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The only real point in our having those submarines there is to deter a nuclear first strike against us. Unlike the USA or Russia we don't have the benefit of enough land mass to put ICBMs far enough away from the coast that any incoming SLBMs will have an appreciable travel time and bombers are, for obvious reasons, vulnerable. My local Labour party is I note considering a motion on unilateral disarmament that's recently come in. Unilateral disarmament is utter insanity. |
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Actually, I've an idea for them. They could be converted into 'cruise' submarines - people would pay a fortune....
Replacement cost of trident is estimated to be £167bn ! (http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk...-a6708126.html). More than the cost of the whole NHS for a year ! Bit expensive, for an out of date toy that nobody would ever use anyway. We're in NATO - protected by the US - almost all other European countries don't feel the need for their own nuclear weapons. We're not a Super Power any longer, and insignificant to the Russians I'm sure. |
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For a nuclear deterrent to be "used", it must meet the following criteria: 1. It exists. 2. It works. 3. The will to launch it exists. Note that *actually* firing it is not required for deterrence. Actually firing it is proof that deterrence had failed. At that point, it becomes a last-resort offensive weapon. Trident is used 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, because Trident's primary mission is to deter an attack. I'm not entirely sure why you artificially restrict your survey to other European nations. Nuclear weapons are proliferating in several other places, all of them less stable and posing a greater threat to our long-term security than Spain or Italy. Though given your rather woolly thinking on this issue, I can't say I'm surprised that you don't understand how recent history might make the UK's ability to unilaterally defend itself something of a policy imperative. |
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Madness :mad: |
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There's no guarantee the US would retaliate with nukes if they themselves were not attacked, regardless of NATO. |
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Pierre is right, additionally Cold War soviet planning maps show that Russia wasn't interested in us in any way, only one. Which was to turn the UK into a glass carpark (not even hard given our small size) So forget your Red Dawn fantasies, Soviet Russia only wanted to remove UK as a staging point for the US.
All this bs about disarmament is great, if every Country was civilised & Westernised, sadly its not. It wasn't then, and it's even less now. Now we have places like Pakistan with Nuclear capability, North Korea, Iran won't be far behind, if anything it's a more dangerous world than in the Cold War. We'd have to be crazily stupid to give it up now. And for the people suggesting we un nuke the subs & convert them to attack subs, thats a non starter, boomers have a completely different profile, range, depth, speed, well you name it to an hunter killer sub (pretty obvious really or we'd just make one type and either put in missiles or torpedoes wouldn't we...) I can't recall from the top of my head for sure, but I believe nuclear tipped tomahawk Cruise missiles were all removed too, as they contravened one of the SALT treaties (intermediate range) They too were US 'owned' btw. And as far as nuclear capability in NATO goes, it's only really Germany that did not have native ability, US, French, UK do, Boxheads understandably not, as NATO was formed not long after WW2 and the Germans were still a bit... suspect. |
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My God we used to chat about this unilateralist guff when I was at school well before Bruce Kent was running CND whilst living in cloud cuckoo land. Its supporters were as naïve and misguided then as they are now.
Events leading up to WWII ought to teach people that the US cannot be relied upon to come to the UK's aid. Had it not been for Pearl Harbour and IIRC some serious errors of judgement by Hitler and the weather, the UK would very likely have been invaded and the US would have looked on. |
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He has changed his views though. He was the most rebellious MP for all those years but as soon as he got into power he's changed his ideas about rebellion in the ranks! :dozey: ---------- Post added at 12:45 ---------- Previous post was at 12:42 ---------- :) |
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http://blogs.channel4.com/alex-thoms...dependent/9293 |
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comments in the blog thankfully negate much of the nonsense spouted in the blog.
