UK General Discussion: Rishecession

[Filuwaúrdjan]

By the way, it should also be noted that a Conservative MS is under police investigation for potentially fiddling her expenses. There's a reason why Davies is huffing and puffing even more hot air than usual over Gething.

[CumbrianLefty]

At least some Tories now seem to be advocating wholesale destrudtion of our further education sector - one of our few success stories recently - and all just to grab a few newspaper headlines.

Nihilistic vandalism.

[JimJamUK]

At least some Tories now seem to be advocating wholesale destrudtion of our further education sector - one of our few success stories recently - and all just to grab a few newspaper headlines.

Nihilistic vandalism.

They are advocating the elimination of less useful degrees by keeping the real terms cut in university funding and getting rid of many international students. The problem is that courses judged socially useful and which provide a better return on investment for students are also often the more expensive courses that rely on cross-subsidising from the fees of cheaper to run courses as well as international students paying higher tuition fees.

[Cassius]

Let’s not pretend that our higher education sector serves any purpose beyond, in the main, providing employment and propping up regional economies. Everyone knows that the ‘graduate scheme’ in particular is an indefensible rort on purely scholastic grounds, hence yelping about economic benefits is always the first line of defence deployed by the higher education nabobs (most of whose vastly financially overstretched institutions would not be viable prospects without these students).

[EastAnglianLefty]

Providing jobs and supporting regional economies being, of course, entirely socially useless things.

[CumbrianLefty]

Bottom line is that many Tories don't want the masses to be well educated.

Sometimes things really are that simple.

[TheTide]

Is this a discussion on further education or higher education? I (at least partially based on personal experience) have a much more positive outlook on the former.

[EastAnglianLefty]

Higher education, although a lot of the things the government are most negative about (eg foundation years) are functionally a bit of both.

[lfromnj]

Seems like it was a good decision to wait out the election, the economy seems to be improving a bit, it won’t be even close to saving the Tories but they might save a few dozen seats if the economy is good enough .

[CumbrianLefty]

It was always the best argument for a later election, though the sunlit uplands are still some way off.

[Torrain]

Visa changes have been killed off apparently. Had been trailed this morning that Cameron, Cleverly and Keegan were all opposed, so guess they collectively shouted down McVey.
https://twitter.com/AnnaSophieGross/status/1792970206853173270

[Cassius]

A touch excessive to describe as ‘radical’ the reversal of a policy that has only been in place since 2021 (ie, there are undergraduates still studying for their degrees who first went to uni before the graduate visa was even introduced).

[JimJamUK]

https://twitter.com/matt_dathan/status/1793016394226835924?s=61&t=I1DE8_cg7g...
Things continue to go well for the party of law and order. The plan to make fewer arrests is on top of judges giving more lenient sentences and a planned early release of criminals (which applies to not just small time criminals but also some very serious ones).

[Torrain]

Depending on how things play out this afternoon, this might get buried - but there's going to be a bit of Holyrood drama tomorow:
https://twitter.com/paulhutcheon/status/1793171183120142384
The lack of a recall system at Holyrood has become a bit of a talking point recently, it's now part of Sarwar's package of proposed Holyrood reforms. So could become a bit of a rammy, unless parliament dissolves this evening, at which point Matheson gets to lie low for six weeks, at which point the dust will have settled.

[Lumine]

Mounting speculation over a snap election (again).

Probably won't amount to anything, but Number 10 isn't ruling it out and ministers are cutting trips short.

[Torrain]

Mounting speculation over a snap election (again).

Probably won't amount to anything, but Number 10 isn't ruling it out and ministers are cutting trips short.

Join us on the general election thread over on the International Elections board, we've been going round in circles on this for a couple of hours.

https://talkelections.org/FORUM/index.php?topic=576275.msg9488322#msg9488322

[nicholas.slaydon]

Sky news reporting a July 4th election.
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/rishi-sunak-to-call-general-election-for-4-july-sky-news-understands-13141213

[Progressive Pessimist]

Sky news reporting a July 4th election.
https://news.sky.com/story/amp/rishi-sunak-to-call-general-election-for-4-july-sky-news-understands-13141213

The UK will get its independence from the Tories.

[CumbrianLefty]

A lot of Tories seem very *very* unhappy about this - not least because they had been told just a few weeks ago that this definitely wasn't happening, and several made plans accordingly.

[LabourJersey]

A lot of Tories seem very *very* unhappy about this - not least because they had been told just a few weeks ago that this definitely wasn't happening, and several made plans accordingly.

So how plausible are the rumor that some Tory MPs want to oust Sunak and undo the call for an election?

I cannot imagine a situation that would hurt the Tories more than that one occuring, though.

[🦀🎂🦀🎂]

A lot of Tories seem very *very* unhappy about this - not least because they had been told just a few weeks ago that this definitely wasn't happening, and several made plans accordingly.

So how plausible are the rumor that some Tory MPs want to oust Sunak and undo the call for an election?

I cannot imagine a situation that would hurt the Tories more than that one occuring, though.

Even if they ousted sunak, a rebellion of that size would almost immediately cause a VONC and elections anyway.

[Torrain]

https://twitter.com/paulhutcheon/status/1793575837280915465
EDIT: Swinney is going to whip against sanctioning Matheson, saying he was stitched up by the Tories on the committee. Kinda flabbergasted - Matheson’s numbers with the public are awful, and the First Minister is about to burn political capital to turn him into Owen Paterson 2.0…

Polling shows 65% of Scots want Matheson to leave parliament, only 15% want him to stay. What on earth is “Honest John” doing?

[CumbrianLefty]

Yes frankly that is surprising. And presumably the committee in question doesn't have a Tory majority, so how would a "stitch up" even work?

[EastAnglianLefty]

The committee has two Tories, two SNP and a Labour chair. On the one hand, one of the Tories had commented on Matheson's case before it came up, which is a conflict of interest (and incidentally, she has previously been suspended.) On the other hand, the SNP members seem to have voted against any sanction, so the chair gave as his reason for voting in favour that there needed to be at least some sanction.

In conclusion, it's a mess but what Swinney is doing makes no political sense.