[Big J]

1 minute ago, skyhuck said:

Also, I'm not sure why you keep referring to the government when talking about interest rates, the government no longer sets the base rate.

 

Fair point. The Bank of England is however owned by the Government and works within a framework dictated by the government. I'm not sure that they can be claimed to be fully independent.

 

As someone who's rented for a good while, it is indeed something that's pretty depressing. I'd say that we've probably got a similar amount of cash in the business to if I'd been employed in a reasonably paid job and paid that into a house. We've not been especially successful or unsuccessful with work - it's not been the easiest of times.

 

Either way, the avoidance of a complete crash in 2008 by tanking the interest rates has simply kicked the can down the road. The interest rates leading up to 2008 were exactly the long term (as in 300 year) average and the only way to avoid wide scale defaulting was to take them to unsustainably low levels. No one has any incentive to save as rates offered are now substantially below inflation. So more and more money is spent, contributing to ever escalating inflation. 

 

But the base rate cannot be increased without wide scale financial hardship for millions of people. But it also needs to be increased in order to avoid widescale hardship for millions of people. Therein lies the dilemma.

[Commando]

To be honest it hardly makes a difference to me. Maybe save one home Covid test but I think in Scotland Norway is already self-isolation free.

Surely you see that the EU have been playing the same game? They have blood on their hands weaponising the AZ vaccine for purely political reasons. They’re all playing games at our expense but I feel the U.K. is just responding in kind to the EUs schemes.

Makes a big difference to me, UAE now amber which is my only escape route out of S-Sudan without a 10 day stay in Q hotel! Happy days

[trigger_andy]

Seems like even the EU thinks Sweden should be Orange/Amber Big J.

[Big J]

3 hours ago, trigger_andy said:

Seems like even the EU thinks Sweden should be Orange/Amber Big J.

 

Rather odd given that their infection rates are lower than many of the green countries. 

 

Most of the world really doesn't seem to appreciate their approach to tackling covid.