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Given the navigation system on the missiles is entirely self-contained and programmed locally, not remotely, and we produce the warheads including their self-contained inertial guidance system at Aldermaston what kind of dependence did you have in mind beyond that the US supply us the launch vehicles? Were they to withdraw their co-operation we would produce our own, however as it stands I know of no evidence to suggest that we cannot independently target and launch SLBMs. |
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Sorry but that's sounding a bit desperate Daddy, seeing as everything bar the missile bodies itself is ours, not really 'one or two things' I'd have thought it wouldn't exactly be.. pardon the pun 'rocket science' to make our own, if need determined us too, in fact just down the road from me we have Roxel who are particularly good at rocket motors.
I don't think it would be as catastrophic as you insinuate. Every major player in the World (yes us too) is fairly realistic and pragmatic about 'special relationships' in our case, seeing as we do all but the launch vehicle, I'd say we are not in a bad position. |
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Are we not forgetting that one of Corbyn's motives for unilateral nuclear disarmament is to restart the global process of disarmament?
At the point of the break up of the USSR, initiated under Reagan and Gorbachev, we had a wonderful opportunity to pursue disarmament apace. Gorbachev was whole-heartedly for getting rid of nuclear weapons altogether. Unfortunately we blew it. Subsequent western leaders acted in a triumphalist way, accepted ex-USSR states into NATO and / or the EU thus rubbing Russian noses in it. Gorbachev's agenda was shuffled away with the likes of Putin, determined as he is to restore Russian pride. Any chance of ridding the 3 superpowers of nuclear weapons was gone. Thanks for that NATO! Thanks for protecting us! Folk here have raised the issue of the nuclear threat of small rogue nations like Korea and Pakistan. These remain a non-existent threat to us whilst they do not have long range delivery system. With nuclear weapons gone from the hands of Russia, China and NATO we could have jointly exerted moral, economic and, if necessary, military pressure on those states, ie. taking out their missile systems and warhead production with overwhelming conventional power. We have managed to persuade Iran not to pursue a nuclear weapons programme largely only with economic pressure and even without us being able to negotiate from the moral high ground. The military option was clearly there, but was, as far as we know, unspoken in negotiation. So, let us not worry about small nation nuclear threats. How about Russia and China then? Clearly, they could wipe us off the face of the earth in minutes. What damage could we do them, without the USA? Given their anti-missile systems could easily take out our 160 operational nuclear warheads I don't actually think trident, on its own, would stop them attacking us with a first nuclear strike. (Each submarine is armed with up to 16 Trident II missiles, each carrying warheads in up to eight MIRV re-entry vehicles.) The real deterrent is the USA, with 1900 operational warheads and 4500 in total. So what is the point of having our own nuclear weapons? We could never go it alone, so why have them? Just picture the situation. Russia threatens to attack us with conventional weapons as part of an invasion force. (Can't think of a more likely reason.) We threaten with a nuclear strike to stop that, because our conventional forces are so puny we have nothing else to willy wave with. They say, "So what?" We call Washington. If we are lucky, the USA waves their bigger willy. Russians back off! Returning to Corbyn's notion of nuclear powered submarines with conventional weapons, this is not such a mad idea given that Corbyn is not a total pacifist and recognizes that we must defend our homeland and other assets in a dangerous world. ( He is only a pacifist in that he is determined to settle disputes using diplomacy and the UN to their absolute limit. He knows that violence begets violence. ) We already have nuclear-powered hunter killer subs in service, being built and under commission. Converting and maintaining our nuclear ballistic missile launchers to conventional warheads or cruise missiles would keep our workers in employment whilst beefing up our conventional power. BTW. Sentiment against the use of nuclear weapons isn't a wholly 'lefty' notion. In a 2005 Mori poll people were asked "Would you approve or disapprove of the UK using nuclear weapons against a country we are at war with?". 9% approved if that country did not have nuclear weapons, and 84% disapproved. 16% approved if that country had nuclear weapons but never used them, and 72% disapproved. 53% approved if that country used nuclear weapons against the UK, and 37% disapproved. So it seems that the only time most people would want to fire nuclear weapons is if we have already been attacked by nuclear weapons. I guess that by then they figured that the human race would be doomed so we might as well do a good job of it! |
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However, it has been pointed out that we cannot rely on the US: Quote:
I think the bottom line is Trident relies on the cooperation of the US whether we like it or not and it would be disingenuous to claim otherwise. |
