Farmer Saint

Sorry, what? It's a BBC news article, not a Reeves news article. If you read it then it will give you your answers if it has them. Show us where Reeves has said that increasing taxes will grow the economy.

You do know they're not trying to increase growth with higher taxes, don't you? And do we really have the highest tax burden since the 1940s, because I don't think we currently do.

He reminds me of me when I got out of University - he's very headstrong with very little knowledge but thinks he's world-wise. I assume he is quite young judging by his frame of references and lack of empathy.

No, if we have a National Health Service, we need higher taxes. There is no way around that. But that's fine, perhaps if we want to keep low taxes we need to look to fund the NHS in a different way. https://ifs.org.uk/taxlab/taxlab-key-questions/how-do-uk-tax-revenues-compare-internationally You have clearly never looked at process and system improvements for large companies. As it is where I made my living I can tell you it will cost tens of billions to do, and by the time it's done the technology and processes will be out of date and need replacing again. All we can do is small iterative changes, but unfortunately that means the scope remains small and tends to be dealt with in silo's with no real thought to integration to the rest of the "company". If you want a root cause analysis and process improvement for public services, the only realistic way to do that is to privatise as they will look to save everywhere to ensure efficiencies. This is not a green field architecture you're talking about here, it's embedded with legacy systems, architecture and processes.

Sorry, what do you think it would allow the country to do? Or are you just saying we could do something? Is this like saying that we "could" just shoot them as they get to our beaches?

What do you think leaving the ECHR will allow you to do?

But it's not just the ECHR we have to leave. It's the 1951 UN Refugee Convention and the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Oh I know, I'm not saying we feasibly can - it's more a muse of types.

We need tax rises. We have the NHS and a relatively low tax burden, and we're £40bn a year light from not being in the EU. What do you expect? https://ifs.org.uk/taxlab/taxlab-key-questions/how-do-uk-tax-revenues-compare-internationally

We could pull out of them, but I think then we'd be akin to Russia and Belarus, and I don't think that is what we really want, is it? What we need to do is deal with them quicker. More cash, more people, shorter stays. Maybe the way to deal with it is open up all channels to apply from overseas. You can then rightly make coming across on a boat illegal, with anyone coming across on a boat being automatically detained. The problem is these people will look to disappear rather than claim asylum...but then if we have ID cards then this should help. If we also moved to a cashless society then they would no longer be able to live here.

In what way were they welcoming them across? And what does political will mean in this situation?

I've voted Conservative 3 times the amount I've voted for any other party...

You say that, but France and Germany have more immigrants stay than we get coming over on boats. A lot come over due to language, some family etc.

The issue is, and no-one has managed to argue the process properly, is how.

Good, glad you're not supporting Netanyahu then.

If we had the space to house people now we would already be using it. We don't, and that's why hotels have had to be used. What's happened to all the old Pontins sites? Although not sure they deserve to be put in places like that.

All the alive hostages have been returned haven't they? Unless you're genuinely suggesting that dead bodies are interchangeable for alive ones?

Can children be tried for it though? Do they get due process?

And yet it doesn't seem to be with other posters...but there we go. I'm not calling him out as racist because he is right of centre, that's for sure. I voted Conservative at every election until Boris took over and I would traditionally call myself a One Nation Tory. This is not political.

What lie is that?

This is not a political thing by any stretch, and it's disingenuous for you to say that.

You quoted my post because I didn't reply to you originally, and you knew my opinion of you as you've mentioned many times. Again, you say it's not a consensus of opinion, and I'm sure not everyone does agree, but quite a few do, so I would put that (apparent) confusion on you, rather than them.

Blood lust.

Just saw this too, like WTF? I'm not surprised they can't find all the dead bodies. There's a fuck load of them in the wreckage. Any excuse for Netanyahu. Instead of strikes perhaps the Israeli military should be helping them.

Not sure it has any bearing on sensible conversations, it's just that we have a pretty good idea of the person we're arguing with, so it means that unless you display traits where you will look at holistic problems, not just those perpetrated by your favourite whipping boys (which you never do), then the conversations are largely pointless.