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No ABM system that we're aware of could handle our warheads, decoys and other penetration mechanisms. It has never taken many warheads in the grand scheme to wipe us off the face of the planet. We have more nuclear targets per square mile than any other nation in the world. At the height of the cold war Russia was believed to have hundreds of high yield weapons aimed at the UK, with upwards of half a gigaton of total yield. Killing basically every man, woman and child in the UK would've required ~15% of the Soviet arsenal. It would be illegal for us to ramp our nuclear weaponry back up - we have been multilaterally disarming for years, so the Moscow Criterion or similar are what we have. ---------- Post added at 21:23 ---------- Previous post was at 21:19 ---------- Quote:
They didn't force Trident on us, the decision was made to lease Trident when Polaris was obsoleted. We definitely have the technology to make our own launch vehicles. Aside from our known expertise in propulsion, guidance (we were to supply computer cores for a certain major US space project), etc, you seriously think we haven't had a really close look at Trident? ;) ---------- Post added at 21:26 ---------- Previous post was at 21:23 ---------- Quote:
Of course Lockheed Martin are making money from it. Military industrial complex... |
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http://www.huffingtonpost.co.uk/2016...n_9041776.html |
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We got Labours message: Unelectable on so many fronts and now even more so.
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The system is Operationally independent, as stated in the blog. |
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Is he still 'thinking the unthinkable'?... |
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LOL wut?
Clearly Labour never ever want to regain power again. We need an alternative credible opposition party to temper the worst of Conservatism. At this rate the Conservatives will be in power for another ten years, which may not be so good. |
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Indeed in a democratic society one certainly needs a strong opposition that's for sure.
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That gets a LOL from me
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Apparently we now need Trident to 'punch above our weight' .
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-35566480 So it's no longer for defence, it's a status and willy waving thing. The UK hasn't been a superpower for a long time now, time we got used to that, we're just another European country, who are best sticking with our neighbours for defence. No wonder the US are keen for us to retain it, purely for their own first line of defence reasons. They totally control it anyway, so it wouldn't be used in UK interests. We really don't need it, if only for the obscene cost. Jeremy may be not to everyones taste, but he's right on this one. |
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They don't 'totally control it', as has been previously explained in this thread...
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"The Americans control Trident" is a conspiracy theory in the vein of the alleged moon landing hoax or the 9/11 "truth" ... There is little point producing facts, as those who believe will continue to do so regardless.
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I was expecting someone to pop up and prove otherwise but they seem to have disappeared all of a sudden...
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tweedle, you really really need to get your head out of your butt, you've been here all of five minutes yet post after post I'm seeing borderline abuse to other members. See the light, get a grip and stop.
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Guys, refrain from personal attacks and insults please.
Stick the the thread topic |
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At great risk to my credibility as an 'informed' contributor, but to lighten the mood a little, here's an extract from today's DM that made me laugh:
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Angela Eagle and Tom Watson could barely keep it together when Dave told him to wear a suit and sing the anthem yesterday. :D
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Almost as good as Ed Balls in "Your name's not down, you're not coming in" EU meeting. :D
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The only thing that's worse that the thought that this guy could have been running the UK's economy is the prospect that McDonnell could be. When you look at their key players in recent years you have to wonder where Labour dredges up these idiots - some broken, outdated, PC infested institution which is run with all the efficiency and quality control standards of British Leyland at its worst. As for Corbyn, he's the political equivalent of a hippy who hasn't grown up and is still wandering around with a head full of nonsense wearing loons and saying 'hey man...' |
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I thought Mr Corbyn's reply was confusing - "My mother would say "stand up for the principle of a health service, free, at the point of use, for everybody"". Isn't that what we have? |
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l just wish politicians from all sides would behave more becoming of what Members of Parliament should behave like and not throw childish insults at each other or behave like some sort of football hooligan.
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I love the way the usual lefties suspects love to dish out the insults - Bullingdon bully, Eton toffs, Flashman etc. etc. but spit their sad little dummies when they get some back. Given what he's been called by any number of Labour MP's over the years I think Cameron's been restrained in his language. He certainly hasn't resorted to the hateful and grossly offensive language uttered by the Shadow Chancellor and numerous other Labour figures.
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Nevertheless, if they can't take it, they shouldn't dish it out. |
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Perhaps you ought to look at the most recent approval ratings. This graphic is from Britain Elects/Yougov polling: http://www.cableforum.co.uk/board/at...1&d=1456416084 |
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Staying behind and meeting the veterans?
I suppose that balances out standing up in honour of the dead IRA terrorists killed by the SAS when they were going to blow up a NI Police Station, then? Quote:
And here is Mr Corbyn refusing to condemn what the IRA did (with some mealy-mouthed statements about "equivalence". http://www.newsletter.co.uk/news/nor...land-1-6957328 |
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---------- Post added at 17:26 ---------- Previous post was at 17:24 ---------- Quote:
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It's apt that Corbyn's popularity rating seems all too reminiscent of so many Labour leaders. It also bears a striking resemblance to what the UK's economy would do with more Labour clowns running the show. It won't bother the usual suspects though, they're well used to deluding themselves. |
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I think the Corbyn supporters are clutching at straws if they are assuming the polls are all wrong. It's not as if there is much about Corbyn's leadership so far that we can look at and assume will do well with the electorate. I don't get where they think this hidden support is going to come from. Not to mention it's historically the Tories, not Labour, who've been underrepresented in opinion polling. |
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http://blogs.spectator.co.uk/2015/12...end-otherwise/ Oh and for the record I'm not a corbyn supporter, yet, I just like sticking up for him at the moment because there's so much rubbish written about him, wonder if it's got anything to do with him threatening to break up the press barons http://www.theguardian.com/media/201...n-labour-media |
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I see the Torys are changing the electorial boundary's again due to population increases aparently! this will loose Labour 24 MPs.
http://www.theguardian.com/politics/boundary-changes |
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Just remember Richard they are doing it for the betterment of the country as we are all in this together...
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Actually, they are doing it to standardise the numbers of voters in each constituency....
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The Tories don't need to fix the size and nature of constituencies to suit them. Labour wiped themselves out in Scotland and there's no sign of Corbyn's cronies doing any better.
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Perhaps it would help democracy if the students and others registered to vote... |
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The democracy bit refers to the increasing lack of balance in the 2 party system we have. Without the numeric ability of the opposition to effectively challenge the Government in power, we get bad government. If the opposition are reduced by a number by twice the amount of the government's this just adds to the imbalance. Hugh, you may even agree with me on this? ;) |
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waaah
It's been unequal for years, this is simple balancing, it would have been done in the last Govt but Cleggy threw a wobbler. This is a good thing. 1. Equal sized constituencies 2. Less politicians, which in turn equals less costs to us regardless of the political party. TL/DR Now the Country is split into equal sized chunks - good for real democracy. |
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This is his own fault. He is awful at dealing with the media. For example it's bad enough that he equivocates on the issue of the Falklands but any half-decent politician would bat any questions about it away easily. He suggests a possible 'deal' with Argentina. He is rubbish at dealing with his party. He puts nonsense people in serious posts. He announces policy decisions without even consulting the shadow minister responsible for that policy area. He or his allies get the Momentum mob to do hatchet jobs on MPs who are viewed as unsupportive before backing away. They're awful at general politics as well. Corbyn is far too slow at PMQs. Cameron makes mistakes in answers which Corbyn never seems to spot and instead moves away to a different question. There have been times where Cameron is clearly struggling with a topic and Corbyn could go for it but then he suddenly changes tact and lets him off. The day of the Doctors strike he asked about housing, when the Tories are infighting about Europe he asks about Doctors and I assume if there was a massive scandal about housing Corbyn would ask about trade union reforms. Instead what happens if Labour's press office issues condemnations or criticisms of what Cameron has said in PMQs after the fact because their leader was too slow to do it in person. It gets even worse if they think Cameron was mean because they love that more than anything. The next few days are then dominated by Labour complaining that Cameron wasn't very nice to them. |
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Having constituencies of equal size is an absolute no-brainier. Yet political reality is that the only time this sort of reform is ever going to happen is when the party that is disadvantaged by the status quo gets into power. Labour can squeal all it likes, but it's just hypocrisy. |
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Chris said it all very accurately.
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These changes will ensure that a vote in the commons will be a lesser risk and they are putting plans together to gag the Lords ... ---------- Post added at 10:39 ---------- Previous post was at 10:38 ---------- Quote:
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Labour and hypocrisy? Who'd have thought... |
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btw, I agree with you about the dangers of not having an effective opposition, but I don't think we should gerrymander the constituencies to protect the Labour vote. |
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Not only do I agree with Chris, but Hugh too
No hoots needed (two btw not too) |
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Agreed - we need to reform the voting system, but the two parties that could do that, won't...
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http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/uk-news...tright-6470638 |
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Left wing excuses list:
1: Blame the "biased" media for reporting unfavourably 2: Blame the "fooled" electorate for voting the wrong way 3: Blame Thatcher To be fair however, there is a Right wing excuses list too 1: Blame the "biased" media for reporting unfavourably 2: Blame the "fooled" electorate for voting the wrong way 3: Blame the EU |
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That's really going to enhance their economic credibility. :nutter: |
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:rofl: |
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Well it is rather bizarre but then anyone who grew up in the 1970's is fully aware of the sort of nonsense Labour got up to. It's the usual suspects just proving how they've learned nothing.
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Well some of us have been saying that for years and the rose tinted brigade wouldn't have it... :D
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Well we had "old" labour that still do not understand the FACT they broke the back of UK industry and manufacturing with constant strikes.
We have "new" labour the caused a massive financial crisis and dragged us into war but refuse to acknowledge or admit it. Now we have (as yet un-named) labour with clueless policies waiting to cause a as yet unknown calamity on us. I would lol but it's not funny. |
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Good article in the Spectator: Britain needs a museum of communist terror
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I just don't understand how Corbyn can think he is the voice of the working class. He grew up just down the road from me in Newport Shropshire an his family home was Yew Tree Manor house. A huge 7 bedroom mansion and he attended the private school that's costs a fortune per term to attend.
He then goes into journalism becoming chief reporter for a newspaper then politics, all the time being a very wealthy man. He has no idea of being poor, living on a extremely tight budget would be an alien concept to him. Here is yew tree manor , an the fox pub opposite does a lovely Sunday dinner lol. So I'm not sure how intouch he can be with inner city working class. https://www.google.co.uk/maps/place/...81453?hl=en-gb |
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Clearly not credible. You may not agree with Varoufakis' politics, I don't, but he knows what he's talking about with regards to economics and rather than even for a moment giving credence to The Sun's implication that Varoufakis was responsible for Greece's debt crisis I'd recommend doing some reading. He was forced out because he tried to resist the blood letting that Greece is going through now. His attempts to oppose the Troika were undermined by his own side - had he had his way Greece would likely have exited the Euro as it would've had an alternative to having the ECB strangulate its banks and subjugate its economy. As it was Syriza's, frankly, cowardice and delusion ensured he wasn't able to pursue a fallback plan. |
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Keep an eye on that shifty looking Brutus, Jezza.:D |
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... and there was I thinking Corbyn would be Labour's saviour just like Brown was the world's... :rofl:
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Corbyns currently live on Skynews,
Looking very smart, combed hair, trimmed beard and smart suit an tie. |
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Why does it matter what anyone looks like ?
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Although not a fan of him that much at least he does not have that smarmy look which many career politicians have nowadays...
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Well you wouldn't expect someone who acts like some sort of corduroy clad 1970's student union throwback to be smarmy would you... ;)
Anyway someone's clearly very nervous at Labour HQ since it appears they need a list 'grading' their own MP's according to their supposed 'loyalty' to their glorious leader. McCarthy did something similar I believe... :D Quote:
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